Expanding Economic Opportunity for More Americans

Each of the three discussion papers contained in this volume are the product of 12 months of work by a bipartisan working group comprised of a small set of Aspen Economic Strategy Group members and co-led by a pair of two members.

Recent evidence suggests that, contrary to the current narrative in some policy circles, the link between productivity and wages is strong.

The 2016 election heightened an ongoing debate in the United States about how best to respond to two of the foremost economic challenges of the current era: stagnant wages and a dearth of promising career prospects for American workers without a bachelor’s degree.

In the face of continued low employment, stagnant wages, persistent poverty, and rising inequality, minimum wage increases will likely continue to hold appeal as a policy response. In this paper, I propose a Higher Wages Tax Credit (HWTC) to partially offset the costs imposed by minimum wage increases on firms that employ low-skilled labor.