Why, in a magazine titled Regulation, should you read a review of an economist’s autobiography? In addition to the fact that it is a short, compelling read, Walter Williams’ autobiography speaks more eloquently than standard economic studies on the virtues of relatively little regulation in one area: the labor market.

When economists want to discuss the damage done by the minimum wage, for example, we tend to cite studies that show that an x percent increase in the minimum wage led to a y percent drop in the number of jobs held by youths. But another way to understand the damage is to view the experience of one particular person who was not bound by the minimum wage and to see the benefits he reaped. Williams’ book tells of how he was able to jump from job to job in the early years of the minimum wage when it was less constraining than it is now. In each job, he learned something that made him more productive and eventually led him to become a wealthy economist.

Child laborer | Williams tells his story well. His account begins in 1949, when he was only 13 and started what he calls his “first real job”: delivering hats and doing various odd jobs for a Philadelphia millinery factory called U‑Needa-Hat. His hourly wage, he recalls, was between 50 and 75 cents an hour. In that year, the minimum wage was 40 cents an hour and, on January 25, 1950—by which time Williams had presumably gained some skills—it rose to 75 cents an hour. He recalls fondly that when factory owner Jack Friedman or his wife “sent me to the Jewish delicatessen down the street to buy sandwiches, knishes, and pickles,” they would always buy some for him. Imagine what would have happened had the minimum wage risen to $1 an hour rather than 75 cents. It’s very likely that his employer would not have bought Williams that “free” food. An even worse outcome could have been that Williams, because of his relatively low productivity, would have lost his job.

Some days on the job, Williams would finish his work early. When he “was alone on the third floor,” he would try the higher-skilled work of operating the electric sewing machines to sew wire onto the hat forms. That self-taught skill gave him his first big break. One day during the rush season, two seamstresses failed to show up for work and the shop fell behind. Williams volunteered to sew wire onto the forms. The owner and his son let him try and were satisfied with his work. He earned more for those hours than for his usual job. From then on, he worked on the sewing machines at night after the seamstresses went home and on Sundays.

But even though regulation of the labor market was lighter then than now, there were, besides the minimum wage law, other labor market regulations. In particular, there was a law against child labor. One of Friedman’s employees, upset about the competition from this youngster, complained to the department of labor and Friedman reluctantly fired Williams.

The child labor laws didn’t stop Williams, though. He lists a number of jobs he had while still very young, most of which would be hard to enforce child labor laws against: caddying at a golf club, picking blueberries in New Jersey, peddling fruits and vegetables in North Philadelphia, shoveling snow from residential and business sidewalks, and collecting and returning bottles to claim the deposit. (While reading this list, I felt nostalgic. If you substitute “crab apples in Manitoba” for “blueberries in New Jersey,” I did four of the five jobs when I was about the same age.)

Finance and economics | These jobs surely built Williams’ productivity and work ethic. In high school, he worked as a busboy and dishwasher at restaurants, delivered mail over the Christmas holidays, and packed orders for shipment at the Sears, Roebuck mail-order department and at a small stock-brokerage firm. It was at this last job that Williams first heard about investing in stock and decided to buy shares in Pepsi. That, in turn, got him reading the financial pages regularly. Who knows how much effect that had on his decision to become an economist?

Williams, aware that his experience in these jobs helped him in later life, writes:

A supreme tragedy, in light of the great civil rights gains made by black people, is that the young kids who live in North Philadelphia today don’t have the work opportunities that I had. Early work experiences not only provide the pride and self-confidence that comes from financial semi-independence, but also teach youngsters attitudes and habits that will make them more valuable and successful workers in the future. That is especially important for young people who attend rotten schools and live in fatherless homes. If they’re going to learn anything that will make them valuable workers, it will have to come through on-the-job training.

Possibly, it was these experiences that led Williams, as a doctoral student in economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, to pay particular attention to the harm done by the minimum wage law. Williams had previously believed that “higher minimum wages were the way to help poor people, particularly poor black people.” But his mentor, Armen Alchian (who also taught me economics), recommended that he read studies by University of Chicago economist Yale Brozen and others about how minimum wage laws dried up job opportunities for unskilled workers. Later, in the 1970s, while at the Hoover Institution, Williams began a study on unemployment of youths and minorities, a study commissioned by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC). He highlighted the role of the minimum wage and the Davis-Bacon Act.

At first, the JEC sat on his report, but after he complained to Senators Samuel Hayakawa (R, Calif.) and Orrin Hatch (R, Utah), the JEC published it. This study, in fact, helped create Williams’ reputation as a free-market critic of government regulation.

There is much more in the book besides this story of minimum wages. Williams details his outspoken opposition, while a draftee in the U.S. Army, to racial segregation. He tells of a vicious attack on Thomas Sowell by Washington Post columnist Carl Rowan. The interesting thing about this attack as it relates to Williams is that George Jordan of the Cleveland Plain Dealer plagiarized the Rowan attack to go after Williams.

There are many other interesting and enlightening stories, many told with great humor. Whether you know Williams or not, you can appreciate his wit. As one who knows, admires, and enjoys Williams, I can say, “Thank goodness the minimum wage wasn’t higher.”