Scope

This Research Guide focuses on minimum wage in the United States. Issues covered include legislation, poverty, the living wage movement and the case against minimum wage laws.

Overview

The Case for the Living Wage
College Library Main Collection: HD 4918 W264 2004

Poverty in the United States: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, and Policy
College Library Reference Collection: HC 110 P6 P598 2004
Refer to "Minimum Wage" in Vol. 2, pages 468-470

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 1992 (updated daily)
Britannica Online is a searchable collection of authoritative references, including Britannica's latest encyclopedia articles. Basic instructions for Encyclopædia Britannica Online

CQ Researcher November 1991 - to date (updated weekly)
Contains weekly reports from Congressional Quarterly that cover the most current and controversial issues. Basic instructions for CQ Researcher

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center 1990 - to date (updated daily)
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (OVRC) includes the acclaimed social issues series published by Greenhaven Press, as well as core reference content from other Gale and Macmillan Reference USA sources and provides viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

Finding Journal and News Articles

Below are links to databases that cover this subject area. The truncation symbol for all of them is an asterisk (*) unless otherwise noted.

Sample searches for databases:

"minimum wage" and employment
"minimum wage" and legislation
"minimum wage" and economics
"living wage" and welfare
"living wage" and poverty
"minimum wage" and "standard of living"
"minimum wage" and Wisconsin

Recommended Databases:

ABI/Inform 1971 - to date (updated daily)
ABI/Inform indexes and abstracts articles from more than 1300 scholarly and trade business periodicals. Popular journals such as Forbes, Fortune, and Business Week are also included. The Web version, ABI/INFORM Global, provides full-text articles from more than 600 of the journals from 1992 to the present. It is an excellent source of information on management techniques, corporate strategies, trends, and business conditions. Basic instructions for ABI/Inform

Academic Search 1984 - to date (updated daily)
This library database indexes approximately 3,100 popular magazines and academic journals and provides the full-text articles from approximately 1,000 journals. Basic instructions for Academic Search

Business Full Text 1982 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes 400 key business periodicals, including trade magazines and scholarly journals, covering all aspects of business. Basic instructions for Business Full Text

ProQuest Newspapers Dates Vary (updated weekly)
Indexes articles from 41 national and Wisconsin newspapers; includes full text for most. The truncation symbol is a question mark (?). Basic instructions for ProQuest Newspapers

ProQuest Research Library 1988 - to date (updated daily)
Indexes over 2,000 general-interest and academic journals. Nearly 1,000 periodicals are full-text. Dates vary, but many full-text journals go back to 1988. Basic instructions for ProQuest Research Library

Social Sciences Full Text 1983 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes more than 415 scholarly journals in economics, politics, public administration, public health, sociology, criminology, environmental and urban studies, psychology and anthropology. Basic instructions for Social Sciences Full Text

Finding Books

MadCat
Books on minimum wage can be found in MadCat, the UW-Madison library catalog.

Sample keyword searches:

"minimum wage" and "United States"
"minimum wage" and law and "United States"
"living wage movement"
"minimum wage" and youth
"Fair Labor Standards Act"

Internet Sites

U.S. Department of Labor
http://www.dol.gov/index.htm
Information on minimum wage is found in several sections of this site. Click on "Wages" under Find It - By Topic on the left. "Minimum Wage" is a subtopic. It includes minimum wage rates for each state. Click on "BLS" (Bureau of Labor Statistics) under DOL Agencies at the bottom right. The "Wages, Earning & Benefits" section contains reports and statistics. The Current Population Survey includes "Characteristics of minimum wage workers: 2004."

Economic Policy Institute
http://www.epi.org/
"The Economic Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy." Click on "living wage" and "minimum wage" under Issue Guides to find articles, statistics and links.

Employment Policies Institute
http://www.epionline.org/
"The Employment Policies Institute is a non-profit research organization dedicated to studying public policy issues surrounding employment growth." Click on "Minimum Wage" and "Living Wage" to find studies and press releases that argue against minimum wage laws.

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
http://www.acorn.org/
ACORN is "the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families, working together for social justice and stronger communities." Find information on local, national and international campaigns, news and publications. Or go directly to their Living Wage Resource Center.

Statistics

Statistical Universe 1973 - to date (updated monthly)
Contains the full text of more than 800 U.S. government statistical publications. Lexis-Nexis Statistical Universe is available to UW-Madison registered users.

Handbook of U.S. Labor Statistics
College Library Reference Collection: HD 8065 A32 v.2004

Organizations

Living Wage Resource Center
http://www.livingwagecampaign.org/
88 3rd Avenue
Brooklyn NY 11217
Phone : (718) 246-7900 x230