Lessons From the Policy World

Abstract

Work and employment scholars interested in jobs and workers at the lower end of the labor market have much to learn from a recent set of volumes authored by policy scholars. These volumes focus on how shifts in the macroeconomy, work supports, and postsecondary education affect the well-being of workers both on and off the job. This essay identifies some of the more subtle contributions of these volumes to knowledge on the nature of employment. It explains how many of the analyses could benefit, however, from additional consideration of the jobs low-earners perform. The essay concludes by offering specific suggestions for incorporating additional measures of job conditions into policy-relevant research.