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Title: Prepared Testimony on "Economic Disparities and the Economic Challenges Facing American Families"

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2021

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Abstract: The American economy had pervasive disparities before the pandemic. The pandemic exacerbated many of those disparities in market outcomes but the policy response, in many ways, was successful in combatting some of the widening disparities. The policy response, however, was temporary and the pre-existing structural problems in the U.S. economy will remain. That is why I am so pleased that this Select Committee is tackling what I view as the fundamental challenge our economy, and perhaps our society more broadly, faces. My testimony makes six points: 1. American families are making much slower economic progress than they have in the past. 2. The source of this slower progress is a combination of slower productivity growth, higher inequality, and a reduction in work. 3. Disparities are pervasive by income, education, race, ethnicity, gender and many other dimensions. They express themselves in almost every area including the economy, education, environment, health, housing, clean water, crime, and more. 4. Inequality has many causes and it also has commensurately many solutions—there is no single magic bullet. 5. There are many opportunities to reduce disparities while boosting overall growth and policymakers should pursue all of them. 6. Finally, there are additional ways policymakers could reduce disparities in order to help American families with relatively little impact on growth and policymakers should purse those as well. The remainder of my written testimony expands on these six points.

Url: https://www.piie.com/sites/default/files/documents/furman2021-07-29.pdf

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Authors: Furman, Jason

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Data Collections: IPUMS CPS

Topics: Family and Marriage, Labor Force and Occupational Structure

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