Hundreds of businesses across the country have pledged to pay their workers at least $12 an hour by 2020. Raising the minimum wage increases worker productivity. ... Economists have also linked higher wages to better physical and mental health and reduced “decision fatigue,” leading to higher productivity.
Most policy debates about increasing minimum wages focus on economic outcomes, such as unemployment and poverty. Although the research cited above demonstrates no consensus among investigators, numerous studies have found little or no effects on employment, while others have found reductions in poverty
