The best-case scenario / Katherine S. Newman and Chauncy Lennon -- High flyers, low riders, and the "up but not out" club -- All in the family -- The national picture / Helen Connolly, Peter Gottschalk, and Katherine S. Newman -- Streetwise economics -- Victor Tan Chen and Katherine S. Newman --...

Reaching for a new deal: ambitious governance, economic meltdown, and polarized politics / Theda Skocpol, Lawrence R. Jacobs -- Hard-fought legacy: Obama, congressional democrats, and the struggle for comprehensive health care reform / Lawrence R. Jacobs, Theda Skocpol -- Eliminating the market...

Introduction and background -- Good jobs : basic facts and trends over time -- Job quality and volatility : how do they affect worker earnings? -- Job quality and volatility in metropolitan areas : a tale of two (kinds of) cities -- Good jobs and employer dynamics -- Conclusion and policy...

Over the last forty years, rising national income has helped reduce poverty rates, but this has been accompanied by an increase in economic inequality. While these trends are largely attributed to technological change and demographic shifts, such as changing birth rates, labor force patterns,...