The Handbook illuminates complex facets of the economic and social provisioning process across the globe. The contributors – academics, policy analysts and practitioners from wide-ranging areas of expertise – discuss the methodological approaches to, and analytical tools for,...

Women continue to earn less than men in the United States. This article surveys the debate about why this occurs and synthesizes the policy remedies. Unionizing women, comparable worth, pay secrecy legislation, affirmative action, stronger non-discrimination legislation, and family-friendly...

This paper finds that black women earn 7 percent less than similarly skilled white women because of their race. Even within the same occupational category, black women earn 3 percent less than similarly qualified white women. Black women receive lower pay primarily due to occupational...

In the U.S., public and private employers often survey each other's wages in order to estimate the prevailing “market wage” for a job. I examine this process to see how it can lead to underpaying women, relying on a 1989 study of government wage-setting in the State of Washington and my own...

We examine the effect of measurement error on estimates of the size of the working poor population. Using a unique data set, which includes both self-reported and employer-reported earnings, we find that inaccurately reported earnings are common. Among those with very low self-reported earnings...

This is a short introduction to the four paper symposium on the working poor in this issue.