I'm wondering whether the bright side of a declining working age population will help raise wages and incomes for working people, both through government policies (minimum wage, child care subsidies etc.) and through market forces (with or without increased unionization). I've always been intrigued about the effects on labor markets from the plagues of the 1300s in Europe, which forced a dramatic increase in wages and fruitless attempts by elites to enact maximum wage laws in Britain. There are countless other examples from wars and other catastrophic events. But will demographic decline have the same effects?
I'm wondering whether the bright side of a declining working age population will help raise wages and incomes for working people, both through government policies (minimum wage, child care subsidies etc.) and through market forces (with or without increased unionization). I've always been intrigued about the effects on labor markets from the plagues of the 1300s in Europe, which forced a dramatic increase in wages and fruitless attempts by elites to enact maximum wage laws in Britain. There are countless other examples from wars and other catastrophic events. But will demographic decline have the same effects?