Third assignment - Admission/Application Essay Example

Corse The Effects of Minimum Wage from a Microeconomic Perspective The debate over the minimum wage that employees should get is a one that has been witnessed for along time now. According to Arnold, minimum wage refers to the level of wage that an employer must meet or exceed in all contracts of employment (100). The minimum wage has been revised from time to time in response to inflating prices. Micro economics provides a very good perspective on the effect of the minimum wage. The impact is usually felt on businesses, individuals and the family.

Effect on BusinessBusiness and enterprises that rely on unskilled labour normally experience exponential increase in wage expenses. This is because such business is unable to negotiate wages with the lowest paid unskilled workers. The minimum wage dictates the lowest pay hence taking the power of determining the wages for the employee away from the employer (Arnold 106). Such businesses normally experience diminishing profits whenever there is a percentage increase in the minimum wage. This ends up presenting a challenge of economic growth in such business with the economic decision makers also being faced with another variable.

Local EmploymentIn many companies, the minimum wage is viewed to be an expense for the unskilled employees or those that are fresh in the job and do not have sufficient experience. This has therefore made the employer reduce the number of unskilled or inexperienced employees to reduce their wage bills. This however has impacted on the lowly skilled workers and fresh graduates from collages and universities. The end result is a scenario where individuals with little or no experience who could have accepted low wages end up missing on employment opportunities.

If such a trend continues, many regions will have increased unemployment. Lack of employment will further lead to socio economic problems like homelessness and crimes.Effect on individualsIndividual employees are the direct beneficiaries of minimum wages. Minimum wages benefit the unskilled employees by boosting their income. The skilled workers also experience this benefit. As the wage for the unskilled is raised, the wages of other skilled employees are also pushed up making them also feel the benefit of the minimum wage.

The youths and those who are fresh from school can also count on minimum wage to provide them with enough income to sustain them as they handle their first expenses. The increased wages are further felt by the families as the heads of household are able to spend more on the family needs.It must also be noted that the effect of the minimum wage on companies is in the long run detrimental to employees (Arnold 110). This is because most employees will look for other methods of reducing the wage bill such as outsourcing or downsizing.

In some cases the employers tend to avoid hiring a certain group or category of workers at all. Such trends lead to unemployment and leave those who miss job opportunities unable to pay for their various expense and family need.The issue of minimum wage is a complex one and it should be well thought so that a clear balance is struck between the employer and the employee so that no party is affected more than the other.Works CitedArnold, Rodger. Microeconomics. Mason: South –Western Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.