Issue Areas
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth is engaged in an array of issues to advance evidence-based ideas and policies that promote strong, stable, and broad-based economic growth.
973 Results
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, one year later: Parsing the evidence on the law’s consequences so far (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jun 30, 2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law one year ago on July 4, 2025, shifted trillions of dollars in income from working-class families to corporations and very wealthy…
ASSA 2026 Round-up: Day 3 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 6, 2026
Yesterday was the third and final day of the 2026 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held…
ASSA 2026 Round-up: Day 2 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 5, 2026
Yesterday was the second day of the 2026 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held in Philadelphia…
ASSA 2026 Round-up: Day 1 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 4, 2026
Yesterday was the first day of the 2026 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held in Philadelphia…
Accounting for capital gains in income significantly increases U.S. inequality (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 15, 2025
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth’s recently launched U.S. Inequality Tracker uses data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis to show how income and wealth inequality have evolved in…
Equitable Growth responds to passage of the federal budget bill (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 7, 2025
On Friday, President Donald Trump signed the 2025 federal budget bill, cementing into law the most regressive piece of tax and budget legislation to be passed in the United States…
Business owners often use their firms as tax shelters, reducing government revenue and reported income inequality (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 22, 2025
Picture this scene: After sharing a meal with friends, someone in the group grabs the check and says, “I’ll take this so I can expense it through my company.” It…
The political implications of bad jobs and the decline of unions (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 13, 2025
Bad jobs have become a distinctive feature of the U.S. economy over the past few decades. Globally, a lack of adequate demand, or what economists call “secular stagnation,” has meant…
Federal and state governments can help solve the employment problems of people in distressed places to spur equitable growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 13, 2025
Places in the United States differ greatly in their residents’ access to jobs, including access to good jobs. In economically distressed places, these job problems can be addressed by creating…
More accurately measuring economic sentiment will help build a U.S. economy—and democracy—that works for all (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 13, 2025
When politicians and members of the media discuss the state of “the economy” in the United States, they often use a small handful of data points. Of all the indicators…
Understanding the role of immigration and economic factors in boosting support for far-right political parties (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 13, 2025
Far-right and right-wing populist political parties differ in many respects, but nearly all share one common thread: strong opposition to immigration. These parties often push for stricter border controls and,…
America’s job-quality crisis and how to revive workers’ pay, dignity, job advancement, and economic well-being (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 13, 2025
The poor quality of jobs in the United States is a slow-burning crisis that has been underway for many decades and has eroded many workers’ quality of life. Too many…
How the China trade shock impacted U.S. manufacturing workers and labor markets, and the consequences for U.S. politics (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 13, 2025
In the early 2000s, manufacturing-intensive communities in the United States entered a period of economic upheaval that would reshape their labor markets over the next two decades. China’s dramatic rise…
Housing insecurity and U.S. economic policies: Lessons from tenant organizing (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 13, 2025
The destructive force of authoritarian power has become a prominent feature of U.S. political life. In just the first few months of 2025, we’ve seen unprecedented moves to use the…
Countering right-wing populism: Identifying its cultural roots and charting a path forward (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 13, 2025
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election set off an animated debate among Democrats over what went wrong with their policymaking, messaging, and campaigning. Specifically, Democrats puzzled over…
How the economic and political geography of the United States fuels right-wing populism—and what the Democratic Party can do about it (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 13, 2025
In wealthy nations around the world, the rise of the knowledge economy has increased political and economic divides that fuel right-wing populism. These divides generally have a strong geographic dimension,…
Tariffs pose real risks to the U.S. labor market (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 12, 2025
Uncertainty around trade policy makes it difficult to discuss the current state of the U.S. labor market. Businesses, workers, and policymakers at all levels make decisions based on both what…
Testimony by Michael Linden before the House Budget Committee (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 8, 2025
Chairman Arrington, Ranking Member Boyle, members of this committee, thank you for the opportunity to be here. Today, I’d like to make three main points. First, the main culprit responsible…
Advancing economic research on the Inflation Reduction Act: Q&A with Susan Helper (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 1, 2025
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is the most significant economic and clean energy jobs program the United States has ever initiated. To improve overall understanding of whether the new…
Evaluating the Inflation Reduction Act: Job quality, spillovers, and place-based policymaking (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 16, 2025
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is the most significant economic and clean energy jobs program the United States has ever initiated. To improve overall understanding of whether the new…
Improving economic outcomes for single mothers and their children across the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 16, 2025
Single-mother households are becoming more and more common in the United States. Over the past 50 years, the number of children raised by single mothers has more than doubled. It…
“Econ 101” briefing on taxing multinationals brings Hill staffers up to speed on U.S. role in coordinating global crack-down on tax avoidance (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 3, 2025
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth last week hosted a briefing for Capitol Hill staffers on multinational corporate tax trends and policies—another in our “Econ 101” series for Hill staffers.…
Analogies for AI policymaking (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 27, 2025
As a suite of technologies under the label of artificial intelligence increasingly take center stage, policymakers recognize the need to develop deep technical expertise about the deployment of evolving technologies…
What makes a job ‘good’? How U.S. labor market data can provide insight to improve workers’ economic conditions (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 26, 2025
Since the Great Recession of 2007–2009, a great deal of U.S. economic policymaking has been dedicated to creating jobs. The tools used to do so vary widely, from awarding grants…
Do not abandon the care agenda (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 19, 2025
This column, co-authored by Equitable Growth President and CEO Shayna Strom and former Deputy Director of the White House Gender Policy Council Shilpa Phadke, first appeared in Democracy Journal in…
Equitable Growth hosts Hill briefing on proliferation and taxation of U.S. pass-through businesses (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 13, 2025
On March 7, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth hosted a briefing—part of a series we call “Econ 101”—for Hill staffers curious about the proliferation of pass-through businesses and how…
The U.S. House of Representatives’ budget resolution threatens social infrastructure programs, putting families’ well-being at risk (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 10, 2025
In late February, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget resolution that calls for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in federal spending cuts. This resolution provides…
Tackling AI, taxation, and the fair distribution of AI’s benefits (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 5, 2025
Artificial intelligence poses significant challenges to income growth, inequality, and meaningful work. At the same time, AI has geopolitical significance, with many national and supranational governments shying away from intervening…
New research finds capital gains are highly concentrated and hardly taxed, underscoring widespread U.S. inequality (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 26, 2025
For two decades, booming stock, housing, and private business markets have driven large capital gains in the United States. Real capital gains, which are the inflation-adjusted appreciation of a financial…
Boosting U.S. worker power and voice in the AI-enabled workplace (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 19, 2025
The deployment of Artificial Intelligence in the workplace has grown rapidly in the United States. Labor unions have been at the forefront of efforts to encourage more productive and sustainable…
As the U.S. labor market stabilizes, is nominal wage growth now too hot? (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 13, 2025
After the tumultuous swings of the early COVID-19 pandemic period and years of normalization since then, economic data from the past several months suggest that the U.S. labor market may…
Testimony by Michael Linden House Oversight Subcommittee on Healthcare and Financial Services (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 11, 2025
Chairman Grothman, Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi, and members of the Committee – thank you for the opportunity to be here. Today, I’d like to make three main points. First, federal investments…
Understanding market concentration in the AI supply chain (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 28, 2025
Artificial intelligence is more than just the applications we use, such as chatbots and predictive algorithms. Beneath the surface of AI lies a technology stack that is increasingly concentrated at…
ASSA 2025 Round-up: Day 3 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 6, 2025
Yesterday was the third and final day of the 2025 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held…
ASSA 2025 Round-up: Day 2 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 5, 2025
Yesterday was the second day of the 2025 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held in San…
ASSA 2025 Round-up: Day 1 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 4, 2025
Yesterday was the first day of the 2025 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held in San…
New U.S. Treasury Department research shows that it pays to be an S corporation (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 16, 2024
Businesses that are organized as so-called pass-through entities for tax purposes—meaning their profits show up on the owners’ personal tax returns rather than on an entity-based tax return—pay a lower…
Recent research shows how paid leave impacts women’s employment and financial security in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 13, 2024
