Dr. Alberto Dávila, dean of the Donald L. Harrison College of Business at Southeast Missouri State University, recently co-published a new study with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) which examines the Hispanic-white wage gap among full-time workers. In the study, Dávila and and his wife Marie Mora, professor of economics at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, determined the Hispanic-white wage gap has remained wide and relatively steady. Dávila and Mora examined earnings gaps between 1979 and 2016, including how they are affected by gender, Hispanic national origin, education level, birthplace, immigrant status and generational status. (whole story)
Southeast Missouri State University | July 18, 2018
The article “Fight over Prop A revs up” (July 15), while discussing the conflicting claims regarding the economic impact of “right to work” laws and citing a 2011 paper by the Economic Policy Institute, fails to reference a more recent study by that organization that buttresses the conclusion that “right to work” would be bad for Missouri. This past month, the institute issued an analysis of the effects of “right to work” based on data from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This study concluded that “right to work” is associated with lower wages and a weakened middle class. (whole LTE)
St. Louis Post Dispatch | July 18, 2018
In a 2011 briefing paper for the Economic Policy Institute, authors Gordon Lafer and Sylvia Allegretto note that right-to-work states are concentrated in the South, where significant changes dating to the 1950s have altered the economy — including the advent of air conditioning, better roads, desegregation and “massive federal investments in these states’ education systems.” “Any one of these factors is more likely than right to work to account for the more rapid growth of manufacturing in Southern states,” the paper says. (2011 study cited throughout)
St. Louis Post Dispatch | July 17, 2018
Proposition A will drive down wages for Missouri families: If it passes, Proposition A will drive down wages for all Missourians. New research from the Economic Policy Institute shows that “right to work” laws like Proposition A are associated with lower wages and a weaker middle class. EPI found that wages were 3.1% lower in states with right to work laws like Proposition A. EPI’s Heidi Shierholz said, “If Missouri goes in the direction of right to work, we will see that the wages of workers, including those that are not in unions, will decline. Most middle-class workers spend their wages on things like food and clothes at local retailers.” The wage decline will harm businesses where middle-class workers shop.
AFL-CIO | July 17, 2018
Trump has responded to this reality with massive tariffs — something some progressive economists agree with, at least in principle. “Tariffs are sorely needed to retaliate for theft of intellectual property, state-owned enterprises, overcapacity, and other forms of unfair trade, including more than a decade of massive currency manipulation,” Robert Scott of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) told me. (Rob quoted throughout)
The Week | July 16, 2018
U.S. imports totaled $2.9 trillion last year and exports $2.35 trillion, leaving a trade deficit of $550 billion. But Robert E. Scott, senior economist and director of trade and manufacturing policy research at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., said the U.S. economy overall is $20 trillion and doesn’t expect the tariffs to “move the dial.” “Even if tariffs double or triple, it remains a small part of the economy,” Mr. Scott said.
The Mercury News | July 16, 2018
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonprofit think tank that researches “the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the United States,” according to its website, released a study this week that analyzed this legislation’s impact on workers. The study stated that, while the “unions are required to represent every employee covered by a union contract,” in states with Right to Work legislation “this, in practice, means providing expensive benefits to many workers who have not paid their fair share.” It also found that the average employee earned 3.1 percent less in hourly wages in Right to Work states than the average worker with similar characteristics in non-“Right to Work” states. (whole story)
The Mexico Ledger | July 13, 2018
If you feel like academic researchers waste time studying information that seems obvious, you’re not alone. For instance, a recent paper published on the website of the Economic Policy Institute concludes that whites continue to out-earn and have lower rates of unemployment than Hispanics. This has been the case for about four decades so will probably come as no surprise to anyone. Still, we can’t simply acknowledge these sad facts and move on. The details of the data tell a few stories that can guide us in shaping policy for the fastest-growing demographic segment of our workforce. (whole column)
Arizona Daily Star | July 13, 2018
According to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, which opposes right-to-work, the policy is not associated with job gains, but it is associated with wage losses.
