John Locke Essay Winner on Minimum Wage

Shrey in Grade 12 was recently selected and rewarded as a finalist in the John Locke Essay Competition, in the Economics category. The competition has many participants from all around the world and is a very prestigious challenge where finalists are invited to take part in a gala dinner hosted by the John Locke Institute in Oxford, England. We got in touch with Shrey to find out more about the competition and his essay.

I'm eternally grateful to Ms Ammu for shaping me into the social-leaning economist I strive to become – Shrey, Grade 12

The work in the Economics category, and with the prompting question: ‘Should we abolish the minimum wage?’, has opened Shrey’s eyes to ways of thinking about economic policies. “It has sensitised me to the inequality facing us and the need for solutions, which might not be conducive to the free-market way of thinking”, says Shrey, whose interest in the difficulties to implement such policies drove him to carry out this type of research. “I've always been passionate about writing, especially thematic responses to real issues”, says Shrey, who is one of the MUN Prefects at TISB, and who was told about the John Locke Essay Competition by a senior student last year. 

While researching and preparing for the essay, Shrey scoured through numerous research journals and articles. “My biggest challenge was balancing empirical support and my own perspective”, says Shrey, who was captivated by the web of empirical and theoretical clashes. “Despite theory suggesting that a wage floor causes unemployment, it actually raised employment in several countries!”, says Shrey, whose conclusion in the essay is that, despite of difficulties of implementation and enforcement in some developing countries, minimum wage should not be abolished, but rather being used and increased.

Read the full essay here

Being selected as a finalist has been a very gratifying experience for Shrey, as it it confirms that he has formulated his opinions, using appropriate methods, perspectives and knowledge. “I'm grateful for this validation – and about sounding impressive at family dinners now”, says Shrey, who unfortunately will not be visiting the Oxford gala ceremony this Saturday, 4 September, but feels that the invitation was warming. 

Shrey sees the John Locke Essay Competition as something that many other students should look into and participate in next year: “The diverse topics surely cover something important to every individual, like the minimum wage is to me, and I challenge everybody to produce their best 2000 words at John Locke 2022”. As for his own plans, Shrey has developed an even deeper interest in economic policy by taking part in the essay competition and being designated a finalist. “Learning about such a crucial normative policy, I'm passionate about studying progressive policy at university – we need new thinking, new policy”, says Shrey.

The John Locke Institute was named in honour of the seventeenth century Oxford philosopher, John Locke. The Institute is an independent educational organisation that works to develop students to become more academically ambitious and adventurous with their intellects. The John Locke Essay Competition encourages young people to become great writers and invites students to explore a range of challenging and interesting questions.

To find out more about the John Locke Institute and how to take part in the John Locke Essay Competition, visit the John Locke website.