During the first several months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government ensured that all U.S. workers had access to at least 2 weeks of paid sick leave and up…
New research highlights the impact of COVID-era unconditional cash benefits for U.S. workers and families (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 10, 2024
The breadth of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in sweeping, albeit temporary, changes to income support programs and tax policies in the United States. These changes include…
Addressing pervasive tax evasion by cryptocurrency users (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 21, 2024
The price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies reached record highs last week, buoyed by the U.S. election of Donald Trump, who is seen as friendly to this novel asset class,…
The U.S. labor market keeps beating projections (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 5, 2024
No single economic indicator fully describes the state of the U.S. labor market. Yet a range of commonly used measures, from the unemployment rate and the prime-age employment-population ratio to…
Changing earnings requirements for Unemployment Insurance could improve access and better support U.S. workers (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 24, 2024
Temporary changes to the Unemployment Insurance program played an enormous role in the U.S. policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting sharp-but-short recession in 2020. Typically, Unemployment Insurance replaces…
Equitable Growth virtual event details how tax policies affect U.S. economic growth and could combat income and wealth inequality (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 23, 2024
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth recently held the second in a two-part event series on tax policies for congressional staffers interested in learning more about using persuasive, evidence-backed arguments…
Equitable Growth renews collective bargaining agreement with Nonprofit Professional Employees Union (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 7, 2024
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth has renewed its 3-year collective bargaining agreement with the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union IFPTE Local 70. The agreement, which was signed on August 23,…
End Ineffective Business Tax Breaks Before Creating New Ones (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 7, 2024
(This opinion piece first appeared in Tax Notes Federal on September 23, 2024.) Vice President Kamala Harris recently proposed an expanded tax benefit for start-up businesses, aimed at helping fledgling…
Equitable Growth’s ‘Econ 101’ offered congressional staffers a rundown of the contours of U.S. tax policy (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 2, 2024
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth recently hosted a congressional briefing—part of a series we call “Econ 101”—for Hill staffers interested in learning more about the ins and outs of…
New data show significant changes in racial and class mobility gaps in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 19, 2024
Past research shows that differences in intergenerational mobility between Black and White Americans have persisted since the 1880s. Current racial economic mobility gaps are rooted in historical discriminatory policies, such…
The unequal impact of the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening and easing on firms in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 16, 2024
The easing of inflation in the U.S. economy beginning in 2022 and recent signs of weakness in the U.S. labor market over the past several quarters have led households and…
The upcoming U.S. election’s most important policy effects are under the radar (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 3, 2024
Although the old maxim that Labor Day marks the true beginning of U.S. presidential campaigns may no longer hold, the end of summer and beginning of fall remain a period…
Will labor’s surging popularity result in new union members in the United States? (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 29, 2024
Mass strikes across U.S. industries, successful organizing drives in multiple sectors of the economy, and a U.S. president who declares himself proud to be labeled “the most pro-union president in…
Early career scholars to receive Equitable Growth funding to study economic inequality (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 28, 2024
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth today announced a new slate of grantees. These 10 scholars responded to a Request for Proposals specifically targeted at those early in their careers…
Equitable Growth invests in new research to better understand the effects of the fiscal response to the COVID-19 recession (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 28, 2024
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth today announced a new cohort of grantees in response to a Request for Proposals on the effectiveness of the fiscal response to the COVID-19…
New economic analyses of the 2017 Trump tax cuts find mixed effects that policymakers should consider when those tax cuts expire in 2025 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 22, 2024
Former President Donald Trump’s hallmark economic policy was a swathe of tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations in 2017. His Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA, supercharged…
New labor market data suggest that U.S. wage growth may be cooling too much (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 6, 2024
After increasing rapidly over the course of 2021, nominal wage growth (before accounting for inflation) in the United States has been trending down consistently across measures since early- to mid-2022.…
New federal heat standard will protect U.S. workers from the ill effects of high temperatures amid intensifying climate change (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 1, 2024
U.S. workers are more vulnerable than ever to the ill effects of high and rising temperatures as the world continues to shatter heat records this year. Climate-related deaths and injuries…
New federal heat standard offers novel distributional analysis to determine which workers benefit and how (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 16, 2024
The U.S. Department of Labor recently released a much-anticipated proposed rule that promises to protect workers from on-the-job injuries and deaths that result from toiling in the heat. The timing…
The new Labor Department overtime rule is a win for workers—and good policy, too (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 8, 2024
On July 1, the first step of the U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime rule went into effect, meaning about 1 million salaried, white-collar workers currently exempt from overtime began…
On Juneteenth: New research demonstrates how economic mobility is restricted for Black Americans (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jun 18, 2024
On June 19, 1865, emancipation was officially declared in the state of Texas, more than two full years after the Emancipation Proclamation and more than two full months after the…
Equitable Growth receives funding to advance women’s power, gender equality, and care economy (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 28, 2024
Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal funds organization as part of $1 billion global commitment The Washington Center for Equitable Growth announced today that it has received funding from Pivotal as part…
What is going on with wage growth in the United States? (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 16, 2024
Fast wage growth is a key feature of a strong labor market. U.S. workers, and low-wage workers in particular, experienced exceptional wage growth over the past couple of years, which…
Equitable Growth delivers letter on proposed IRS rule to expand data sharing with the U.S. Department of Commerce (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 15, 2024
On April 29, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth delivered a comment letter responding to a proposed rule from the Internal Revenue Service that would expand the amount of administrative…
U.S. workers, generative AI, and the future of work (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 9, 2024
The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 captured the world’s attention and illustrated the potential of generative Artificial Intelligence to instantly perform tasks long considered quintessentially “human.” Already, the technology…
Structural changes in the U.S. economy highlight anew the gray areas of continued racial bias and discrimination in American workplaces (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 8, 2024
Four years after George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis by three city police officers and the Black Lives Matter movement led large-scale protests across the country, workplaces across the U.S.…
New workplace surveillance bill would protect U.S. workers and address new technological risks (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 2, 2024
Across the U.S. economy, the risks posed by unchecked automated surveillance and management technologies are widespread—and growing. These technologies can sometimes be beneficial for workers, customers, and businesses alike. For…
New recommendations for an integrated system of U.S. inequality statistics chart a bold path forward (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 23, 2024
A new report from the National Academy of Science’s Committee on National Statistics is packed with recommendations for building an integrated system of national statistics that can provide accurate and…
An Unemployment Insurance modernization bill now before the U.S. Senate is a much-needed step in the right direction (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 9, 2024
The nearly 90-year-old federal-state Unemployment Insurance program provides much-needed relief to unemployed workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own and helps to stabilize the U.S. economy…
Enhanced Child Tax Credit helped U.S. families afford life-enhancing necessities and cope with inflation (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 2, 2024
Amid ongoing congressional debate over expanding the Child Tax Credit for U.S. families, it’s important to understand why the fears about the expansion of that tax credit in 2021 were…
Testimony by Michael Linden before the Joint Economic Committee (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 12, 2024
Chair Heinrich, Vice Chair Schweikert, Members of the Committee, thank you so much for extending me the opportunity to testify before you today. My testimony will broadly cover three important…
Equitable Growth hosts State of the Union press briefing with leading U.S. economists (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 7, 2024
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth last week hosted an online press briefing in prelude to tonight’s State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress by President Joe Biden.…
The state of the U.S. labor market 4 years after the start of the COVID-19 recession (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 5, 2024
Over the past 4 years, the U.S. economy—in particular the U.S. labor market—weathered some incredible shocks and fluctuations. From the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain breakdowns to global energy shocks…
Ahead of President Biden’s State of the Union address, the U.S. economy is strong (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 21, 2024
On March 7, President Joe Biden will deliver the 2024 State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress and the American public, in which he will tout his economic…
Equitable Growth’s recent ‘Econ 101’ assessed the state of the U.S. economy and recovery for Capitol Hill staff (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 13, 2024
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth hosted a briefing last week—part of a series we call “Econ 101”—presenting insight on the state of the U.S. economy and how the current…
