What paying fast food workers a living wage would do to the price of a Big Mac
By Matthew Lyle • July 31, 2015
Richard Ghiselli, Head of the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Purdue University, used data from both the National Restaurant Association and Deloitte & Touche to estimate how much fast food companies would need to boost sales given varying changes in the minimum wage. Assuming the industry maintained its current profit margin of 6.3 percent, hiking the pay floor at fast food restaurants to $15 an hour would mean just a 4.3 percent increase in prices.