The single most important fact about the contemporary pattern of global economic integration is that it is being guided by a predominant commitment to neoliberal economic policies. Considering both the global North and South, this paper examines three basic problems resulting from neoliberal...

This paper first examines the question "what is a living wage" and provides a range of specific dollar amounts derived from a conceptual assessment of the term. I then provide a series of cost estimates of living wage laws in various cities. Based on these cost estimates, I examine a set of...

The term "living wage" has been used in two separate ways: 1) a wage rate that will enable workers and their families to live above a reasonable poverty threshold; and 2) a somewhat more ambitious standard, a wage rate that will meet a family's basic budgetary needs. This paper attempts to...

This encyclopedia entry examines the relationship between saving behavior in capitalist economies and their macroeconomic performance. It first considers various accounting issues in defining "saving" and argues for the significance of these accounting distinctions for understanding how saving...

In February 2002, New Orleans endorsed with a 63 percent majority a ballot initiative to establish a citywide minimum wage one dollar above the federal minimum. We surveyed New Orleans businesses in 1999 to estimate this proposal's costs. We present the main results from this survey. We then...

Three unique features of the contemporary period of globalization stand out in contrast with the epoch of integration early in the 20th century: the rise of manufacturing capacity in less-developed countries; the expansion in cross-border financial trading; and the fact that integration is...

Levine and Zervos (1998) presented cross-country econometric evidence showing that, in a sample of 47 countries, stock market liquidity contributed a significant positive influence to GDP growth between 1976-93. We show that the Levine-Zervos results are not robust to alternative specifications...

In early 2007, there were approximately 140 living wage ordinances in place throughout the United States. Communities around the country frequently debate new proposals of this sort. Additionally, as a result of ballot initiatives, twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia, representing...