New Circular A-4 offers opportunities for researchers interested in disaggregating the costs and benefits of U.S. regulations (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 1, 2024
This column is adapted from remarks I made at the Allied Social Sciences Associations 2024 annual meeting, held earlier this year in San Antonio, Texas, as part of a panel…
The impacts of increasing U.S. hospital consolidation on Medicaid recipients (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 25, 2024
The U.S. healthcare sector is a consequential part of the overall economy. As of 2021, U.S. healthcare expenditures alone would rank third among the world’s largest economies in terms of…
Statement on the passing of Nobel laureate Robert Solow (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 11, 2024
A founding member of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth’s Steering Committee, Solow was also a longtime partner and advisor to the organization Robert Solow, the Nobel laureate and longtime…
Doubling down on cuts to the IRS is bad for the federal budget and for tax fairness in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 9, 2024
The U.S. Congress recently announced a bipartisan budget deal for fiscal year 2024 appropriations for the U.S. federal government. The budget is largely consistent with the framework agreed to in…
ASSA 2024 Round-up: Day 3 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 8, 2024
Yesterday was the third and final day of the 2024 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held…
ASSA 2024 Round-up: Day 2 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 7, 2024
Yesterday was the second day of the 2024 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held in person…
ASSA 2024 Round-up: Day 1 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 6, 2024
Yesterday was the first day of the 2024 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held in person…
Six years later, more evidence shows the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act benefits U.S. business owners and executives, not average workers (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 20, 2023
When policymakers were debating the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, many proponents claimed that average U.S. workers would benefit via wage increases. These adherents of trickle-down economic theory…
What the research says about the impacts of hospital consolidation across the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 6, 2023
When patients in the United States rely on hospitals for care, they are often at their most vulnerable, such as during acute illnesses, when suffering major injuries, or while giving…
New evidence shows that limiting a tax break for highly leveraged firms doesn’t hurt the U.S. economy (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 21, 2023
Does increasing taxes on businesses reduce private-sector investment? Most economists agree that investment in new projects and technologies is a key driver of economic growth. While the tax code plays…
Sameera Fazili and Mary Beth Maxwell join Equitable Growth’s Board of Directors (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 15, 2023
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth today announced the addition of two new members to its board of directors: Sameera Fazili, former deputy assistant to the president and deputy director…
New evidence suggests that receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program facilitates work in the long run (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 13, 2023
One of today’s most heated debates around U.S. income support programs is about work requirements. From the removal of work requirements through the 2021 enhancements to the Child Tax Credit…
What the minimum wage can tell us about the future of the U.S. child care system (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 1, 2023
The U.S. child care market is plagued by a math problem. Families in the United States are stretched thin, dedicating substantial portions of their household budgets to child care expenses.…
What recent research says about the benefits of labor strikes and growing worker power for broader U.S. economic growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 25, 2023
Labor organizing and strikes are experiencing a resurgence in the United States. Before this year’s bevy of labor actions—including Hollywood strikes, autoworker walk-outs, healthcare labor stoppages, and more—2022 and 2021…
Employment scarring research suggests benefits for aggressive U.S. fiscal policy in response to recessions (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 19, 2023
It can be difficult for the federal government to get its fiscal response to an economic downturn just right. Too much fiscal stimulus can create excess fiscal demand and inflation,…
New research finds $15 minimum wages raise pay and increase employment for low-wage workers (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 16, 2023
Increasing the minimum wage has repeatedly been shown to raise the pay of low-wage workers and improve the overall economy. While the federal minimum wage remains at its 2009 level…
Strong unions push firms to reduce riskier debt, lowering risks of unemployment for U.S. workers (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 27, 2023
Unionization efforts and labor organizing are increasingly ubiquitous in the United States. Indeed, July 2023 was one of the busiest months for strikes in 30 years, following two years of…
Testimony by Shayna Strom before the Senate Budget Committee (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 20, 2023
Chairman Whitehouse, Ranking Member Grassley, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I am the President and CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable…
U.S. labor market concentration, competition, and worker bargaining power as employment trends shift from manufacturing to services (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 6, 2023
Labor market concentration and competition in the United States has received renewed and well-deserved attention over the past several years. Competitive labor markets are critical engines of economic growth, worker…
Equitable Growth announces new round of grantmaking exploring the connection between policy and economic growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 31, 2023
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth today announced its 2023 cohort of grantees, an impressive group of researchers from across academic disciplines who are studying how inequality affects economic growth…
Latino homeownership: Confronting home appraisal bias to create a more equitable and more sustainable U.S. economic trajectory (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 10, 2023
Homeownership is part of the American Dream and a pathway to build wealth for many people in the United States. Homeownership allows families to plant roots, build equity, and secure…
The effects of the expanded Child Tax Credit on low-income families in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 2, 2023
Childhood poverty is a stubborn problem in the United States. About 11 million U.S. children lived in poverty prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for nearly one-third of the impoverished…
Short-term effects of the expanded Child Tax Credit on U.S. labor force participation amid the COVID-19 pandemic (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 26, 2023
There is a common politicized thread to arguments against expanding the federal antipoverty Child Tax Credit program permanently and to the justifications that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court…
New research shows that differences in state Unemployment Insurance rules cause inequity and inefficiency (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 19, 2023
The Unemployment Insurance system in the United States aims to provide temporary and partial wage replacement for workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own. In helping unemployed…
Algorithmic wage discrimination requires policy solutions that enforce predictability and the U.S. spirit of equal pay for equal work (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 12, 2023
U.S. consumers generally believe that gig workers who labor for companies such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. are free to set their own hours and thus able to…
GDP 2.0: Measuring who prospers when the U.S. economy grows (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 11, 2023
This post was updated on July 11, 2023. Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, is the constant go-to economic indicator that news anchors and U.S. Members of Congress alike love to…
New data and analysis suggest private equity takeovers of U.S. medical practices cause anticompetitive harms to patients, insurers, and employers in local markets (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 10, 2023
The linked resources and the PDF for this piece were updated on February 20, 2024. Private equity firms are deeply engaged in buying up and consolidating medical practices across the…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: June 2023 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 7, 2023
On July 7th, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of June. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
JOLTS Day Graphs: May 2023 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 6, 2023
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Ahead of the June Jobs Day report, here is what the past three months of employment data say about the health of the U.S. labor market (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 6, 2023
The U.S. economy is now flush with many more jobs than prior to the onset of the COVID-19 recession in early 2020, and employment growth in the country continues to…
The historical lessons from the U.S. General Property Tax (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 5, 2023
In the early 19th century, a new type of property tax system emerged in the United States, distinguishing itself from its European counterparts by encompassing all forms of property. This…
LGBTQ+ Black Pride: More than a celebration (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jun 22, 2023
This column is the fifth in our series of pieces by guest authors examining systemic racial, ethnic, and gender inequities in the U.S. economy and in access to government social…
Paid sick leave means dads can spend more time caring for loved ones and less time worrying about missing work (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jun 15, 2023
The economic story of the United States in the post-WWII era is arguably the dramatic surge in women’s labor force participation. The increases in hours worked and income generated by…
What monetary and fiscal policy can tell us about the U.S. recovery from the COVID-19 recession (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jun 14, 2023
The Federal Reserve is at the center of the main story in the U.S. economy, and not just because there’s actual ambiguity around this week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting.…
Wealth as a driver of income and consumption mobility in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jun 7, 2023
When most Americans think about how economic well-being transfers from parents to children, they will likely think about income, consumption, and wealth. After all, parents’ ability to provide for and…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: May 2023 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jun 2, 2023
On June 2nd, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of May. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
JOLTS Day Graphs: April 2023 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 31, 2023
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Food assistance can disrupt intergenerational poverty in the United States, promoting racial economic equity (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 30, 2023
The post-COVID-19 economy is a strange beast. Unemployment rates are at historic lows, but inflation—despite some cooling—remains high. Many parents continue to struggle with child care and their children’s schooling,…
