Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy

Abstract

So the lesson should be clear. Empirical studies only matter if they seek to verify some theoretical proposition that relates to the efficiency of various labor markets. The substitution effects are theoretically of little importance in dealing with an assessment of the ADEA and similar statutes. What matters here is the first principle. The heavy burden falls on those who wish to regulate labor markets. With minimum wage and employment discrimination laws that burden has not been met. What we do have unfortunately is an ugly cycle. First, the government puts one set of restrictions in place, and it discovers that unemployment rates get higher or income levels get lower, or labor participation goes down. But once the bad news is absorbed, the regulators never agree to repeal what’s already there. They just add another layer on top of that existing layer. As Gail Heriot said, and said correctly, in her remarks: individually these things are bad; together, they have negative synergies. The best response today to labor market regulation comes straight from Moses: “Let my people go.”

First Page

789

Volume

38

Publication Date

2015

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