Economic Policy Institute

Economic Policy Institute
Formation	1986
Headquarters	Washington, DC
Website	www.epi.org

The Economic Policy Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, liberal, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy. According to EPI's website, the institute was established to "broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers." EPI focuses on "the economic condition of low- and middle-income Americans and their families." EPI researchers, who often testify to Congress and are widely cited in the media, brought to light the disconnect between pay and productivity that marked the U.S. economy in the 1990s.^{[citation needed]} The EPI's President is Lawrence Mishel, a long-time member of Democratic Socialists of America.

Activities

The Economic Policy Institute acts as the hub of the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN).

On January 11, 2007, the Economic Policy Institute launched the Agenda for Shared Prosperity, a new policy initiative that will formulate an economic policy agenda to reduce economic insecurity of working families and provide broadly shared prosperity. This project was launched at the public forum in Washington, D.C. with a keynote address by Senator Jim Webb.

The Global Policy Network (GPN) consists of policy and research institutions connected to the world's trade union movements.^{[citation needed]}

The State of Working America

The institute’s flagship publication is The State of Working America. The publication has been issued every two years since 1988, and the most recent issue is the 2008/2009 edition. According to the Economic Policy Institute, The State of Working America sums up the problems and challenges facing American working families, presenting a wide variety of data on family incomes, taxes, wages, unemployment, wealth, and poverty—data that enables the book's authors to closely examine the impact of the economy on the living standards of the American people. The book seeks to determine how well the U.S. economy is functioning from the perspective of working Americans and their families, and it has emerged as the authoritative source on income, wage growth, and distribution issues.^{[citation needed]} It also includes regional analyses and international comparisons chapters.^{[citation needed]}

The State of Working America is authored by EPI’s staff economists. The current 2008-09 edition was authored by Lawrence Mishel, Jared Bernstein, and Heidi Schierholz.

The State of Working America has been cited in the press and is used in various social sciences courses by universities and colleges.^{[citation needed]}

Major program areas

Living standards and labor markets One of EPI’s core functions is to track the living standards of working families. EPI's Living Standards and Labor Markets team calculates statistics on issues like state-level unemployment rates by race, ethnicity, and gender. The living standard program tells the story of how key economic variables are evolving, and explains what factors are driving these changes. This describes much of EPI’s daily activities, from their reference volume, The State of Working America, to communicating with a popular audience via blogs, radio, and TV appearances.

EPI notes that it offers policy recommendations "with the goal of influencing policy makers to adopt policies that are good for working people."

In 2009, EPI argued that a higher minimum wage rate would benefit low-income working families and help boost consumer spending and the economy.

Trade and globalization EPI also works on issues of trade and globalization, producing trade and jobs data and analyses that are widely cited in Congressional debates and the media. The research examines outsourcing, offshoring, and the loss of jobs in the manufacturing sector. Its stated goals include helping other countries adopt core labor standards, including rights of collective bargaining, and helping them create a middle class with the purchasing power to boost the economy. Among the policy-specific agenda items it promotes in pursuit of these goals are the abolition of child and forced labor and discrimination by ethnicity, gender, or caste.

Education EPI produces research and publications in the field of education, ranging from pre-kindergarten level to higher education. Among the topics it addresses are the importance of teacher quality, charter schools and vouchers, and ways to close the educational achievement gap between the children from poor backgrounds and their better-off classmates. EPI also produces economic analysis on, for example, urban high school graduation rates and the effects of school reforms such as smaller classrooms and school choice programs.

The institute often partners with experts in the education field to author books and other publications. Some such recent partnerships include with Richard Rothstein, former New York Times education columnist and professor at the Columbia University Teachers’ College, who authored Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic, and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap.

Fiscal policy and public investment EPI contributes to public policy debates on tax cuts, Social Security, public investment, federal budget issues and priorities, privatization, and the challenges facing state and local governments.^{[citation needed]}

EPI critiqued the Bush administration's proposals for new federal tax cuts mostly for the highest income Americans, and offered an alternative economic stimulus plan.^{[citation needed]} EPI's comprehensive economic stimulus proposal included one-time tax credits for lower and middle-income families, federal aid to hard-pressed state governments, and federal assistance for school renovation and construction. EPI claims that this program would have pumped an infusion of money into the economy at a critical moment, creating millions of jobs without generating federal budget deficits for years to come.^{[citation needed]} EPI's economic roadmap was widely supported by progressive leaders and groups.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, the Bush Administration and its allies in Congress mounted a campaign to privatize Social Security. EPI joined forces with other progressive groups and organized labor to oppose this effort. EPI conducted research and analysis that laid out the costs and consequences for millions of seniors and families, especially for African Americans, for whom Social Security is a lifeline, and was instrumental in the successful nationwide effort to block the administration's plan EPI Research Associate William Spriggs made a contribution to the debate and the ultimate defeat of the administration's effort to overhaul and privatize the program.Template:Need better sources, and Bailout Analysis.

Health Care During the 2009 debate on Health care reform in the United States some union interests attacked proposals to replace the employer tax exclusion with a tax deduction that would apply to all Americans (not just those who enjoy the good employer benefits provided to many union members) including the Healthy Americans Act bill sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden. The EPI supported the perspective of these union interests in a series of reports, which provoked criticism from independent progressives. According to The Economist, opposition to the removal of the tax preference given to employer provided health insurance "rejected the financing method recommended by most economists"

Notable members

• Lawrence Mishel, President
• Christian Dorsey, Director of External and Government Affairs
• Dean Baker, research associate
• Teresa Ghilarducci, research associate
• Usha Haley, research associate
• Joel Rogers, research associate
• John Schmitt, research associate

Funders

In its own website, the institute claimed that it is funded by a combination of foundation, corporate, labor, and individual donor support. According to its website, from 2005 to 2007, 53% of funds came from foundations, and 29% from unions.

External links

• official website
• EPI's Agenda for Shared Prosperity
• EPI's Economic Analysis and Research Network
• The Global Policy Network website
• EPI's website, Experts and researchers
• EPI's The State of Working America website
• EPI Bookstore's website