UKCPR affiliate Scott Allard and colleagues at the University of Washington are recipients of a grant from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth (WCEG) to study local minimum wage laws and their impact on income inequality.
Allard, along with UW co-investigators Jennifer Romich, Heather Hill, and Mark Long were among recipients of 14 research grants made by WCEG announced recently by the Center. The UW researchers will develop a merged longitudinal data set of demographic, employment, and public program data for the state of Washington.
One of the aims of the UW project is to document a process that will allow other scholars to replicate their work in other locations. The work will allow for analysis of policy interventions related to income and program participation.
WCEG research topics seek to address issues important to U.S. laborers and their families. Their funded projects range from how firms establish wage scales to the effects of mergers and antitrust enforcement. Since 2013, the Center has funded about $5 million in research for 200 scholars. Equitable Growth’s research emphasis is on improved understanding of the effects of inequality on growth and support of evidence-based policy decisions that will enhance broad economic growth.