The rise of industrial policy means data synchronization is more critical than ever (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 12, 2023
Industrial policy is the hot new trend in D.C. policymaking circles, a Biden administration promise to radically transform the economy that is pouring federal dollars into green energy, infrastructure, and…
Equitable Growth grantee Gabriel Zucman awarded the 2023 John Bates Clark Medal (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 9, 2023
Earlier this month, associate professor of public policy and economics Gabriel Zucman at the University of California, Berkeley—and a Washington Center for Equitable Growth 2018 grantee—won the 2023 John Bates…
Child care prices, inflation, and the end of federal pandemic-era aid in five charts (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 8, 2023
For much of the COVID-19 recession of 2020 and subsequent economic recovery, the child care sector was spared the accelerating inflation that impacted other areas of the U.S. economy. As…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: April 2023 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 5, 2023
On May 5, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of April. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
JOLTS Day Graphs: March 2023 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 2, 2023
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Equitable Growth delivers comment letter responding to the Federal Trade Commission’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Non-Compete Clauses (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 20, 2023
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth this week delivered a comment letter responding to the Federal Trade Commission’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Non-Compete Clauses. In our comment letter,…
Police in public schools harm students, leading to far-reaching socioeconomic inequalities alongside less safe schools (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 19, 2023
This column is the third in a series by guest authors examining systemic racial, ethnic, and gender inequities in the U.S. economy and in access to government social infrastructure and…
Employers can alleviate the U.S. child care crisis, but they cannot be the primary solution (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 13, 2023
The U.S. Department of Commerce last month announced new requirements for semiconductor manufacturers seeking funding under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022—a key component of the Biden Administration’s industrial…
Seven ways the inflation debate in the United States has changed since last year and how the Fed can now recalibrate its monetary policy (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 12, 2023
Inflation in the United States today is considerably cooler than at its peak in the first half of 2022, but it will remain at the center of the economic policy…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: March 2023 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 7, 2023
On April 7, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of March. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
Why measuring inflation is surprisingly challenging (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 5, 2023
In spite of recent bank turmoil in the United States and abroad, reining in inflation remains very much at the top of the macroeconomic agenda for policymakers in advanced economies…
JOLTS Day Graphs: February 2023 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 4, 2023
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Executive actions to strengthen unions and increase worker power in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 3, 2023
Relevant federal agencies: U.S. Department of Labor White House Relevant federal laws: The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. § 203) National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Public…
Summary of Equitable Growth’s March ‘Econ 101’ briefing on inflation for Capitol Hill staffers (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 23, 2023
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth hosted a briefing earlier this month—part of a series we call “Econ 101”—presenting the key points on inflation to congressional staffers in both the…
Executive actions to modernize federal data collection and improve measurements of U.S. economic inequality (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 22, 2023
Relevant federal agencies U.S. Census Bureau U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor Relevant federal laws Internal Revenue Code…
Executive actions to reduce inequality and improve job quality for U.S. workers (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 16, 2023
Relevant federal agencies: Federal Trade Commission Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office of Personnel Management Relevant laws: Federal Trade Commission’s Trade Regulation Rule on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security, Commercial Surveillance…
Inflation, Federal Reserve policymaking, and liquidity traps (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 14, 2023
The Federal Reserve is fighting inflation, but more importantly, the Fed wants everyone to know that it is fighting inflationary expectations. This means, in the short term, that with inflation…
Major federal ‘Big Tech’ antitrust case against Google will test the strength of current U.S. antitrust laws in new digital markets (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 13, 2023
A high-profile antitrust enforcement action taken in January by the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice against Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit—one of the largest technology companies in the…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: February 2023 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 10, 2023
On March 10, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of February. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
The importance of the American Rescue Plan for U.S. workers and families on the law’s second anniversary, in 8 charts (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 10, 2023
Tomorrow marks 2 years since the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law. One year after the COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020 triggered enormous employment losses and…
JOLTS Day Graphs: January 2023 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 8, 2023
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Equitable Growth delivers letter responding to the NTIA’s Privacy, Equity, and Civil Rights Request for Comment (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 6, 2023
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth this week delivered a comment letter responding to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Privacy, Equity, and Civil Rights Request for Comment. Our comment…
Access to paid family leave improves U.S. women’s labor market outcomes following a spouse’s health shock (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 6, 2023
Women now make up almost half of the U.S. labor force, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, and families are increasingly reliant on women’s earnings. Despite their growing labor…
Examining the history of the U.S. racial wealth divide shows stagnating progress on closing these disparities (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 24, 2023
A central part of Black History Month is highlighting the accomplishments and contributions of Black Americans to U.S. society, culture, and the economy, often in the face of incredible barriers.…
Fair competition in the U.S. labor market is threatened by more than the noncompete clauses targeted by new Federal Trade Commission rule (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 23, 2023
When a worker gets a new job, it is normally a cause for celebration and not litigation. Yet noncompetition clauses in employment agreements, and a veil of other threats buried…
Executive actions to strengthen U.S. income support programs and support research about them (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 22, 2023
Relevant federal agencies: U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Department of Agriculture Relevant federal laws: The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-334) Social Security Act of 1935 (P.L. 74-271) Advisory…
Climate policy has potential to spur economic growth and ensure a competitive U.S. economy (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 9, 2023
Addressing climate change is a crucial—and sizeable—economic task. Ensuring equity in every dimension of climate mitigation and adaptation is critical to redressing ongoing harms and environmental injustices. Tracking the implementation…
Executive actions to leverage federal agencies to improve child care in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 8, 2023
Relevant federal agencies: U.S. Census Bureau U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The White House White House Council of Economic Advisers Relevant federal laws: Child Care Development Block Grant…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: January 2023 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 3, 2023
On February 3, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of January. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
JOLTS Day Graphs: December 2022 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 1, 2023
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Automated and algorithmic management is already here, invisibly shaping job quality for U.S. workers (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 24, 2023
Predictions about which jobs may be “lost” in the United States as employers implement new automation and algorithmic technologies often consider management tasks and roles as the least vulnerable to…
A future-oriented approach to wealth offers new possibilities for wealth creation in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 19, 2023
Wealth inequality in the United States has grown significantly over the past five decades, with the overall share of wealth becoming more concentrated among the highest-income families. A lot of…
U.S. income and wealth inequality are no longer increasing, but a return to the equitable levels of the mid-20th century isn’t likely anytime soon (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 17, 2023
Five or 6 years ago, economists and pundits frequently debated whether the incomes of low- and middle-class households in the United States were stagnating. I wrote about it, and I…
New research suggests connections between market concentration and the exercise of political power in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 12, 2023
Consolidation of markets at the hands of U.S. companies that are actively engaged in mergers and acquisitions raises an important question about the political ramifications of market concentration. Do mergers…
Equitable Growth announces Shayna Strom as new president and CEO (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 10, 2023
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth Board of Directors today announced that Shayna Strom has been named its new president and CEO. Strom had been serving as the organization’s interim…
ASSA 2023 Round-up: Day 3 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 9, 2023
Yesterday was the third and final day of the 2023 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held…
ASSA 2023 Round-up: Day 2 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 8, 2023
Yesterday was the second day of the 2023 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held in person…
ASSA 2023 Round-up: Day 1 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 7, 2023
Yesterday was the first day of the 2023 annual meeting of the Allied Social Science Associations, which is organized by the American Economic Association. The 3-day conference, held in person…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: December 2022 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 6, 2023
On January 6 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of December. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
