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By Laura Conaway
People getting by on low wages also tend to lose out on overtime they've earned, and they're more likely to get paid less than the minimum wage. Those are the findings in "Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers," a new study by the Ford, Joyce, Haynes and Russell Sage Foundations.
The New York Times runs the numbers:
In surveying 4,387 workers in various low-wage industries, including apparel manufacturing, child care and discount retailing, the researchers found that the typical worker had lost $51 the previous week through wage violations, out of average weekly earnings of $339. That translates into a 15 percent loss in pay.
The Times calls the study "the most comprehensive examination of wage-law violations in a decade." Of the workers interviewed, 68 percent had been through at least one violation of their pay rights in the past work week. Female illegal immigrants were most likely to report they'd earned less than the minimum wage -- in industries ranging from garment work to childcare.
categories: Employment, Global Poverty
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- September 2, 2009
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Last year's IMF Spring Meetings in Washington. (IMF / Flickr)
By Mathew Katz
The IMF announced yesterday that it's going to increase its lending to poor nations by $17 billion through 2014, responding to what officials call a "third wave" of the financial crisis which has threatened low-income countries. The IMF is also doubling the amount individual countries can borrow.
Loans from the IMF can be a lifeline for struggling states, but they do come with strings attached. A few economists at the United Nations recently told us all about the havoc that IMF debt can wreak on a poor country. Now the IMF is implementing some of the recommendations from those same economists -- folks like Martin Khor and Joseph Stiglitz -- to make lending fairer.
Continue reading "IMF To Increase Lending To Poor Nations, Provide Easier Terms" >
categories: Global Poverty
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Today's G8 announcement of $20 billion for food aid actually takes a fairly revolutionary step. Instead of just delivering food, G8 countries are going to help poor countries develop their agriculture industries. It's almost like a farming stimulus, only provided by outside countries rather than local governments. The American share of that pledge is about $3.5 billion, which would be a doubling of previous hunger spending.
It's the sort of shift that NYU economist William Easterly (he's in today's podcast) has been wanting for years. He's long been opposed to traditional foreign aid models of giving money or food to foreign governments -- he says it leads to dependence on the West, rather than strengthening poor countries.
But what does this money actually mean to the world's hungry? David Kauck of CARE says there are a bunch different ways the money can be spent.
Continue reading "G8's New Approach To Hunger" >
categories: Global Poverty
