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Poverty Lecture 10: The Working Poor

Poverty Lecture 10: The Working Poor. Today’s Readings Schiller Ch. 5: The Working Poor Newman, “ Working Lives, ” eReserves DeParle, Ch. 7: Redefining Compassion: Washington, 1994-1995 (Optional, Ehrenreich, “ Serving in Florida, ” eReserves). Today’s topics.

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Poverty Lecture 10: The Working Poor

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  1. Poverty Lecture 10:The Working Poor Today’s Readings Schiller Ch. 5: The Working Poor Newman, “Working Lives,” eReserves DeParle, Ch. 7: Redefining Compassion: Washington, 1994-1995 (Optional, Ehrenreich, “Serving in Florida,” eReserves)

  2. Today’s topics • Effects of wages changes on LFP and hours of work • Finish up a theory of LFP for groups • More on the supply side: Personal and family challenges to LFP • Examine demand side of the labor market: Are there enough jobs for the poor?

  3. Today’s topics, cont. • The Working Poor: • Why are wages so low? • The Minimum Wage as a solution to poverty • Living wages

  4. Effects of Wage Changes on LFP and Hours Worked • Substitution effect • %∆L/%∆w • If income is held constant, and increase in the wage rate will increase the price of leisure and reduce the amount demanded thereby increasing work incentives. • The substitution effect is positive: wages and hours move in the same direction • %∆L/%∆w > 0

  5. Wage increase with substitution effect dominating:The observed change Y U2 observed change D U1 N2 C N1 A 0 Leisure hours (maximum work hours) 0 Work Hours (maximum leisure hours) Leisure hours (l) Work hours (L)

  6. Wage increase with substitution effect dominating:The income effect Y income effect U2 D U1 N3 C N1 A 0 Leisure hours (maximum work hours) 0 Work Hours (maximum leisure hours) Leisure hours (l) Work hours (L)

  7. Wage increase with substitution effect dominating:The substitution effect Y substitution effect U2 D U1 N2 N3 C A 0 Leisure hours (maximum work hours) 0 Work Hours (maximum leisure hours) Leisure hours (l) Work hours (L)

  8. Effects of Wage Changes on LFP:Substitution effect cause LF entry Income (Y) U3 Raising the wage from the slope of BE to the slope of BC increases hours from 0 to d: Substitution effect > income effect U2 C U1 D E B A d 0 Leisure hours (maximum work hours) 0 Work Hours (maximum leisure hours) Leisure hours (l) Work hours (L)

  9. a theory of labor force participation for groups • LFPR = f(Z, w, preferences), where • LFPR = labor force participation rate for a certain group (welfare moms) • Z = unearned income • w = wages, and • Preferences are reflected in the reservation wage and other factors that influence the shape of the utility curve

  10. theory of labor force participation for groups, cont.Changes in average wage$ • Higher wages raise the LFPR of a group • A higher wage means that the opportunity cost (or the price) of leisure is higher. An individual gives up more income for each hour not worked. • substitution effect: ∆(LFPR)/∆w > 0 • The expected relationship between wage rates and participation is positive

  11. theory of labor force participation for groups, cont.Changes in average wage$ • How would the declining value of the minimum wage affect the LFPR of poor single mothers? • 1998 $6.09 per hour • 2006 $5.15 per hour

  12. other supply side factors affecting LFP • See handout: “Reasons for Low Labor Force Participation among the Poor and Polices to Increase Participation,” and • Krista Olson and LaDonna Pavetti, Personal and Family Challenges to the Successful Transition from Welfare to Work. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, May 1996, http://www.urban.org/

  13. Source: Krista Olson and LaDonna Pavetti, Personal and Family Challenges to the Successful Transition from Welfare to Work. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, May 1996, http://www.urban.org/

  14. Source: Krista Olson and LaDonna Pavetti, Personal and Family Challenges to the Successful Transition from Welfare to Work. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, May 1996, http://www.urban.org/

  15. the demand side: are there enoughjobs for the poor?

  16. the demand side: are there enoughjobs for the poor? Source: Harry Holzer, What Employers Want: Job Prospects for Less Educated Workers. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1966

  17. the demand side: are there enoughjobs for the poor? Source: Harry Holzer, What Employers Want: Job Prospects for Less Educated Workers. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1966

  18. The working poor: why are wages so low? • Wage determination in a perfect market • See handout, Graph 1 and Graph 2 • Firms and workers are price takers • Perfect information • Perfect mobility

  19. Basic facts about the minimum wage • Who earns the minimum wage? • http://www.epionline.org/index_mw.cfm • only 2.8% of employees above the age of 30 • average family income of a minimum wage employee is $44,331. • Single parent or single earner in a family with kids account for only 15% of minimum wage earners.

  20. Basic facts about the minimum wage • http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issueguides_minwage_minwagefacts • A minimum wage increase would raise the wages of millions of workers. • Minimum wage increases benefit working families. • Minimum wage increases benefit disadvantaged workers.

  21. Value of Minimum Wage, 1954-2004 [in 2001 dollars]

  22. Minimum Wage, 1960-2003 current $ real $2003 current $real $2003 1960 $1.00 $5.26 1968 1.60 7.18 1980 3.10 6.55 1981 3.35 6.47 1982 3.35 6.11 1983 3.35 5.87 1984 3.35 5.64 1985 3.35 5.46 1986 3.35 5.36 1987 3.35 5.19 1988 3.35 5.00 1989 3.35 4.80 1990 $3.80 $5.19 1991 4.25 5.60 1992 4.25 5.46 1993 4.25 5.33 1994 4.25 5.22 1995 4.25 5.09 1996 4.75 5.54 1997 5.15 5.89 1998 5.15 5.80 1999 5.15 5.68 2000 5.15 5.50 2001 5.15 4.35 2002 5.15 5.27 2003 5.15 5.15 Source: The State of Working America 2004-05, figure 2W.

  23. The minimum wage as a solution to poverty:Will raising the minimum wage help the poor? • See handout • Most minimum wage earners are not poor. • Most people don’t get stuck at the minimum wage. • Mandated wage hikes do not reduce poverty. Single parents will see very little of the added income following mandated wage hikes. • The minimum wage is a blunt instrument for trying to raise the incomes of the poor.

  24. The minimum wage as a solution to poverty, cont. • http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issueguides_minwage_minwagefacts • A minimum wage increase would raise the wages of millions of workers. • Minimum wage increases benefit working families. • Minimum wage increases benefit disadvantaged workers. • A minimum wage increase is part of a broad strategy to end poverty. • There is no evidence of job loss from the last minimum wage increase.

  25. State minimum wages • 16 states have minimum wage rates higher than the federal minimum • 25 states set their minimum wage rate at the federal rate • 2 states have minimum wage rates less • 6 states have no minimum wage laws than the federal rate. • http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm

  26. Why do some states raise their minimum wages above the federal level? • You tell me

  27. Living wages • Basic facts • See http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issueguides_livingwage_livingwagefacts • The living wage level is usually the wage a full-time worker would need to earn to support a family above federal poverty line, ranging from 100% to 130% of the poverty measurement. • 71 municipalities have enacted living wage laws to date

  28. Living wage as a solution to poverty • Should Notre Dame pursue living wages as a solution to poverty? • For the two different sides of the story, see • http://www.epionline.org/index_lw.cfm and • http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issueguides_livingwage_livingwage • To see what labor economists think about living wages, see • http://www.epionline.org/study_detail.cfm?sid=13&group=lw

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