JOLTS Day Graphs: November 2022 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 4, 2023
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
The importance of understanding how job quality affects U.S. workers and the entire economy, and how to boost access to good jobs (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 22, 2022
Even during economic expansions and periods of robust employment growth, millions of workers in the United States face economic insecurity and precarious working conditions. Low pay, safety hazards, lack of…
A missed opportunity to expand the Child Tax Credit will affect U.S. families and the broader economy now and for years to come (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 21, 2022
Earlier this week, the U.S. Congress released its proposed omnibus bill that funds the federal government through September 2023 and makes various other reforms to the nation’s retirement system, antitrust…
New digital tools demonstrate the promise of measuring well-being in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 21, 2022
This summer, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth partnered with New America, the Justice, Health & Democracy Impact Initiative at Harvard University, and the U.S. Departments of Commerce and the…
Fighting tax evasion by the wealthy can raise revenue and restore the integrity of the U.S. tax system (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 20, 2022
Recent estimates suggest that as much as $36 billion a year in taxes are unpaid by Americans hiding wealth abroad, and more than $50 billion more is lost due to…
How the new Global Repository of Income Dynamics database sheds light on income inequality and economic mobility (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 15, 2022
Economists have long known that a rigorous understanding of inequality is only possible with high-quality data. To this end, developments in economic models since the 1970s have helped advance our…
Why workplace dignity is valuable to U.S. workers, employers, and the broader economy (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 14, 2022
The role of employment in the lives of many U.S. workers and their families is more than just a way to provide for oneself and one’s loved ones. Jobs are…
Equitable Growth delivers comment letter responding to U.S. Department of Labor’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on classifying employees and independent contractors (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 13, 2022
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth this week delivered a comment letter responding to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s proposed rulemaking on how to determine who…
Equitable Growth delivers comment letter responding to the National Labor Relations Board’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Joint-Employer Standard (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 7, 2022
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth this week delivered a comment letter responding to the National Labor Relations Board Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Joint-Employer Standard. The comment letter…
Equitable Growth works to expand its network of scholars researching inequality and growth at two fall academic conferences (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 6, 2022
Since its founding in 2013, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth has supported scholars across disciplines and along the career ladder who are studying the effects of inequality on economic…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: November 2022 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 2, 2022
On December 2 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of November. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
Frequently asked questions about paid sick time for U.S. workers and their families and the broader U.S. economy (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 30, 2022
Sometimes people in the United States experience health conditions that affect their ability to work, whether it’s a cold, flu, or cancer. This may lead to questions about whether they…
Railway negotiations highlight the importance of paid sick time for U.S. workers and the broader economy (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 30, 2022
The U.S. Congress this week is considering legislation imposing a new contract on U.S. railroad workers to avert a potential strike following a breakdown in negotiations between several of the…
Ahead of the November jobs report, here’s what recent disaggregated data say about the state of the U.S. labor market and economic growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 30, 2022
Ahead of the release of November’s Employment Situation Summary on December 2, an examination of the past few months of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data shows some signs…
JOLTS Day Graphs: October 2022 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 30, 2022
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Equitable Growth delivers comment letter responding to FTC’s Advanced Notice of Proposing Rulemaking on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 21, 2022
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth this week delivered a comment letter responding to the Federal Trade Commission’s Advanced Notice of Proposing Rulemaking on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security. The…
What are the distributional effects of monetary policy? (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 17, 2022
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth recently announced our 2023 Request for Proposals to support research investigating the various channels through which economic inequality, in all its forms, may or…
Supermarket chain Kroger’s takeover of rival Albertsons is a test for U.S. antitrust law on pre-closing dividends (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 16, 2022
The recently proposed $24.6 billion takeover of the nation’s fourth-largest supermarket chain, Albertsons Companies Inc., by the second-largest chain, Kroger Co., poses an array of serious and apparent antitrust concerns…
Advancing research and evidence on child care and U.S. economic growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 10, 2022
Research shows that accessible and affordable child care is both a lifeline for working families and a driver of growth across the entire U.S. economy. A functioning child care market…
Including immigrants in the U.S. tax system is fiscally responsible and can boost economic growth by lifting the well-being of their families (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 10, 2022
The recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act boasts the potential for more noncitizen immigrant workers and entrepreneurs to pay into the U.S. tax system, improving the federal government’s tax collection. What’s…
Green jobs are good for U.S. workers and the U.S. economy (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 8, 2022
Earlier this year, the U.S. Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law one of the most consequential climate bills in U.S. history. The Inflation Reduction Act allocates $369…
Enacting a minimum wage for tipped workers is on the ballot in two U.S. cities. Here’s what the research says (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 4, 2022
In most cities and states across the United States, servers and other so-called front-of-house staff in the restaurant industry earn a subminimum wage for tipped workers. Whether and how this…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: October 2022 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 4, 2022
On November 4, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of October. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
The Fed is aggressively but perhaps deliberately playing catch-up on inflation (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 2, 2022
The members of the Federal Reserve Board’s interest-rate-setting committee are almost universally expected to raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage points this week, as they have at each of their…
JOLTS Day Graphs: September 2022 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 1, 2022
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
What federal statistical agencies can do to improve survey response rates among Hispanic communities in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 14, 2022
Between 2010 and 2020, the Hispanic American population grew 23 percent, making it one of the fastest-growing communities in the United States. According to the 2020 decennial census, Hispanic Americans…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: September 2022 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 7, 2022
On October 7, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of September. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
Equitable Growth announces two Dissertation Scholars for 2022–23 academic year (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 6, 2022
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth each year offers funding and mentorship opportunities to two pre-doctoral students through our Dissertation Scholars program. This program, whose application coincides with Equitable Growth’s…
Equitable Growth provides comments to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis on its new distributing personal income report (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 5, 2022
In December 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released a report that studied the feasibility of releasing its distributing personal income product on a quarterly basis. This feasibility study…
JOLTS Day Graphs: August 2022 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 4, 2022
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Budget analyses of U.S. income support programs must incorporate long-term benefits for children (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 22, 2022
When any piece of legislation is considered by the U.S. Congress, it typically goes through a budget analysis to establish its impact on the federal government’s bottom line. These analyses,…
Policymakers can still use American Rescue Plan funds to bolster the U.S. child care system and ensure it has a strong future (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 20, 2022
In January, the 118th Congress will draw to a close following a productive session that saw legislative action on pandemic relief, infrastructure investments, manufacturing and research incentives, and critical investments…
New research shows that 1 in 4 adults in the United States suffers from transportation insecurity (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 14, 2022
Access to transportation is crucial to ensuring that people can meet their basic needs and participate in society and the economy. It goes without saying that if people can’t get…
Consumers initially spend less than a third of their stimulus checks, on average, amid recessions (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 12, 2022
Economists and policymakers alike generally agree on the effectiveness of sending out direct stimulus checks to individuals to help reverse an economic downturn by encouraging more consumer spending. But they…
Equitable Growth names Shayna Strom as interim president and CEO (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 8, 2022
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth today announced that Shayna Strom has been named its interim president and CEO. Strom comes to the organization with decades of experience bridging nonprofits,…
Measuring spending inequality in the United States in real time (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 8, 2022
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting recession in 2020, followed by a swift U.S. economic recovery, offer lessons today about why real-time data are so crucial to…
New research suggests that social circles affect upward mobility among U.S. children and young adults (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 7, 2022
