Full Citation
Title: Common Sense Construction: The Economic Impacts of Indiana's Common Construction Wage
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2014
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Abstract: Indiana’s Common Construction Wage (CCW) is a “prevailing wage law.” Prevailing wage laws (PWLs) establish local standards in labor markets such that the wage rates paid on public construction projects ensure that economic development is broadly shared. PWLs allow workers to support a family in the community where the project is built. Because states and localities typically have statutes which require them to accept the lowest bid on a project letting, contractors must structure their bids to minimize costs and meet minimum engineering and quality standards. Unfortunately, unscrupulous contractors have incentives to cut corners and game the system, with adverse impacts on project quality. The result is often longer-term issues which translate into increased maintenance and reconstruction costs. Since public construction accounts for about one-fourth of the construction market nationwide, the lowbid model used by public bodies puts considerable downward pressure on wages, benefits, and working conditions. Wages are also pushed downward by the inherently seasonal and temporary nature of construction work. Construction workers are always working themselves out of a job, failing to win a bid can swiftly result in a contractor going out of business, and those waiting for another project are vulnerable to accepting reduced wages. Simultaneously, however, the . . .
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Authors: Bruno, Robert; IV Manzo, Frank; Littlehale, Scott
Publisher: Midwest Economic Policy Institute
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure
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