blog post Will Infrastructure Investments Mean Better Jobs for Californians? By Daniel Payares-Montoya, Shannon McConville, Sarah Bohn Apr 25, 2022 Substantial new public spending on infrastructure has the potential to increase economic mobility in California, though a share of the newly created jobs likely will be in low-paying occupations.
Report Evaluating State EITC Options for California By Thomas E. MaCurdy Mar 25, 2004 In recent years, California and other states have either considered or developed their own earned income tax credit (EITC) plans to supplement the federal EITC. A well-targeted state EITC can support various policy goals by supporting low-income families and increasing their incentives to work. This report lays out four distinct approaches to a state EITC and tests them against three criteria: their effects on work incentives, the distribution of benefits by family type, and cost. It finds that if California wishes to implement its own EITC, it should not simply “add on” to the federal plan. Rather, it should design a program that considers a family’s hourly wages as well as its earnings.
blog post Video: Improving Career Education Pathways into California’s Workforce By Stephanie Barton Sep 7, 2021 PPIC research fellow Shannon McConville and an expert panel discuss how training programs could be designed to help more students complete credentials and advance in their careers.
blog post Storms, Floods, and COVID-19 Have Worsened Long-standing Farmworker Housing Challenges By Paulette Cha Apr 12, 2023 High housing costs in California have long been a major challenge, especially for low-income residents. Recent crises have added to the housing woes facing California farmworkers.
Report Employers and Welfare Recipients: The Effects of Welfare Reform in the Workplace By Harry J. Holzer, Michael A. Stoll Jan 1, 2001 Although employment rates among welfare recipients have risen substantially since the early 1990s, many questions about welfare-to-work efforts remain. What are the employment prospects of the least skilled and least experienced welfare recipients? What are the chief obstacles to hiring them? How well do they perform? Are their wages and benefits sufficient to achieve financial independence over time? This report draws on employer survey data from four cities (including Los Angeles) to answer these and other questions. In addition to analyzing the survey responses, the authors compare the success these cities have had in moving welfare recipients into the workforce. They also explore the policy implications of their findings.
blog post Californians Are Pessimistic about Economic Times Ahead By Dean Bonner, Sarah Bohn Jan 18, 2023 While the state’s economy looks strong on many measures, more than two-thirds of Californians expect bad economic times in the next year, according to PPIC’s November survey. Meanwhile, high prices and growing inequality are significant concerns, especially for low-income residents.
event Income Inequality and Economic Opportunity in California Dec 8, 2020 The COVID-19 recession threatens to worsen California’s longstanding economic divide. Low-income families, communities of color, and women have been hit the hardest, and past recessions suggest their wages will take longer to recover. Can policymakers break the mold and pave the way for an equitable recovery?
blog post The Economic Toll of COVID-19 on Self-Employed Workers By Sarah Bohn, Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Julien Lafortune Jun 15, 2020 Independent contractors, freelancers, and gig workers account for more than one-quarter of Californians providing personal care, household upkeep, or other services—areas especially hard hit during the pandemic.
