An editorial supporting a raise in the federal minimum wage that varies depending on regional labor market conditions, cites research by Arindrajit Dube, economics, who says the optimum minimum wage is 50-60 percent of a regional labor market’s median hourly wage.(Washington Post, 7/16/19)
Author: rebeccaschwa
The work of Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, is cited in a story about efforts to deal with the student loan crisis and a proposal by Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders to forgive all U.S. student debt by taxing every stock and bond trade. Pollin estimates this transaction tax would generate about $220 billion per year. (The Epoch Times, 7/15/19)
Arindrajit Dube, economics, says a recent study by the Congressional Budget Office that says raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour would lift 1.3 million people out of poverty but would also cause the loss of 1.3 million jobs, relies on some questionable assumptions. He says many of those have already been rebutted by researchers in the field. (WBUR, 7/11/19)
A news story on how the debate over raising the federal minimum wage has shifted over time cites research published this year by a team of economists that includes Arindrajit Dube and Doruk Cengiz, economics. The study found local effects of more than 130 minimum-wage increases since 1979 where the decrease in jobs paying less than the minimum wage was fully offset by an increase in jobs paying just more than the new wage rate. The story also mentions other research Dube has done on the minimum wage and how it affects the job market. (Washington Post, 7/8/19)
A new study co-authored by Lawrence P. King, economics, finds that falling incomes and rising incarceration rates at the county level in the U.S. are linked to an increase in drug-related deaths. “If we’re incarcerating people because we don’t like the negative effects of drugs, what this study shows is it’s counterproductive,” King says. (WRAL.com [from CNN; Science Codex, 7/3/19)
A news story about efforts to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2024 cites research done in 2018 by Arindrajit Dube, economics, that finds raising the minimum wage reduces the number of families living in poverty. The story also says research has shown that raising the minimum wage does not lead to major job losses, reduction in hours or a decrease in low-wage jobs. Another study co-authored by UMass Amherst economists says raising the minimum wage between 1979 and 2016 gave low-wage workers a pay increase but didn’t cause changes in employment. (Vox, 7/2/19)
Gerald A. Epstein, economics, says the financialization of the U.S. economy has drained $22.7 trillion from the economy since 1990. He and colleagues also say financialization has become a net drag on the economy. (The Daily Reckoning, 6/27/19)
Robert Pollin, Distinguished Professor of economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), comments on universal basic income, an idea proposed by Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. Pollin says there is a very steep price to pay for simplicity in this program because it doesn’t involve means-testing, so money may be spent on people who don’t need the support. (Boston Globe, 6/25/19)
An article reporting that Congress has set a record for the longest stretch of time, 10 years, since the federal minimum wage was raised, cites an upcoming paper by Arindrajit Dube, economics. Dube’s work shows that raising the minimum wage significantly reduces the number of families living in poverty. (Vox, 6/19/19)
Doug Cliggott, Lecturer in Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, was featured in WalletHub’s recent piece about hedge funds. (WalletHub, 6/4/19)