A landmark new study reported that upward mobility in the Keystone State since the late 1990s exceeded that in most parts of the United States. This report, focused on more recent trends, contains some bad economic news. It shows that Pennsylvania's economy has performed poorly from the perspective of typical working families since the end of…

A structural approach which focuses on social and economic conditions under which poverty exists and which de-personalizes causes is used to study the extent and trends of poverty in general and Maine in particular. The 1980 Census reported that 13% of Maine's population was poor, but since income in Maine is generally low many people fall in and…

Dramatic demographic and socioeconomic shifts have occurred in rural areas over the last decade, increasing poverty among America's rural population. Analysis of the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey indicates that outmigration from rural areas, which has grown steadily since 1980, reached almost 1,000,000 between 1986 to 1987. Those…

Stagnant or declining wages for less-educated workers make policies to upgrade the job market options for low wage workers an urgent priority. One in three low wage workers lives in a low income family. The link between low basic skills and low wages is strong. No single standard of minimum skill requirements applies to all middle income jobs, and…

Expanding upon a report presented to the International Labor Organization (ILO), this book documents the current world employment situation, including how it has fallen short, how current economic policies interact with world employment, and how improvements can be made. Chapter one, "The Commitment to Full Employment," describes how the…