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From job guarantees to wage subsidies: Exploring policy options to promote employment

Thursday, December 06, 2018

Even as the unemployment rate reaches a 50-year low, and businesses across the U.S. report more vacancies than ever, the economic recovery remains uneven for many Americans. In fact, many low-wage workers report continued difficulty in securing and maintaining consistent employment, despite the strong labor market.

Concerns ranging from automation to the erosion of pro-worker institutions have provided additional motivation for ambitious policy proposals including widespread job training, public employment, job guarantees, and employment subsidies. Subjecting these ideas to careful economic scrutiny will help ensure that policymakers make effective investments.

On December 6, The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution hosted a forum to explore the considerations that motivate employment support proposals and the merits of different approaches. It also examined the challenges and barriers facing low-wage workers who continue to find themselves either on the margins of the labor force or out of the labor force altogether.

The event included two panel discussions, featuring: Denis McDonough, senior principal, the Markle Foundation; Thea Lee, president, Economic Policy Institute; Darrick Hamilton, professor of economics and urban policy, The New School; Donald R. Cravins, Jr., senior vice president for policy and executive director of the Washington Bureau, National Urban League; Edwin Dolan, senior fellow, Niskanen Center; Soumaya Keynes, U.S. economics editor, The Economist; David Neumark, director, Economic Self-Sufficiency Policy Research Institute, University of California, Irvine; Stephanie Aaronson, vice president, Economic Studies and senior fellow, the Brookings Institution, and Emily Martin, vice president for education and workplace justice, National Women’s Law Center.

The event coincided with the release of a new Hamilton Project framing paper exploring labor market considerations that are important for evaluating job guarantee proposals.

Agenda

12:30 PM Registration Opens

1:00 PM Opening Remarks

Robert E. Rubin
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary
Co-Chair Emeritus, Council on Foreign Relations

1:10 PM Roundtable Discussion: Examining the Challenges Facing Workers on the Margins of the Labor Force

Denis McDonough
Senior Principal, Markle Foundation

Donald R. Cravins, Jr.
Senior Vice President for Policy and Executive Director of the Washington Bureau, National Urban League

Stephanie Aaronson
Vice President, Economic Studies
Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

Emily Martin 
Vice President for Education and Workplace Justice, National Women’s Law Center

Moderator: Jay Shambaugh
Director, The Hamilton Project
Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

2:00 PM Roundtable Discussion: Identifying Key Considerations for Shaping Effective Employment Support Proposals

Edwin Dolan
Senior Fellow, Niskanen Center

Darrick Hamilton
Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, The New School

Thea Lee
President, Economic Policy Institute

David Neumark
Chancellor’s Professor of Economics; Director, Economic Self-Sufficiency Policy Research Institute, University of California, Irvine

Moderator: Soumaya Keynes
U.S. Economics Editor, The Economist

3:00 PM Forum Adjourns

Event Forum

The Brookings Institution

Available Downloads

Event Transcriptpdf

Contact

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Phone: (202) 540-7780
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Phone: (202) 540-7738
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