As we approach this Labor Day, the Pennsylvania economy is growing steadily. Working families are sharing in prosperity in a more sustained way than at any point since 1980--although many families still struggle to make ends meet and, in our polarized nation, a big partisan divide exists in perceptions of whether the economy is better than four…

Community colleges have been hailed as a "cornerstone of American higher education", and act as an important access point to post-secondary education for a wide range of students, particularly socioeconomically disadvantaged students and underrepresented minorities. However, community colleges have also been criticized for poor…

Slow job growth and a labor market still short of full employment have resulted in stagnant wages and little growth in income in Pennsylvania. In order for the majority of Pennsylvania families to see real income growth in the years ahead the state will need a combination of faster job growth and economic policies that actively seek to raise wages…

How do changes in minimum wages affect community college enrollment and employment? In particular, among adults without associate's or bachelor's degrees who may earn near the minimum wage, do endowment effects of a higher minimum wage encourage school attendance? Among adults without associate's or bachelor's degrees who may earn near the minimum…

This article presents a comparative analysis of the determinants of early school leaving (ESL) at the country level. We decompose ESL rates into two components: a "primary" rate reflecting unqualified school leaving from initial education, and a second component accounting for early school leavers who participate in training programmes.…

This article argues that, although No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is not presented as a jobs policy, the Act does function as a substitute for the creation of decently paying jobs for those who need them. Aimed particularly at the minority poor like its 1965 predecessor, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, NCLB acts as an anti-poverty program…

Discusses the debate over whether lowering youth wages would materially help the young unemployed to find jobs. The author sets out some of the theoretical and factual background to the debate, and gives references to the few serious inquiries made in the last three or four years. (CT)

This hearing before the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources focuses on national goals for employment and poverty reduction. Testimony was heard from government officials, union representatives, economists, and other interested persons. Excerpts from articles and publications were submitted for review. The testimony included the following…

Although numbers might not tell the full story, they reveal important patterns of disadvantage among youths, and suggest the magnitude of youth unemployment. One way of dealing with the youth unemployment problem is to direct public policies and public expenditures toward areas in which the problem is most severe. (Author/EB)

The study finds that a 10 percent increase in the federal minimum wage (or the coverage rate) would reduce teenage (16-19) employment by about one percent, which is at the lower end of the range of estimates from previous studies. (Author/SSH)

In this piece, Jean Anyon argues that the definition of education policy should be expanded to include the consideration of economic policies. She asserts that the impact of economic policies, such as minimum wage laws, have large and often ignored impacts on the experiences of urban students. Anyon argues that even small annual salary…

Most economists agree that the difficulties of targeting minimum wage increases to low-income families make such increases ineffective tools for reducing poverty. This paper provides estimates of the impact of minimum wage increases on the poverty gap and the number of poor families, and shows which factors are barriers to decreasing poverty…

"Strategies for Closing the Poverty Gap" by Gertrude Goldberg and Carol Lopate, which makes up the contents of this issue of the IRCD Bulletin, critically reviews income maintenance schemes, social insurance and public assistance programs, family allowances, the negative income tax, and full employment proposals. Of these plans to end poverty the…

An important part of the strategies for reducing youth unemployment in Australia and the United States is to improve the education and training of young persons, especially those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. However, this approach fails to recognize that youth unemployment is also caused by the demographic bulge of youth entering the…

Families with incomes between the official poverty level and the minimum economic security level face many of the same material hardships and financial pressures that officially poor families face, partly because as their income grows, they lose eligibility for public benefits. This report focuses on the role that public policies play in…