After you have studied Economics in the News on pp. 148–149, answer the following questions.

a. If Illinois raises its minimum wage to $15 an hour, what do you expect will happen to the state’s unemployment? Illustrate your answer with a graph.

b. Describe the gains and losses that will arise when the Illinois minimum wage is raised to $15 an hour; and compare the gains and losses when the equililbrium wage is greater and less than $15 an hour.

c. The news article reports Rep. Guzzardi view that boosting the minimum wage will increase local spending. Explain why, for Rep. Guzzardi to be correct, the demand for low-skilled labor must be inelastic.