经济学人:最低工资 留下了坏印象(2)

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　　The Lucas found that a restaurant has, on average, a one-in-250 chance of closing in any given month. Lucas发现，平均而言，一家餐馆有250分之一可能性会在任何一个月倒闭。

　　Whether or not the odds² change when the minimum wage rises seems to depend on the quality of the eatery—or at least, on its Yelp rating. 当最低工资上涨时是否可能发生变化似乎取决于餐馆的质量—至少取决于在Yelp的评级。

　　Restaurants with a coveted³ five-star score are barely affected⁴; but less impressive joints⁵ are suddenly more likely to close. 拥有令人垂涎的五星成绩的餐馆几乎没有受到影响；但不那么令人印象深刻的联合餐馆突更可能然关闭。

　　Restaurants with a middling rating are about 14% more likely to shut down when the minimum wage goes up by a dollar.  当最低工资上涨一美元时，中等等级的餐馆大约有14%的可能倒闭。

　　(The authors also show that rating is distinct from price—in other words, a glorious but cheap takeaway has less to worry about than sellers of pricey but tasteless fare). （作者还表示，评级与价格不同，换言之，一种极好而廉价的外卖比昂贵而无味的卖家更不用担心）。

　　The result can be spun⁶ multiple ways. 结果由多种方式导致。

　　If those scholars who say that overall restaurant employment is unaffected by higher minimum wages are right,  如果那些认为餐馆总体就业不受愈高最低工资影响的学者正确无误，

　　the implication of the new paper is that pay floors somehow force up the quality of restaurants. 新研究就意味着保底工资水平会在某种程度上迫使餐馆提高质量。

　　So long as one minimum-wage worker is much like another, a laid-off waiter will be able to find a new job somewhere serving better grub. 只要一个最低工资的工人和另一个工人差不多，一个下岗的服务员就能在别处找到一份更好的工作。

　　If those scholars are wrong, however, then the new paper supports what sceptics have said all along:  然而，如果这些学者是错误的，那么新的文件就支持了持怀疑态度的人一直在说的：

　　that higher minimum wages, by threatening the viability⁷ of some firms, dent⁸ employment opportunities for the low-skilled. 调高的最低工资，通过威胁一些公司的生存能力，削弱了低技能就业机会的人。

　　That should be food for thought. 那这应该是发人深省的。

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