Fighting Poverty During Downturns

How can we fight poverty during economic downturns?

Table of Contents (Summer 2008)

EDITOR'S NOTE

Editor's Note

HOW CAN WE FIGHT POVERTY DURING ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS?

Insurance Against Recession
Alan Krueger makes the case that reforming unemployment insurance will both help the poor and provide a much-needed dose of economic stimulus.
A Golden Parachute for Everyone?
Dalton Conley argues that the downturn is a wake-up call with an opportunity to recast all Americans, even the poor, as investors and capital managers.
Fiscal Stimulus and Poverty
Jason Furman advocates for an automatically stabilized economy that takes politics out of the equation and helps those who need it most.
Killing Two Birds with One Stone: Harder Than You Think
Benjamin Friedman explains why antipoverty initiatives may flounder when large swaths of the populations are not benefiting from economic growth.
The Politics of Fighting Poverty in Faltering Economies
William A. Galston discusses the most promising political strategies for fighting poverty when budget dollars are scarce.
Widening Inequality Means a Democracy at Risk
Benjamin Friedman explains why antipoverty initiatives may flounder when large swaths of the populations are not benefiting from economic growth.

Intervention

Creating Second Chances
The Second Chance Act takes the problems of prisoner re-entry head on. But is it enough? Devah Pager outlines policies for prisoner re-entry that can really work.

Research in Brief

New Research Developments
The effects of Internet use on earnings, old age as the great happiness equalizer, a Texas experiment on college admissions, and other cutting-edge research.

Trends

Cause for Alarm? Understanding Recent Trends in Teenage Childbearing
Teen pregnancy is again on the rise. Would reducing teen pregnancy yield substantial reductions in poverty? Frank F. Furstenberg gives a surprising answer.