As spring takes off, we have many upcoming events to highlight,
including our first ever Poverty Research and Policy Summit at
the UC Center Sacramento. The event will bring together
researchers, policymakers, practitioners and advocates to discuss
the state of poverty research and public policy in our nation. We
also have a full seminar series taking off in early March, a new
issue of Poverty Research Now and new videos highlighting some of
our scholars’ research perspectives. Check them out!
This issue of Poverty Research Now contains a sampling of
work that explores today’s labor markets and how they affect
low-wage workers. We hope they make a real contribution to
policies that reduce U.S. poverty.
In this issue:
The Challenges of Low-wage Work
by Ariel Pihl and Ann Huff Stevens, UC Davis
Wage Growth and Increased Hours Reduce Poverty
By Ariel Pihl, UC Davis
Distance From Jobs May Be a Factor in Employment
Discrimination
David Phillips, Hope College
In this video, sociologist Katherine Jewsbury Conger discusses
how poverty and economic hardship impact parents and their
children. Early childhood programs, she says, are important
avenues for parents living in poverty to make a contribution and
to make connections to their communities.
Conger is a Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at
UC Davis and a Faculty Affiliate of the Center for Poverty
Research. Her research focuses in part on the links between
family stress and adolescent adjustment.
In this video, sociologist Victoria Smith describes the
challenges low-wage workers face in trying to get ahead. Policies
that increase earnings and stabilize work hours, she says, can
make a difference for economically vulnerable workers and their
families.
The 2016 “presidential issue” of Pathways Magazine is devoted to
exploring the positions that the candidates and parties are
advancing on matters of poverty, mobility, and inequality.