In recent weeks, students across the United States headed back to school to continue their educations. From Kindergarten through high school and into college, these students are gaining valuable human…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: August 2022 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 2, 2022
On September 2, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of August. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
Ahead of September’s jobs report, here is what the past 3 months of labor market data reveal about the health of the U.S. labor market (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 31, 2022
Over the past few months, the U.S. labor market continued its strong recovery from the initial shock delivered by the COVID-19 crisis, reaching pre-pandemic levels of nonfarm payrolls in July.…
JOLTS Day Graphs: July 2022 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 30, 2022
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Equitable Growth’s 2022 grantees will study the drivers and effects of U.S. economic inequality (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 30, 2022
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth today announced its slate of 2022 grantees. More than $1 million in funding will be dispersed to 42 scholars from economics and other social…
Why the Inflation Reduction Act is key to strong, broad-based U.S. economic growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 16, 2022
The Inflation Reduction Act spells good news for the U.S. economy. The newly signed legislation makes historic investments to combat climate change, lower healthcare costs, and crack down on tax…
How to stop a recession by strengthening income supports in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 15, 2022
Income support programs, such as Unemployment Insurance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, are powerful tools to deploy when the threat of recession looms and unemployment climbs. By providing income…
American Sociological Association 2022 conference highlights inequities among vulnerable U.S. populations (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 12, 2022
The American Sociological Association held its 117th Annual Meeting from August 5–9, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. This event gathers sociologists and those involved in the scientific study of society…
Policymakers tackling inflation can’t overlook the impact of higher interest rates on the U.S. child care market (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 11, 2022
As families in the United States grapple with rising prices and ongoing supply shortages, fiscal and monetary policymakers are shifting their focus from the COVID-19 recession and recovery to the…
The economic evidence behind the Inflation Reduction Act and why it will boost strong, broad-based economic growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 5, 2022
The Inflation Reduction Act spells good news for the U.S. economy. The proposed legislation now before the U.S. Senate would make historic investments to combat climate change, lower healthcare costs,…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: July 2022 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 5, 2022
On August 5, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of July. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
The inequitable consequences of ‘heat islands’ within the metropolitan areas of the United States and what to do about it (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 3, 2022
Environmental science finds that so-called heat islands occur when urbanized areas experience much higher temperatures than neighboring outlying areas within major metropolitan areas. In and around U.S. cities, more affluent…
JOLTS Day Graphs: June 2022 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 2, 2022
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
NBER Summer Institute 2022 Round-up: Week 3 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 1, 2022
On July 11, the National Bureau of Economic Research kicked off its summer institute, an annual 3-week conference featuring discussions and paper presentations on various topics in economics, including environmental…
Taxing the rich: The effect of tax reform and the COVID-19 pandemic on tax flight among U.S. millionaires (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 28, 2022
Taxing the rich is one of the central policy debates in this time of rising inequality. Elite taxation can change the distribution of income in society, support equitable growth, and…
A primer on monopsony power: Its causes, consequences, and implications for U.S. workers and economic growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 27, 2022
At its most basic, monopsony refers to a market where there is a single buyer of a good or service. Economist Joan Robinson first introduced the term in the early…
NBER Summer Institute 2022 Round-up: Week 2 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 26, 2022
On July 11, the National Bureau of Economic Research kicked off its summer institute, an annual 3-week conference featuring discussions and paper presentations on various topics in economics, including disaggregating…
New working paper examines the evolution of economic thought on the impact of technological change in the labor market (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 19, 2022
How have automation and digital technologies contributed to wage inequality in recent decades? It may seem like a straightforward question, but it is one that has been difficult for economists…
NBER Summer Institute 2022 Round-up: Week 1 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 18, 2022
On July 11, the National Bureau of Economic Research kicked off its summer institute, an annual 3-week conference featuring discussions and paper presentations on various topics in economics, including monopsony…
COVID-19 recession and ensuing economic recovery reveals why Unemployment Insurance fails to reach marginalized U.S. workers (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 13, 2022
Policymakers at the state and federal levels of government in the United States who are steeped in the nation’s Unemployment Insurance system are well aware that many unemployed workers fail…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: June 2022 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 8, 2022
On July 8, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of June. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
Canada is the first country to release subannual statistics on the distribution of income. Here’s how it was done. (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 7, 2022
Statistics Canada, the umbrella agency for national statistics in Canada, is the first statistical agency in the world to release subannual data on how economic growth is distributed among rich…
JOLTS Day Graphs: May 2022 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 6, 2022
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Reduced job turnover in small U.S. firms is an overlooked benefit of paid sick leave (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jul 5, 2022
For those U.S. workers fortunate enough to have access to it, paid sick leave is a vital tool for protecting both the public’s health and their own economic stability when…
This year’s Juneteenth is a celebration of emancipation and a reminder that pervasive wealth inequality persists for most African Americans (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jun 17, 2022
Following nationwide protests across the United States in 2020 against police brutality, the push for federal recognition of Juneteenth gained momentum, with the U.S. Congress enacting legislation in the summer…
LERA 2022 participants focus on boosting worker power and uplifting marginalized voices in the U.S. workplace (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jun 9, 2022
The Labor and Employment Relations Association recently held its 74th annual conference, gathering hundreds of presenters and attendees virtually from across industries, and including participants from labor, management, government, advocacy,…
May jobs report: Young workers are entering a uniquely evolving U.S. labor market (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jun 3, 2022
The recovery in the U.S. labor market continued in May, with 390,000 jobs added and the unemployment rate holding steady at nearly its pre-pandemic level at 3.6 percent, according to…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: May 2022 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jun 3, 2022
On June 3, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of May. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
JOLTS Day Graphs: April 2022 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jun 1, 2022
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Is there a skilled labor shortage? The economic evidence on skills gap and labor shortage concerns (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 31, 2022
Claims of a “skills gap” or “labor shortage” in the United States are often cited during times of high unemployment as the reason why workers are unable to find jobs…
Common ownership in the U.S. economy (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 25, 2022
Large investment management companies such as BlackRock Inc., The Vanguard Group Inc., and Fidelity Investments—each with tens of trillions of dollars of assets under management—offer a wide array of mutual…
Developing a research agenda on racial and gender equity in the pandemic-era U.S. labor market (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 24, 2022
This summation of a joint roundtable discussion was written in partnership with The Century Foundation. Now, more than 2 years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United…
New research explains how better-quality work schedules increase U.S. retail workers’ productivity and store profits (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 24, 2022
In the retail and service sectors, store managers are engaged in a perpetual balancing act to ensure that their supply of both goods and labor ebbs and flows with customers’…
New research shows Fair Workweek laws ensure workers have more predictable schedules without sacrificing their hours worked (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 23, 2022
Low-income workers in the United States, especially those in the service sector, face highly unpredictable work hours and pay. Many workers report chaotic employer practices that make balancing work and…
Recent working paper explores connection between capital investment and labor demand in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 20, 2022
The increasing visibility of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies in the workplace is drawing new attention to how employers integrate technology into work processes and what effects these decisions…
Three observations from the kick-off of a new consensus study by the National Academy of Sciences on measuring U.S. economic inequality (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 19, 2022
A new National Academy of Sciences panel convened publicly for the first time this week to discuss how statistical agencies should unify and improve the measurement of inequality in income,…
Child care costs are going to rise, but policymakers can help U.S. families manage these increases (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 18, 2022
For decades, the U.S. child care market has been on the verge of a crisis. As any parent knows, child care in the United States has long been too expensive,…
New research shows unstable schedules do not offer more flexibility for U.S. workers (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 18, 2022
A growing body of research documents the costs of schedule instability for workers in the United States. Inconsistent shifts make it harder for workers to maintain routines or plan their…
Equitable Growth to welcome visiting scholars as part of two American Economic Association summer programs (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 16, 2022
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth is excited to welcome three scholars and students who will join the organization this summer through programs offered by the American Economic Association. As…
