Publications
The Hamilton Project produces and commissions policy proposals and analyses to promote broad-based economic growth by embracing a significant role for well-designed government policies and public investment.
Posts
The softening labor market shows resilience and some pockets of slack
Our review of key labor market indicators finds that the labor market remains tight but shows some pockets of slack.
Employment & Wages
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Policy Proposals
A federal guarantee for earned paid time off
Economic Security & Inequality
Employment & Wages
Posts
Event recap—How would across-the-board tariffs create chaos in 2025?
Healthy Economy
Tax Policy & Budget
Posts
Immigration and the macroeconomy after 2024
Effective Government
Healthy Economy
Explore All Publications
How declining dynamism affects wages
Wages have stagnated in recent decades for typical workers. While a number of economic, policy, and technological developments bear some responsibility, econom…
The importance of strong labor demand
By conventional measures, the U.S. job market has suffered some degree of slack for about 70 percent of the time since 1980. The absence of persistent, strong …
Strengthening labor standards and institutions to promote wage growth
For most of the period since the 1970s the United States has suffered from two trends: stagnant wages for most workers and rising inequality. In this paper, He…
Revitalizing wage growth: Policies to get American workers a raise
One simple question—are wages rising?—is as central to the health of our democracy as it is to the health of our economy. This book presents evidence and analy…
Reforming non-competes to support workers
Firms use non-competes widely in order to minimize recruiting costs, safeguard investments, and protect intellectual property more easily than is achieved via …
Stagnation in lifetime incomes: An overview of trends and potential causes
Lifetime incomes have stagnated significantly since the 1960s. This paper presents policy proposals that aim to boost wage growth for younger workers.
Information is power: Fostering labor market competition through transparent wages
One of the challenges of wage stagnation is asymmetric information, whereby employers have a greater knowledge of the distribution of wages relative to workers…
Coming and going: Encouraging geographic mobility at college entry and exit to lift wages
Geography is an important part of economic opportunity—but due to monetary and nonmonetary costs of migration, college attendance is less likely for those who …
