Category Archives: Labor Economics

Covid puts workers at risk of modern slavery

Modern slavery is not like the kind we know from the colonial era. Instead, people have no permanent jobs or benefits, and there are no rules controlling their employment relations; or perhaps there are not even jobs to be found. Society for most becomes anarchy, nations of refugees with nowhere to be, nothing to do.

According to this report, quite a few countries, mostly in the far east, are moving into a high risk category because of layoffs and dislocations due to the virus. In a sense, though it is happening everywhere, even in the US. People can’t find jobs, and it’s likely to continue long after the virus passes out of daily consciousness, as companies figure out how to do more with less. We will be converted to nations of gig workers with fewer and fewer gigs.

By Alex Lennane 04/09/2020

Link to article: https://theloadstar.com/warning-to-firms-as-covid-puts-more-and-more-workers-at-risk-of-modern-slavery/

LA and Long Beach ports could learn from Mister Rogers

Cooperation seems to go out the window in tough times. But California’s ports have a long history of cooperation on clean air. I hope they will resolve differences soon and putthis behind us.

A reduction in the clean air fee per TEU for zero emission trucks is a good idea. Let’s hope it is enacted soon, and that electric trucks start being used at the ports.

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/la-and-long-beach-ports-could-learn-from-mister-rogers

Kim Link-Wills, Senior EditorWednesday, August 26, 2020

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Most business incentives don’t work.

We’ve already seen and heard of many instances where business incentives granted by governments to firms moving in have not produced results the politicians wanted.  Why is this?  Which incentives work?  Finally there’s a study that sheds light on this. It’s important advice for local and regional leaders.  One should always take economic research with a grain of salt; but if even a few awful cases could be prevented the benefits for local economies would be great.

Tim Bartik and John C. Austin November 4, 2019

screenshot-www-brookings-edu-2016-10-19-08-47-331

via Most business incentives don’t work. Here’s how to fix them.

Here’s the PDF of the study by Bartik:

Bartik 2019 – Making Sense of Incentives_ Taming Business Incentives to Promote