By Melissa S. Kearney, Brad Hershbein and Elisa Jácome. There has been tremendous focus in recent years on the plight of the typical American worker. With discussion among policymakers and the media around the impacts of globalization, technology, and other forces of change on the labor market, there are endless anecdotes describing the changing nature of work in the United States. This is a topic area in which the Hamilton Project has taken an active interest. In previous papers, the Project has considered the future of work, declining earnings for the median male worker, and the disparate earnings of those with different levels or types of education. More...

By Michael B. Henderson and Martin R. West. Over the past year, the Common Core State Standards have risen from a topic of interest mainly to educators and school reformers to a top-tier issue in national politics. With likely Republican presidential candidates already staking out divergent positions, the standards and the federal government’s role in promoting them show strong signs of emerging as a key point of contention in the Republican primaries. How might this growing salience shape public opinion on the standards? A comparison of polls we’ve conducted nationally and in the state of Louisiana is instructive—and discouraging. More...

By Harry J. Holzer. With students at Corinthian University last week making national news for going on strike and refusing to pay their college loans, it’s an opportune time to re-examine the relationship between the costs of higher education, what students get in return and whether these institutions have any accountability to their charges and the taxpayers who often end up footing the bill.
These students are hardly alone: there are 40 million Americans with loans and their debt burden is over $1.3 trillion. More...