2006 - 2007 Emerging Scholars

2006-2007

"Financial Asset-Building Strategies and the Well-Being of Children and Youth in Poverty", Jennifer Romich, Assistant Professor of Social Work

Poverty in the United States is marked not only by inequalities in income but by inequalities in wealth, the holding of financial assets. Programs and policies designed to increase asset-ownership among persons who are poor attract bipartisan interest and support. To date, enthusiasm about asset-building has been generated more rapidly than evidence. In this study, Professor Romich will develop a framework for evaluating the impact of asset-building programs and policies on child well-being that can serve as a foundation for additional research on anti-poverty policies and child and youth well-being.

"Investigating Sate Minimum Wage Policy and Private Sector Employer Influences on the Employment Experiences of tipped Restaurant Workers"

This study examines how variable state minimum wage laws and private employer management practices together shape the experience of employees holding restaurant wait staff jobs. Using a lens that conceptualizes public policy and private employer practices as critical stratifying forces in access to employment opportunity, this project addresses two research questions: how do (1) state-level policy context on the one hand, and (2) organizational context on the other, influence minimum wage workers’ income, benefits and work-life balance? The answers will come through the collection and analysis of new survey data from a sample of restaurant employers representing national chains with locations in Seattle and Chicago. In addition to extending scholarship on low-wage employment, the study will generate practical insights for crafting public policy and private employer practices that better balance business productivity and worker support.