The Kansas City Star | July 11, 2018
Through the deduction of unions, wages in right-to-work states decrease, a new report from the Economic Policy Institute found. The report also found the RTW laws do not increase job opportunities nor boost the economy. Janelle Jones and Heidi Shierholz from the Economic Policy Institute authored the report which focused on how RTW could impact Missouri by evaluating data from RTW and comparing that to data from non-RTW states. Then-Gov. Eric Greitens signed RTW into law, a concept he campaigned on, in February 2017. Labor unions and their supporters subsequently gathered the needed to signatures to put the issue to a statewide vote in 2018. In fact, they gathered nearly three times the number of needed signatures. (whole story)
The Missouri Times | July 11, 2018
U.S. News & World Report | July 10, 2018
The Economic Policy Institute and Professor of Economics at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Marie Mora and Professor and Dean of the Harrison College of Business at Southeast Missouri State University Alberto Dávila released today a report that looked at Hispanic–white wage gap among full-time workers, including how it is affected by gender, Hispanic subgroup, education level, birthplace, immigrant status, and generational status. The EPI an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the United States, said in a published press statement, that in 2017, Hispanic men working full-time made 14.9 percent less in hourly wages than comparable white men (an improvement from 17.8 percent in 2000), while Hispanic women made 33.1 percent less than comparable white men (a small improvement from 35.1 percent in 2000). This gap has remained wide and relatively steady since 2000, for Hispanic men and women overall and for most of the largest subgroups by national origin. (whole story)
The Scope Weekly | July 10, 2018
But the freakout over a worker shortage is premature, said Elise Gould, an economist with the liberal Economic Policy Institute. “What’s surprising is not that employers may have to start increasing wages now as the labor market keeps tightening, but rather that they haven’t felt that pressure yet, despite an unemployment rate hovering around 4.0 percent,” Gould said in a blog post on Friday. (Elise quoted throughout)
The Huffington Post | July 9, 2018
No evidence of a skills shortage. Some recent reports have suggested that businesses can’t find qualified workers at the wages they’re offering — but this report “did not have any evidence to back up those claims,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute. “Not only did payroll employment increase by 213,000 — evidence that employers are finding workers — but wage growth held steady at a disappointing 2.7 percent — evidence that employers are not having to raise wages to attract and retain workers.” “As the labor market tightens we should see more businesses raisings wages, offering training, and hiring workers from all corners of the labor market,” she added.
PBS Newshour | July 9, 2018
First, even though the expansion is long in the tooth (since 1990, the average expansion has lasted eight years), there are still groups of people who have been left behind. For example, mid-level wage growth isn’t quite what we would expect given all these labor shortages we keep hearing about. As economist Elise Gould points out, anecdotes of widespread labor shortages are contradicted by the lack of much wage acceleration. True, employers almost always complain about labor shortages, but if firms have been struggling to attract more workers, why aren’t they raising wages more quickly to draw more people into the labor force or away from their competitors?
The Washington Post | July 9, 2018
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta noted in a written statement that “Americans rejoining the workforce represented their largest share of the unemployed since before the recession.” The unemployment rate is “increasing for positive reasons as more workers entered the labor force,” Elise Gould, a senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, agreed in a written statement.
Politico Pro | July 9, 2018
Wages continued their modest rise, increasing 2.7 percent from the year before. “What’s surprising is not that employers may have to start increasing wages now as the labor market keeps tightening, but rather that they haven’t felt that pressure yet,” Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said in a blog post.
CBS Moneywatch | July 9, 2018
We turn to Elise Gould, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. “While an increase in the unemployment rate is generally considered to be a negative sign for the economy,” she said in a statement, “a rise accompanied by an increase in labor force entrants can be taken as an indication that more would-be workers are hopeful about their job prospects and have begun actively seeking work.” (Elise quoted throughout)
MultiBriefs | July 9, 2018
And even progressive economists like Josh Bivens aren’t sure whether a job guarantee is a good idea, mainly because they wonder whether the government can figure out how to manage large numbers of workers hired under the program and are uncertain about the cost. For what it’s worth, I’m pretty much with Bivens here, although I think he may be overstating the difficulties a bit; the goal of the jobs guarantee is laudable, but there are better ways to get there.
The New York Times | July 9, 2018
A federal jobs guarantee is more problematic, and a number of progressive economists with significant platforms have argued against it: Josh Bivens, Dean Baker, Larry Summers. (Yes, Larry Summers: whatever you think of his role in the Clinton and Obama administrations, he’s a daring, unconventional thinker when not in office, with a strongly progressive lean.) And I myself don’t think it’s the best way to deal with the problem of low pay and inadequate employment; like Bivens and his colleagues at EPI, I’d go for a more targeted set of policies.
The New York Times | July 9, 2018
Despite Wisconsin’s low unemployment rate, the economic insecurity that Mr. Walker and Mr. Trump exploited still exists. New research by David Cooper, an economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, has shown that much of Wisconsin’s job growth is in low-wage industries, which offer few, if any, benefits. “When you strip away their benefits and people see their standard of living shrinking, well, there’s anger there,” Mr. Schultz, the former state senator, told me.
