Small, medium-sized independent US firms adapted well to minimum wage hikes, as did workers

Proposals to raise the minimum wage are often met with arguments that independent businesses may be vulnerable to such increases. In a new study, "Who's Afraid of the Minimum Wage? Measuring the Impacts on Independent Businesses Using Matched U.S. Tax Returns," researchers examined how small and medium-sized firms accommodated minimum wage hikes along product and labor market margins. The study found that firms reacted to increases in minimum wage differently depending on their size, but most adapted well, and the effect on workers was also largely positive.