The Clinton administration's proposal to increase the minimum wage has renewed interest in the question of how job creation would be affected. The president's proposal came at a time when academic interest in the effects of the minimum wage on employment was rekindled by David Card and Alan B. Krueger, whose book, Myth and Measurement: The New Economics of the Minimum Wage (Princeton University Press, 1995), challenged the consensus among labor market economists that increasing the minimum wage would reduce employment of teenagers and other low-wage workers.

Before publication of Card and Krueger's research, most economists regarded the issue of whether the minimum wage has adverse effects on employment as settled, although there were differences about the magnitude of the negative effects. Card and Krueger challenged this view, arguing that their research shows no significant adverse effects on employment. Other leading scholars, however, have defended the earlier consensus and developed new evidence that supports it.

The American Enterprise Institute held a seminar on June 1, 1995, to examine the evidence. Leading scholars presented their analysis, gave critiques of research approaches, and examined how disparate results should be interpreted. Marvin H. Kosters, resident scholar at AEI, organized the seminar and served as moderator.