評論
打印
Their analysis relies on data from Yelp, a restaurant-review app favoured by millennials.
他們分析數據源于受千禧一代喜愛的餐廳點評APP Yelp。
The Lucas found that a restaurant has, on average, a one-in-250 chance of closing in any given month.
Lucas發現，平均而言，一家餐館有250分之一可能性會在任何一個月倒閉。
Whether or not the odds change when the minimum wage rises seems to depend on the quality of the eatery—or at least, on its Yelp rating.
當最低工資上漲時是否可能發生變化似乎取決于餐館的質量—至少取決于在Yelp的評級。
Restaurants with a coveted five-star score are barely affected; but less impressive joints are suddenly more likely to close.
擁有令人垂涎的五星成績的餐館幾乎沒有受到影響；但不那么令人印象深刻的聯合餐館突更可能然關閉。
Restaurants with a middling rating are about 14% more likely to shut down when the minimum wage goes up by a dollar. (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).
當最低工資上漲一美元時，中等等級的餐館大約有14%的可能倒閉。（作者還表示，評級與價格不同，換言之，一種極好而廉價的外賣比昂貴而無味的賣家更不用擔心）。
The result can be spun multiple ways.
結果由多種方式導致。
If those scholars who say that overall restaurant employment is unaffected by higher minimum wages are right, the implication of the new paper is that pay floors somehow force up the quality of restaurants.
如果那些認為餐館總體就業不受愈高最低工資影響的學者正確無誤，新研究就意味著保底工資水平會在某種程度上迫使餐館提高質量。
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.
只要一個最低工資的工人和另一個工人差不多，一個下崗的服務員就能在別處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: that higher minimum wages, by threatening the viability of some firms, dent employment opportunities for the low-skilled.
然而，如果這些學者是錯誤的，那么新的文件就支持了持懷疑態度的人一直在說的：調高的最低工資，通過威脅一些公司的生存能力，削弱了低技能就業機會的人。
That should be food for thought.
那這應該是發人深省的。
譯文來源考研英語時事閱讀