New research documents the high cost of residential racial segregation in Northern cities of the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 9, 2022
The violent effects of systemic racial segregation are ever-present in U.S. cities today, especially in the big Northern cities that were destinations for Black Americans fleeing racial oppression and violence…
Jobs report: Amid continued job gains, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander workers experience the U.S. labor market in different and often hidden ways (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 6, 2022
Between mid-March and mid-April, the U.S. economy added a strong 428,000 jobs, making it the 12th consecutive month in which employment growth surpasses 400,000 jobs. In addition, according to the…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: April 2022 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 6, 2022
On May 6, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of April. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
JOLTS Day Graphs: March 2022 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog May 3, 2022
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Unions and the enforcement of labor rights: How organized labor protects U.S. workers against unfair and illegal employment practices (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 29, 2022
After decades of declining unionization rates and rising income inequality in the United States, the past few years have seen glimmers of the vibrancy of the U.S. labor movement in…
Testimony by Michelle Holder before the Joint Economic Committee on robust government investments (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 27, 2022
Thank you, Chair Beyer, Ranking Member Lee, Vice Chair Heinrich, and members of the Joint Economic Committee, for inviting me to speak today. It’s an honor to be here virtually.…
Modeling future economic damages from climate change is an important and underdeveloped area of research (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 22, 2022
This year’s Earth Day celebrations come on the heels of yet another devastating UN report detailing the consequences of climate change—and the global lack of action to mitigate its effects—for…
Kate Bahn testimony before the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth on imbalance of power (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 6, 2022
Thank you, Chair Himes, Ranking Member Steil, and members of the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth, for inviting me to testify today. My name is Kate…
Understanding the economics of monopsony: How labor markets work under imperfect competition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 6, 2022
Contrary to what many of us were taught in Introduction to Economics courses in college and graduate school, markets are rarely perfectly competitive. In the case of the market for…
Jobs report: U.S. employment data shows continuing strong job gains, with employment in the warehousing and transportation industry well-above pre-pandemic levels (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 1, 2022
The U.S. economy experienced another month of strong employment gains between mid-February and mid-March, adding 431,000 new jobs. According to the most recent Employment Situation Summary released this morning by…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: March 2022 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Apr 1, 2022
On April 1, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of March. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management conference spotlights the value of diversity in U.S. policy analysis and research (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 31, 2022
Earlier this week, the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management held its 2021 fall conference in Austin, Texas. The event, which was rescheduled late last year due to the…
JOLTS Day Graphs: February 2022 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 29, 2022
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
The American Rescue Plan helped U.S. families amid the coronavirus pandemic and provides a roadmap for policymakers today (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 11, 2022
When the coronavirus pandemic began to spread across the United States in March 2020 its impact was immediate and severe. The U.S. unemployment rate skyrocketed from a 50-year low of…
JOLTS Day Graphs: January 2022 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 9, 2022
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
February Jobs Day report: U.S. employment growth is still strong, but some care sector workers are being left behind (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 4, 2022
The U.S. economy continued its streak of strong month-to-month employment gains, adding 678,000 jobs between mid-January and mid-February. According to data released this morning by the U.S. Bureau of Labor…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: February 2022 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 4, 2022
On March 4, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of February. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
The Economic State of the Union in 2022, presented in 11 charts, and what policymakers can do to make the recovery more equitable and resilient (opens in a new tab)
Blog Mar 1, 2022
Today, President Joe Biden will give his State of the Union Address, approximately 1 year into his administration and 2 years after COVID-19 struck the United States. The coronavirus recession…
How Black activists spurred the U.S. government to expand school meal programs, addressing child hunger and boosting future productivity (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 22, 2022
Every school day, millions of students at public and private, nonprofit schools across the United States enjoy free or low-cost meals supported by the National School Lunch Program and School…
Is moving to a new place key to upward mobility for U.S. workers and their families? (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 14, 2022
U.S. history is rife with examples of groups and individuals upending their lives and migrating in search of better economic opportunities for themselves, their families, and their descendants. This process…
African American men and the U.S. labor market during recessions and economic recoveries (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 11, 2022
In my 2017 book, African American Men and the Labor Market During The Great Recession, I provided a multidimensional background on the disproportionate impact experienced by African American male workers…
January Jobs report: U.S. employment growth surpasses expectations, but it is essential to boost job quality in manufacturing (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 4, 2022
The U.S. economy added 467,000 jobs between mid-December and mid-January, according to the most recent Employment Situation Summary by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even with COVID-19 cases reaching an…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: January 2022 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 4, 2022
On February 4, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of January. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
JOLTS Day Graphs: December 2021 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 1, 2022
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Six charts that explain how inequality in the United States changed over the past 20 years (opens in a new tab)
Blog Feb 1, 2022
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, in late 2021, updated its data series on income inequality in the United States. This update adds data for 2019 and extends the data…
How a large employer’s low-road practices harm local labor markets: The impact of Walmart Supercenters (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 28, 2022
Large employers in the United States can have significant impacts on the local labor markets in which they operate, not only affecting their employees directly but also spilling over to…
Equitable Growth’s new efforts to foster more diversity in grantmaking and new pathways for scholars in the economics profession (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 19, 2022
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth is increasing its efforts and resources to help tackle the enduring challenges to diversify the economics profession, as well as expanding and strengthening the…
Understanding how U.S. workers can benefit from workplace automation and artificial intelligence (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 18, 2022
The daily economic news cycle is awash with stories these days about the threat of automation and artificial intelligence to the future of work for hundreds of millions of U.S.…
Fostering academic research on U.S. economic impact payments that goes beyond the marginal propensity to consume (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 18, 2022
Direct government payments to individuals are now a standard part of U.S. fiscal policymakers’ recession-fighting toolkit. Three rounds of so-called economic impact payments from the federal government have been paid…
Paid sick leave improves public health outcomes and supports U.S. workers at a relatively low cost to employers (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 12, 2022
The United States is one of only three high-income countries in the world that does not have a universal paid sick leave program available to its workforce. Although an emergency…
Austerity policies in the United States caused ‘stagflation’ in the 1970s and would do so again today (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 11, 2022
In the current debate among economists and policymakers in the United States about the causes of inflation, one of the most persistent and most deeply rooted questions is whether today’s…
Jobs Report: U.S. employment growth slowed in December, with the leisure and hospitality industry far from recovered (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 7, 2022
U.S. employment growth was much weaker than most estimates expected in December, according to the latest Employment Situation Summary by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data collected the first…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: December 2021 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 7, 2022
On January 7, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of December. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
JOLTS Day Graphs: November 2021 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Jan 4, 2022
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
What happened to the federal minimum wage debate? (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 23, 2021
In 1912, textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts—mostly immigrant women from countries including Cuba, Ireland, Italy, Syria, and elsewhere—went on strike in response to wage cuts. This strike is sometimes referred…
Recent Equitable Growth-funded research sheds light on the links between paid family and medical leave research and U.S. economic growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 23, 2021
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth has long prioritized the generation of new research on the economic effects of paid family and medical leave in the United States. This line…
Billionaires Income Tax proposal seeks to ensure that U.S. ultra-wealthy pay their fair share in taxes (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 17, 2021
There is a growing recognition among policymakers in Washington that something must be done to address the ever-widening U.S. wealth divide, which is especially dramatic when broken out by race.…
Worker power and pay quality for young workers without a college degree in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 9, 2021
New cross-country research by economist David Howell at The New School (also an Equitable Growth grantee and a member of Equitable Growth’s Research Advisory Board) provides strong evidence that the…
Equitable Growth’s academic research and policy priorities shine through at Southern Economic Conference 2021 (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 9, 2021
