The living wage calculator’s creator, Amy Glasmeier, a professor of economic geography and regional planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, agreed. “Higher wages induce employers to raise productivity.

We are about to face a labor shortage, given the aging Baby Boomer generation, a smaller Generation Z and reduced immigration,” she said.  Glasmeier noted that the minimum wage is based on a calculation that dates back to the 1960s and “the composition hasn’t changed since then.”

Many firms have already adopted the living wage as the benchmark, Glasmeier said. “The empirical evidence is mounting that paying a living wage is not only possible, but will have positive productivity spillover effects.”