One of this year's economics laureates in Alfred Nobel's memory, the labor market researcher David Card, is praised for his research on minimum wages, which challenged the prevailing view among economists that raising minimum wages provides fewer jobs.

- There is a side of economics that is more like religion than science.

There is a wide range of opinions among economists, much like in politics.

You start to dislike each other because you believe in different hypotheses.

Card explains the widening wage gaps in the labor market in recent decades with a steady influx of labor to low-wage jobs, on which not least tech companies in the so-called "gig economy" have recently been able to build their business model.

- It has been assumed that there is a lot of willing labor available.

This is what Uber is all about, and to some extent also Amazon, which provides good service for those with higher incomes.

Large income differences

But today, it has become difficult to get hold of people in the United States who are willing to return to low-wage jobs after the pandemic shutdown.

Card believes that this labor shortage is part of a long-term trend where an aging population is the basis for development, which also affects us in Europe.

- These companies will start competing with each other for labor.

Does that mean higher wages?

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"The pandemic was a gigantic, natural experiment" - Hear Alexander Norén about this year's economics award.

Photo: SVT / Storyblocks

- I think so.

Today they are very low.

The income differences are extremely large as they are now.

You can see more about "natural experiments" and the Economics Prize 2021 in the series Nobel Portraits on SVT Play.