During the Progressive period of American history the debate over the minimum wage was often between those who clung to traditional economic theory as a reason for not having a minimum wage and those who saw the efficiency-wage benefits of adopting one. Although the latter argument proved quite...

As much as the minimum wage is an economic issue, it is above all a political one. First, there are the politics surrounding the choice of models. Second, there are the political interests of those who engage in the debate. The choice of methodological models can lead to different ideological...

In 1993 President Clinton expanded the earned income tax credit (EITC), a refundable credit allowed to households with children aimed at reducing the tax burden of employment for the working poor. In this working paper, Levy Institute Research Associate Oren M. Levin-Waldman examines why the...

The change in the composition of Congress resulting from the 1994 election was viewed by some Republicans as a "triumph of conservatism over the perceived abuses of liberalism." In this working paper, Resident Scholar Oren M. Levin-Waldman examines polling data to explore whether the rejection...

An analysis based on data from the Current Population Survey suggests that cities with certain demographics, particularly higher concentrations of immigrants from south of the American border, lower levels of educational attainment, more people in low wage industries, and higher rates of income...

Since the financial meltdown of 2007, unemployment has consistently been above 6.0 percent. On one level, long-term unemployment can be accounted for by structural changes. But, on another level, the problem of long-term unemployment is really no more complicated than the absence of effective...

Most accounts of why cities pass living wage ordinances stress the importance of grassroots coalitions that have successfully mobilized bias out of concerns for justice and fairness. On the basis of data from the Integrated Public Micro-Use Data Series (IPUMS) for the years 1950-1990, this paper...

Survey responses make it clear the minimum wage can be raised. The question now is how high can it be raised before serious employment consequences occur.

To what extent have small businesses hired former welfare recipients and what might induce them to hire more? Do small businesses change their hiring and employment practices in response to an increase in the minimum wage? The Levy Institute conducts a national survey of small firms in many...

How members of Congress vote on increases in the minimum wage is a function of several factors, most notably party affiliation and constituent interest. But also among those factors is the existence of "right-to-work" laws in the representative's state and the presence of labor unions,...