The New York Times | July 9, 2018
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing employees to opt out of paying fees to the unions who represent them will impact public-sector unions across the country, potentially weakening their collective bargaining power. But the 5-4 ruling in the case, known as Janus v. AFSCME, could have an especially bad impact on African-American women, according to an analysis done by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). “The groups that most benefit from collective bargaining are those who are most vulnerable in the labor market,” says Economic Policy Institute Vice President John Schmitt. “The challenge for black women in the labor market is that they face double discrimination based on race and based on gender.” (John/EPI cited throughout)
Governing | July 9, 2018
Recent figures from the Economic Policy Institute reveal that, despite the state’s overall economic recovery, things are still tight for many residents in Southern California. A family of two adults and two children in L.A. County, for example, needs to earn $92,295 a year to meet all of its living expenses, according to the institute’s Family Budget Calculator. That far outstrips the county’s median family income of $66,203 per year.
The Orange County Register | July 9, 2018
Hispanic people now make up nearly 20% of the U.S. population, but compared to their white counterparts, they are still largely disadvantaged when it comes to wages. Since 2000, the wage gap between Hispanic workers and their peers has remained practically unchanged: Hispanic men working full time made 14.9% less in hourly wages in 2016 compared to white men (compared to 17.8% in 2000) and Hispanic women made 33.1% less than white counterparts (compared to 35.1% in 2000). The gap varies largely within the Hispanic community depending on a number of factors, Marie Mora, co-author on the study and professor of economics at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley said. (Marie quoted throughout)
MarketWatch | July 6, 2018
Richard Rothstein, a former New York Times national education writer and senior fellow emeritus at the Economic Policy Institute who wrote “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America,” has written extensively about why affirmative action based on race remains important, especially for African Americans. He takes issue with those who have supported “color-blind” affirmative action that relies on socioeconomics. In 2014, he wrote (and you can read the entire piece here):
The Washington Post | July 5, 2018
The promised economic boom never materialized in the other GOP-controlled states, either. According to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, Wisconsin’s economy under Governor Walker underperformed neighboring Minnesota’s “by virtually every available measure,” including jobs, wages, and economic growth. In a study of Wisconsin and Kansas, Oklahoma State University economics professors Dan Rickman and Hongbo Wang found that, “[r]ather than spur growth…the experiments in fiscal austerity harmed the state economies.” In a yet-to-be-published follow-up comparing states that cut taxes between 2011 and 2016 (Kansas, Wisconsin, Maine, and Ohio) with two that raised them (California and Minnesota), Rickman and Wang found that virtually all of the tax-cutting states saw things decline. Conversely, the economies of states that raised taxes either weren’t hurt or showed improvement.
The Nation | July 5, 2018
Moving usually isn’t cheap, and moving to a big city where the cost of living will trend higher can be intimidating. So, we’ve ranked Monster’s mid-year jobs report highlighting the top 10 hiring cities by cost of living. Monster’s list showcases which cities on its platform have the most job listings available; to give you an understanding of what it would actually be like to live there, we pulled figures from the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator. EPI’s calculator measures the income a family needs “in order to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living.” They calculate the cost of transportation, housing, food, “other necessities” (which include apparel, personal care, household supplies), and more. We pulled the numbers for a single person with no children — but you can fiddle with it to see what that might be for a two-family household, one parent and one child, and so on.
Refinery 29 | July 5, 2018
As of Sunday, minimum-wage workers in two states, the District of Columbia and 15 cities and counties were earning more due to scheduled increases passed through legislation or ballot measures. “As inflation has eaten away at the federal minimum wage’s value, many states, cities, and counties have stepped up to protect the workers in their jurisdictions,” David Cooper, senior economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), said in a statement. (Dave quoted throughout)
CBS Moneywatch | July 3, 2018
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reported that in Oregon, the minimum wage rose from $10.25 to $10.75, from $10.00 to $10.50 in rural areas and from $11.25 to $12.00 an hour inside the Portland Urban Growth Boundary. In Maryland, the minimum wage rose to $10.10, and in the District of Columbia, it rose to $13.25. Of the 15 cities and counties where wage increases went into effect this morning, 11 are in California. The city of Emeryville in the East Bay Area now has the highest minimum wage in the United States at $15.69 an hour for businesses with at least 56 employees. The state of Washington raised its state minimum wage to $11.50 an hour beginning January 1, 2018, and that remains the highest state-mandated rate in the country. (EPI cited throughout)
24/7 Wall St. | July 3, 2018
MINIMUM WAGE HIKES: The minimum wage increased in 18 states and localities on July 1, according to a handy compilation by the conservative Employment Policies Institute (not to be confused with the liberal Economic Policy Institute). Maryland saw the minimum wage rise to $10.10, up from $9.25; Oregon to $10.75, up from $10.25; and Washington, D.C., to $13.25, up from $12.50. Other notable increases included San Francisco (to $15 from $14); Los Angeles (to $13.25 from $12); Chicago (to $12 from $11); and Minneapolis (to $11.25 from $10). Read the full list here.
Politico | July 3, 2018
