5.5 If the minimum wage raises the market wage, w, but hours worked, L, fall as a result, total wage payments, wL, may rise or fall. Use supply and demand curves to show that either outcome is possible depending on the shapes (slopes) of the supply and demand curves. (Hint: With the wage on the vertical axis and hours worked, L, on the horizontal axis, wage payments equal the area of the box with a height of the equilibrium wage and length of the equilibrium hours worked.)