Understanding Economists and Sociologists Through Rhetorical Analysis

A map of the current minimum wage rates in the U.S. as of 2012.

Caroline Styne is a restaurant owner in Los Angeles. When asked about the $15 minimum wage recently proposed by the city council, she said, "There is just no room for us to be able to afford this increase and stay in business” (Elliott). Most people believe minimum wages should be increased, while many economists argue through economic models that increasing the minimum wage can actually have negative effects on the economy. In the article “Can minimum wages cause a big push? Evidence from Indonesia” by Jeremy R. Magruder, he argues that minimum wage correlates to a big push and higher wage equilibrium. Daniel J. Fairchild, on the other hand, argues that the minimum wage does not help the poor through his article “Does the Minimum Wage Help the Poor?” These two authors come from different academic backgrounds, Magruder being an economist and Fairchild being a sociologist. Since these two authors differ when it comes to academic discipline, they use different rhetorical strategies to approach their topic of minimum wage. Magruder relies on literal language, first person point of view, and mathematical jargon while Fairchild incorporates conversational language along with more familiar diction and a broader focus that emphasizes the social implications of his argument. Recognizing and understanding why Magruder and Fairchild employ these different rhetorical strategies allows us to gain a better understanding of the mindset and thought process of an economist and a sociologist, as economists are more narrowly focused, deep, and mathematical, while sociologists use more breadth to present their information, implying conversation instead of the use of mathematical proofs and models.

Economists are used to constructing and analyzing economic models that are made to simulate the real world, and these models often focus on a particular issue within a large economy. The construction of economic models requires gathering data on previous economic trends, while the analysis of these models requires tables, graphs, and mathematics. Although the field of sociology uses data and research to support claims being made, there are also many factors within society that must be accounted for. This causes sociologists to incorporate more breadth in their analysis in comparison to economists’ deep and narrow analysis. Sociologists tend to invite conversation, sparking interest and debate from their audience through their wide analysis, while economists stand on one point in an attempt to show others how their analysis proves traditional economic teaching and theory. Both Magruder and Fairchild stick to the traditional mindset of an economist and sociologist, and doing so allows us to spot their rhetoric differences.

The first thing to note when comparing the rhetorical differences between Magruder and Fairchild are the organizational strategies used by both authors. Since Magruder is following the conventions of a typical economic analysis, his organization is very deep and specific. He has a total of nine topics in his article, and some of these topics also have their own subtopics. If we look at page 54 of his article, we can see that topic 6, Results, has the subtopics Employment Trends, Income and Expenditures, Industry Heterogeneity, Manufacturing, Services, and Retail. He cites references in spurts at the beginning of each section, but then moves away from these sources once he gets into his analysis. Fairchild, on the other hand, does not have as many topics as Magruder. He only has a total of four topics in comparison to Magruder’s nine. Fairchild also has no subtopics, so if you take these into account as well, Magruder really has 23 topics! Fairchild also cites sources of information a lot more evenly throughout his article than Magruder, as you can see about 3 superscripts per page when reading Fairchild’s article. Magruder’s deep organization style correlates to the deep analysis he performs throughout the article. Magruder cites his sources in spurts and then detracts from them so he can get deep into his analysis, using ethical appeals that are based off of his knowledge and manipulation of a mathematically based economic model. His use of subtopics helps drive home the specific points being made throughout the analysis, and his use of ethical appeals makes his audience believe that his conclusions being made are absolutely true. Fairchild’s mindset of a traditional sociologist can be seen on page 36, where he introduces the third section of his article. His third section, A summary of Recent Empirical Research, is his longest section, which is just under three pages long. The lack of topic headers from Fairchild allows for more breadth within each part of the article, as each section in Fairchild’s article is longer than each section of Magruder’s article. Fairchild’s evenly distributed source citation shows how Fairchild has a significant amount of knowledge about the work of other scholars, allowing him to relate his arguments to other scholar’s arguments.

Magruder uses mathematical equations in his analysis in order to support the economic model and data from 1990s Indonesia, causing him to use mathematical jargon. One example of this is in his section titled Empirical Strategy, where he writes, “Since E[νi′t|i′∈R(i), Xit, minwage]=E[νit|Xit, minwage], the endogenous component of the error term disappears in expectation and so if we make an assumption of strict exogeneity similar to those used elsewhere in fixed effects analyses (E[εi′t|minwagei′′t, Xi′′t]=0 ∀i′, i′′∈R(i)), then Eq. (11) will consistently estimate the effects of minimum wage law.” Magruder does this because he wants to show that the economic model he constructed is credible, and the use of mathematical equations is a common technique used in economic analysis. It would not be appropriate for Magruder to simplify his mathematical proofs in this article because that would detract from the conventional economic analysis he exemplifies here. Magruder’s use of mathematics also aids him in his goal to show how minimum wage affects the wage equilibrium of an economy. Since Magruder is trying to imply an economic effect in this article, the uses of mathematical equations that support an economic model seem logical.

A supply and demand curve relating to minimum wage that's used by economists. 

Fairchild uses familiar diction throughout his article and stays away from mathematical jargon. One example of this can be seen at the end of page 35, where Fairchild states, “Conventional economists refer to this type of market, where there is one buyer possessing a significant amount of market power, as a monopsony.” Here, we can see that even when Fairchild incorporates what may be unfamiliar terms from different academic disciplines, he defines them for his audience. Once he defines a monopsony, he does not go any further. He does not show graphs or data, nor does he use mathematical jargon to help his audience gain a deeper understanding of the term. Knowing that Magruder refers to mathematical equations in order to aid his attempt to make an economically significant finding, similar reasoning can be applied to Fairchild’s use of familiar diction. Since Fairchild is attempting to make a significant sociological finding, he must present his research and analysis in a way that appeals to his fellow sociologists, who value his analysis of the social implications of the minimum wage over the math that he uses to verify those implications.

