On September 15, the Economic Policy Institute released a study comparing the wages of state and local government workers with similarly situated private sector workers. It finds that the former are undercompensated compared to the latter.
Also on September 15, the Joint Economic Committee of Congress issued a staff study on the impact of the recession on inequality. Although it finds that inequality has gotten much worse, the most recent data in the study are from 2008.
On September 14, the Census Bureau reported that 10 percent of all the businesses in the U.S. with paid employees were franchises in 2007.
Also on September 14, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data showing that the average worker has been with the same employer for 4.4 years.
On September 13, the Peterson Institute published a working paper proposing a tax on borrowing in order to moderate the boom-and-bust cycle in financial markets.
Also on September 13, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco published a study of the labor force participation rate, a key determinant of how many jobs the economy needs to create to reduce unemployment.
And on September 13, economists Carmen and Vincent Reinhart published a commentary examining the prospects for a double-dip recession based on historical experience.
On September 12, the Bank for International Settlements announced an agreement on new capital standards for banks.
In a September 10 commentary, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland economist Pedro Amaral presented data on the decline in net worth during recent recessions. The sharper decline during the current recession helps explain its depth and slow recovery, he says.
Also on September 10, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data showing that younger baby boomers on average held 11 different jobs between ages 18 and 44.
In a September 9 post, University of Wisconsin economist Menzie Chinn addressed a common conservative belief that government employment has expanded rapidly in recent years. In fact, except for the temporary federal workers hired for the Census, employment at all levels of government has been falling.
On September 9, the Small Business Administration published a study on global entrepreneurship and the U.S.
On September 8, the Charities Aid Foundation published the World Giving Index, which uses a variety of measures to determine a nation’s propensity toward charity. It ranks Australia first with the U.S. tied for fifth position. It also found that charity is more closely linked to happiness than to income.
Also on September 8, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released data showing that it cost approximately $27.64 per hour for a private sector employer to hire a new employee; 71 percent going for wages and salaries and the rest for benefits. Compensation for state and local government workers was much higher at $39.74 per hour; 66 percent going for wages and salaries and the rest for benefits.
A September 1 study from the Urban Institute examined the size of the nonprofit sector. It finds that total charitable giving came to $304 billion in 2009.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column at The Fiscal Times. Read his most recent column here. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).