The Southern Economic Association recently held its 91st Annual Meeting, gathering a diverse group of scholars from U.S. and international universities to discuss their research in theory and applied economics.…
House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 8, 2021
Hearing on “Growing our Economy by Investing in Families: How Supporting Family Caregiving Expands Economic Opportunity and Benefits All Americans” Testimony by Michelle Holder, President and CEO of the Washington…
JOLTS Day Graphs: October 2021 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 8, 2021
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
Equitable Growth joins NewDEAL Leaders to discuss child care in the post-pandemic U.S. economy (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 7, 2021
As the U.S. Congress finalizes its negotiations around the Build Back Better Act, policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels of government continue working to rebuild their respective economies…
Jobs report: November posted weaker-than-expected job gains while visa backlogs could dampen further U.S. employment growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 3, 2021
According to the most recent Employment Situation Summary by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added 210,000 jobs between mid-October and mid-November—less than half the number of…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: November 2021 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 3, 2021
On December 3, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of November. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
The telling connection between affirmative action litigation, the racial composition of U.S. police forces, and the level of police killings of civilians (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 2, 2021
The disproportionate killing of innocent and unarmed Black men and women by police forces across the United States continues today despite more than five decades of steadily integrating many of…
The impact of neighborhood disparities on intergenerational mobility and economic growth in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Dec 1, 2021
The neighborhoods and communities in which we grow up and live affect our future life outcomes. Yet the push for policymakers to address neighborhood disparities in health and economic outcomes…
Addressing the ‘double gap’ faced by Black women in the U.S. economy (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 30, 2021
In my testimony before the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress this past summer, I presented some of the findings from my 2020 report, “The “Double Gap” and the…
U.S. disability programs provide valuable benefits to low-income recipients across a range of health conditions (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 22, 2021
The three components of the U.S. social insurance system serve retirees and those recipients facing challenging health conditions. But all three programs have grown in recent decades, sparking various calls…
The importance of neighborhoods and intergenerational economic inequality in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 19, 2021
Many neighborhoods and communities across the United States are shaped by pervasive economic inequality spanning multiple generations. This intergenerational economic inequality today limits the prosperity of many people who want…
New research highlights the necessity of improving wage standards and bargaining power for low-wage workers in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 17, 2021
A new working paper sheds new light on the lack of bargaining power among low-wage workers in the United States by examining workers’ ability to bargain over wages when they…
Wage bargaining is an important, yet unavailable, tool for many U.S. workers to increase their incomes (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 16, 2021
Understanding the various ways in which wages are set in the U.S. economy is crucial to analyzing economic activity and worker well-being. Phenomena such as wage and earnings growth, worker…
JOLTS Day Graphs: September 2021 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 12, 2021
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
New research shows the importance of worker power for addressing U.S. wage inequality (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 9, 2021
Workers in the United States over the past 40 years experienced stagnant real wages for those at the lower end of the income distribution, along with rising income inequality, even…
October U.S. Jobs report: Employment growth picked up steam last month (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 5, 2021
Job gains in the U.S. labor market picked up in October, according to the latest Employment Situation Summary released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Between mid-September and…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: October 2021 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Nov 5, 2021
On November 5th, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of October. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
Testimony by Michelle Holder before the Joint Economic Committee (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 28, 2021
Michelle Holder, the current president and CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, testified before the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress this past summer, when she was…
Equitable Growth launches A Visual Economy: Our newest tool to showcase thousands of visuals on economic inequality and growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 27, 2021
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth last week launched A Visual Economy, a new tool to explore thousands of graphics, charts, and figures created by our staff over the past…
Dispatch from EconCon 2021: Addressing racial and gender stratification in the U.S. economy is key to an equitable and sustainable recovery (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 21, 2021
The 2-day EconCon 2021 conference, held virtually from October 6–7, featured speakers, panelists, and moderators from across the progressive policy and academic landscape. They were tasked by the co-hosts of…
Equitable Growth scholars highlight the need for broad investment in U.S. social infrastructure (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 20, 2021
Our nation’s social infrastructure is composed of the economic and social investments that are necessary for U.S. workers and families to be able to take care of their loved ones…
Evidence shows that now is the time to invest in U.S. workers and their families (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 20, 2021
In February 2020, we set out to examine the effects of a new predictable scheduling ordinance in eastern Pennsylvania on low-wage service-sector workers. We had no idea that the workers…
JOLTS Day Graphs: August 2021 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 12, 2021
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
New study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows schedule stability supports U.S. workers and the broader economy (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 12, 2021
As COVID-19 vaccination rates rise in the United States many businesses, especially in hard-hit industries such as retail and food service, are seeking to fill positions to keep pace with…
Problems in the U.S. care sectors risk holding back the economic recovery amid another month of disappointing job gains (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 8, 2021
According to the latest Employment Situation Summary by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy added 194,000 jobs in September—well below expectations and substantially less than the average 806,000…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: September 2021 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Oct 8, 2021
On October 8th, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of August. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
Equitable Growth welcomes two new Dissertation Scholars for 2021–22 academic year (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 22, 2021
The Washington Center for Equitable Growth through its Dissertation Scholars Program supports pre-doctoral students from the social sciences who are studying the links between inequality and growth. With a stipend…
Equitable Growth’s 2021 policy conference features key speakers and panelists discussing inclusive U.S. economic growth after the coronavirus recession (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 17, 2021
The coronavirus pandemic and resulting historic economic and societal shock revealed underlying systemic fragility driven by longstanding economic inequalities and structural racism. More expansive, more transformative, and more equitable economic…
The value of racial and gender diversity at the Federal Reserve (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 16, 2021
The Federal Reserve’s so-called dual mandate to maintain overall price stability and maximum sustainable growth in U.S. employment is always on the minds of the U.S. central bank’s Federal Open…
Congressional investments in social infrastructure would support immediate and long-term U.S. economic growth (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 16, 2021
The U.S. Congress this month began voting on a bevy of bills and amendments designed to shore up the nation’s social infrastructure as part of a legislative process known as…
Economic security and opportunity for women under threat after U.S. Supreme Court takes anti-abortion stance in Texas (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 8, 2021
Nearly 1 in 4 women in the United States—whether single, married, living with a partner, or divorced—will have an abortion by the age of 45, and nearly 1 in 20…
JOLTS Day Graphs: July 2021 Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 8, 2021
Every month the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases data on hiring, firing, and other labor market flows from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, better known as JOLTS.…
The coming public debt scare should not spook U.S. policymakers from investing in physical and social infrastructure (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 7, 2021
Public debt scaremongering is back in fashion on Capitol Hill. Republican legislators, from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on down, are invoking the high level of federal government debt—currently…
August Jobs Report: Uncertainty and teacher shortages loom over the new school year (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 3, 2021
There was a telling slowdown in the recovery of U.S. jobs in August, according to the most recent Employment Situation Release by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics today. Amid…
Equitable Growth’s Jobs Day Graphs: August 2021 Report Edition (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 3, 2021
On September 3, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of August. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth…
The ‘Transportation Security Index’ can help the United States plan for a more equitable transportation future (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 2, 2021
On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order titled “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.” Recognizing that the federal…
Labor Day: How unions promote racial solidarity in the United States (opens in a new tab)
Blog Sep 2, 2021
Research consistently demonstrates that unions across the United States promote the enforcement of labor protections, increase pay for both union and nonunion members, and reduce income inequality. Importantly, labor organizations…
Completing the unfinished New Deal to overcome 21st century U.S. economic inequality (opens in a new tab)
Blog Aug 31, 2021
President Joe Biden wants Congress to enact his two signature legislative packages—the $1 trillion bipartisan physical infrastructure plan passed by the U.S. Senate earlier in August and a $3.5 trillion…
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