Gas peaked at $1.39 a gallon back then, which would be $4.52 today. Action News spoke to Michael Lahr, an economics professor at Rutgers University. "What may happen, not real soon though, is that companies will use these raises in prices to invest in capital to get...
Topic
economy
New Jersey State Policy Lab: Guilt Tipping and the Inflated Default Tip
Why do we feel guilty about tipping pressures at establishments where only a tipping jar previously existed? And why are tips inflating as a percentage of the bill?
Trends in American Opinions about Jobs, 2010 to 2021
A new Work Trends research brief titled includes selected trend data about work, the job market, and job security.
New Jersey Policy Lab: A Primer on Housing Markets with a Bird’s Eye View on New Jersey
Expect telecommuting and surge of millennials forming families to push housing demands in NJ, especially in “good” school districts. Lahr notes a widening gap between housing starts and completions–due to supply chain challenges–and considers pandemic impacts on low-income households.
Philadelphia’s soda tax added jobs thanks to increased funding for child care, a new study says
The Rutgers study took a macroeconomic approach in an attempt to look at the ripple effects of the tax, and not just its impact on directly affected industries. Michael L. Lahr, a public policy professor at Rutgers and the study’s primary author, said he expected to...
Philadelphia’s Pre-K program, funded by Beverage Tax, helps the city’s children, families, and economy
The release of the study comes in the context of a larger national debate about increasing public funding for child care and pre-K programs.
More states are ending jobless benefit, but will workers return?
“When there’s a quick ramping up of the (economy), there’s a quick demand for workers and that means the people who pay more are going to get those workers ... just as when there’s a labor surplus they’re able to pay less and still get a competent workforce,’’ says...
Chronic jobless find work in a tight market
The drop in long-term unemployment, if it continues, would be a welcome development for the recovery from the coronavirus recession. Workers who experience long bouts of unemployment often have a tougher time getting hired because their skills may erode and they face...
Another push for local governments to share work and cut costs
Marc Pfeiffer, a former deputy director of the state Division of Local Government Services who now serves as the assistant director of Rutgers University’s Bloustein Local Government Research Center, said local governments in New Jersey are facing a lot of pressure...
Positive new data builds expectations for a whopper number for Friday’s closely watched jobs report
Payroll processing firm ADP said 970,000 people had been hired in May, the biggest gain since June 2020. “If we continue to get lower numbers, I think that is consistent with stories around schools not being fully reopened and parents having difficulty with childcare...