Magruder’s use of literal language strengthens the credibility of the analysis performed and makes his analysis on Indonesia using an economic model more effective. There’s never a time in which Magruder uses figurative language, and this fits the conventional writing style associated with economic analysis. One instance of the literal language Magruder uses is in the section titled Minimum Wages in Indonesia, where he writes, “Real minimum wages (averaged across the country) are presented in Fig. 1; this graph makes clear that minimum wages doubled in real terms between 1990 and 1997 before falling as prices rose alongside the financial crisis.” We can see here that Magruder is very direct with his analysis, which is another reason why he does not use figurative language. The literal language used throughout this article by Magruder not only makes his analysis more efficient and effective, but also implies that his conclusions being made about minimum wage are not to be taken lightly. The literal language used by Magruder limits the chance for conversation, which is appropriate since the general public does not have enough knowledge about economic models and analysis in order to question Magruder’s findings through intellectual conversation.

While Magruder uses literal language to help emphasize his specific, deep, and narrow analysis, Fairchild uses conversational language and a broad approach when performing his analysis. Since Fairchild is a sociologist and investigates how minimum wages affect a particular group of society, conversational language allows for him to relate with different groups of people that make up society. One example of both the conversational language and broader focus that Fairchild displays is through a series of quotes found on page 35, where he begins with, “If the wage elasticity coefficient is negative, the minimum wage, or an increase in it, causes a decrease in the number of workers employed.” Here we can see how he backs up his claim that increasing the minimum wage decreases employment by using economics. He then combats this statement in the next two paragraphs, beginning with “Not everyone, however, has subscribed to the notion that the minimum wage decreases employment” in one paragraph, and “More recently, some have argued that the minimum wage might actually increase employment” in the other. He later on questions the economic theory he originally used by stating, “There is yet another school of thought that rejects the notion that the labor market for less-skilled workers is highly competitive -- arguing employers do not always face stiff competition in recruiting and hiring workers.” The broader focus Fairchild creates by introducing and backing up different claims using information and theory from different academic disciplines shows how Fairchild takes a more sociological approach when discussing the issue of minimum wage. Since society is made up of a wide variety of people, the range of Fairchild’s topics and claims coincides with the diversity seen throughout society.

Although the literal language being used by Magruder implies a tone of importance and urgency, he contrasts this tone throughout the article by writing in first person point of view. Magruder uses first person point of view when either introducing a topic or transitioning to the next phase of his analysis, meaning that although first person is being used in his article, it is scattered throughout. An example of first person being used by Magruder is when he says, “Here, I construct wage histograms to verify both that the minimum wage did distort the wage distribution, and that this minimum wage was sufficiently high to evoke credible demand responses” in the section titled Minimum Wages in Indonesia. Magruder’s use of first person point of view creates authority in his analysis and also makes the process he uses more clear to his audience. Magruder uses first person point of view in his article because he values the depth of his analysis, and the clarity that comes from his usage of first person point of view portrays an analysis that is methodical and well laid out.

Fairchild uses first person point of view as well. Interestingly enough, Fairchild’s usage of first person point of view is extremely similar, if not exact, to the usage of Magruder’s. The only time Fairchild uses first person point of view is in his introduction. After the introduction, Fairchild migrates to third person point of view and sticks with it for the rest of his article. Fairchild’s decision to move from first person point of view to third person point of view reminds us that although Fairchild is a sociologist and is using conversational language, he is conducting an analysis on the effects of minimum wage, just like Magruder.

Magruder’s deep organization style, ethical appeals, mathematical jargon, and literal language are all rhetorical strategies he uses that help us understand the mindset of an economist. His deep analysis on minimum wage data from 1990s Indonesia allows us to see how economists are narrowly focused in their analysis and also shows how much economists depend on economic models and theory. Fairchild’s broad organization style, familiar diction, conversational language, and broad approach are all rhetorical strategies that help us understand the mindset of a sociologist. Fairchild is able to connect and converse with other sociological scholars through his broad organization style and conversational language. Understanding the different rhetorical strategies used by Magruder and Fairchild allows us to realize that economists and sociologists relate to different groups of people in society, causing them to study and analyze different points of conflict that are present in society today. An economist’s narrowly focused analytical approach is incomplete without the breadth of a sociologist’s analysis, and although these two academic disciplines may contrast one another, one must take both viewpoints into consideration in order to gain a complete understanding of the topic at hand, especially an important one like minimum wage.

An economic cartoon attempting to show a possible negative effect of increasing minimum wage. 

Works Cited

Fairchild, Daniel. "Does the Minimum Wage Help the Poor?" Forum for Social Economics, 1 Jan. 2004. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.

Magruder, Jeremy. "Can Minimum Wages Cause a Big Push? Evidence from Indonesia." Journal of Development Economics, 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.

http://la.eater.com/2015/4/20/8458065/los-angeles-minimum-wage-tipping-tax-laws-restaurants

http://thealbanyproject.com/ny-states-tipped-minimum-wage-will-exceed-federal-minimum-for-non-tipped-workers/

http://politicaloutcast.com/2014/04/u-s-territories-congress-please-dont-help-us-anymore-minimum-wage-raises/#

http://www.aei.org/publication/by-far-the-two-best-cartoons-about-the-minimum-wage-ever/