Archives: Grant

From economic growth to decent jobs and middle class prosperity? Post-1979 U.S. employment performance in international perspective

Labor market institutions differ substantially across developed nations, and the result is a fair amount of variation in the quality of jobs created. This research will shed light on how economic growth translates into high-quality jobs characterized by decent wages and stability, or, in simple terms “good jobs.” The research will provide a detailed exploration of the quantity and quality of American employment growth since 1979 by economic sector, occupation and demographic group. It will conduct similar in-depth work on two other wealthy, large, and diverse countries, Canada and France, as well as a cross-country analysis of approximately 25 countries aimed at the same objective. The research will facilitate more nuanced comparisons between policy progress in the United States versus that of other developed nations.

Inside monopsony: A mixed methods approach to understanding how labor standards shape employment practices in the restaurant industry

This research will look at how regional variations in labor market regulations influence the types of businesses that locate in those regions, and the employment practices of those businesses. The analysis will focus on San Francisco, which has relatively comprehensive locally enforced labor standards, and the North Carolina Research Triangle, which lacks strong labor standards. This research project seeks to understand how locally-enacted labor standards that aim to reduce inequality reshape the structure of work in low-wage industries, with a specific focus on the restaurant industry.

Schedule stability for hourly workers – Phase I of II

This research will investigate the interaction of business time-scheduling policies and changing family structures. Unpredictable work hours, more common among low-wage workers, may reduce worker productivity and thus economic growth. In conjunction with at least one corporate partner, the researchers will test the impact of effective scheduling systems on employees via a controlled intervention. They will divide workers into groups, with certain groups receiving greater control over their schedules, and then examine the resulting absenteeism and attrition rates for each group. The research will test the hypothesis that an improved work-life fit will lead to greater job satisfaction for hourly workers, who will in turn be less likely to leave their jobs when family obligations interfere with their schedule, and ultimately will result in enhanced economic security for these workers. At the same time, the research will explore whether employers who implement scheduling practices that improve work-life fit are able to retain experienced employees who are more productive than newly-hired employees.

Can reforms to public and private credit provisions bolster social insurance and promote more equitable growth?

Rising inequality has two implications for individuals’ ability to rebound from temporary setbacks and contribute to economic growth: poorer households don’t have savings to fall back on during temporary income losses, and richer households are able to self-insure and find social insurance programs less valuable. This research will investigate whether and how credit policies could help lower-income individuals better weather shocks and contribute to economic growth.

Inequality at home: The evolution of class-based gaps in young children’s home environments and pre-school age skills from 1986 to 2012

Researchers increasingly point out the importance of a child’s early years for the development of skills that will help them succeed later in life. Much of this scholarship focuses on the importance of cognitive skills, such as reading, but the development of non-cognitive skills, such as motivation and interpersonal skills, is also critical. These five researchers will look at how inequality across home environments affects the development of these non-cognitive skills. This channel could have major consequences for the life prospects of children, as economic inequality across families may be magnified for the next generation. Understanding these differences is vital to improving the prospects for disadvantaged children and the growth prospects for our economy.

The impact of need-based financial aid reform on the decision to attend college

Low-income students disproportionately attend for-profit colleges and universities where low graduation rates and high levels of student debt are common. This research will utilize administrative data to test whether new rules that require graduation and debt standards change matriculation at for-profit schools.

The American taxpayer project

This research will explore political support for different kinds of tax structures. Better understanding tax preferences is key to better understanding the range of possible tax policies and their contribution to inequality and growth.

Economic inequality and the stalled progress toward gender equality

Women’s participation in the formal economy increased for decades after the 1960s but stalled in the late 1990s. Researchers aren’t sure why this happened, but professors Cohen and Kleykamp propose one possible answer: rising inequality. As income inequality has increased, the pay-off to investing in children has increased as well, making it more attractive to have one parent stay at home—usually the mother. Rising work hours among women has had a large effect on economic growth. U.S. gross domestic product in 2012 would have been 11 percent lower if not for the rising working hours of women. If Cohen and Kleykamp’s hypothesis is right, then rising inequality has held back women’s entrance into the labor market and significantly slowed down American economic growth.