Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Kavya Vaghul
Budget analyses of U.S. income support programs must incorporate long-term benefits for children
When any piece of legislation is considered by the U.S. Congress, it typically goes through a budget analysis to establish its impact on the federal government’s bottom line. These analyses, performed by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, look at the changes in government spending and revenue that may arise over the next 10 years as a result of the proposed bill being enacted, accounting for predicted responses to the law by individuals, firms, and local governments.
JUST Capital Joined the U.S. Department of Labor and Families and Workers Fund to Better Understand the State of Job Quality in America — JUST Capital
Like the first Friday of every month, July 8 marked the release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Situation report, more commonly referred to as “Jobs Day.” The latest report seems to paint an optimistic picture of job growth. The economy added 372,000 jobs in June, with the private sector regaining its pre-pandemic number of jobs. But that seemingly rosy snapshot stands at odds with what workers themselves are experiencing, and how employers are responding.
Corporate Racial Equity Tracker
Monday, June 20, 2022 Print Tweet Kavya Vaghul is Senior Director of Research and Ashley Marchand Orme is Director of Corporate Equity at JUST Capital. This post is based on a JUST Capital memorandum by Ms. Vaghul, Ms. Orme, Aleksandra Radeva, Daniel Krasner, Kim Ira, and Molly Stutzman.
Workforce Diversity Data Disclosure
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 Print Tweet Kavya Vaghul is Senior Director of Research and Aleksandra Radeva and Kim Ira are Research Analysts at JUST Capital. This post is based on their JUST Capital memorandum. Related research from the Program on Corporate Governance includes Politics and Gender in the Executive Suite by Alma Cohen, Moshe Hazan, and David Weiss (discussed on the Forum here), and Duty and Diversity by Chris Brummer and Leo E. Strine, Jr. (discussed on the Forum here).
The Current State of Human Capital Disclosure
Key Findings To meet growing expectations on human capital disclosure—from investors, workers, regulators, the American public, and other key stakeholders—the country’s 100 largest employers have work to do.
America’s Child Care Crisis Calls for Stronger Corporate and Policy Action — JUST Capital
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets with CEOs, including Etsy’s Josh Silverman, and Chobani’s Hamdi Ulukaya, and Seventh Generation’s Alison Whritenour, to discuss business support for paid family and medical leave. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Attempting to tune into a work call and a virtual lesson for their child. Struggling to find and afford child care when starting a new role after months of lost income.
A Corporate Guide to Paid Sick Leave — JUST Capital
by Kavya Vaghul, Liz Kneebone, Amanda Keating, Kim Ira February 22, 2021 Categories AARP Benefits & WorkLife Balance Coronavirus Paid Leave Workers For years, there have been mounting calls from researchers, advocates, policy makers, and workers to increase Americans’ access to a range of paid leave benefits in the absence of government action. The COVID-19 health crisis has put a spotlight on these critical issues.
A Small Fraction of Corporations Share Diversity Data, but Disclosure is Rapidly on the Rise — JUST Capital
This article was originally published on December 17, 2020 and updated on January 19, 2021, and features research assistance contributions from Kim Ira and Aleksandra Radeva, Junior Research Analysts, and data visualization contributions from Sara Horowitz, Director of Web Development.
As Parents Struggle With Back to School During COVID, Companies Can Step Up — JUST Capital
Almost three quarters of the largest public school districts in America opened this year as remote learning only. (kawee/Adobe Images) A child care crisis was brewing long before COVID-19 struck the United States earlier this year. Before the pandemic, parents across the country were already faced with a child care market riddled with issues of availability, accessibility, and quality, and priced at an exorbitant cost.
Nearly 75% of Americans Missing Work Due to COVID Aren’t Getting Paid — JUST Capital
As the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. continues to rise, paid sick leave remains crucial to limiting the spread of the virus, protecting workers’ finances, and supporting businesses and the economy. Recent data from the Census Bureau, however, shows that the vast majority of Americans who weren’t at work because they had COVID-19 symptoms did not receive any pay.
What Does Representation Look Like at 17 of America’s Largest Employers? — JUST Capital
Another week of nationwide, even global, protests for racial equity – spurred by the police killing of Black and Brown men and women including Elijah McClain, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks – has propelled commitments to antiracist action among institutions across the country. This moment of systems upheaval has opened the eyes of many Americans to issues of inequity and violence that are not new, but are being held under a new microscope.
Breaking the Silence on Racial Injustice Is the First Step. The Next Is Disclosing Workforce Demographics. — JUST Capital
by Yusuf George, Kim Ira, Liz Kneebone, Kavya Vaghul June 18, 2020 Categories Coronavirus Diversity & Inclusion Workers The times we’re in are heavy. The national response to the police killing of George Floyd continues to grow, protests against police brutality and systemic racism are being held in cities across the globe, and demands for justice are emerging from all corners of society.
Explore the Differences in Disclosure Across the 300 Companies in Our COVID-19 Corporate Response Tracker — JUST Capital
by Kavya Vaghul, Sarah Vieux June 11, 2020 Categories Communities Coronavirus Customers Workers On June 9th JUST Capital launched an updated version of the COVID-19 Corporate Response Tracker, now featuring data for 300 of America’s largest public employers (up from 100) across 20 dimensions of corporate action. Though the tracker grew by 200 companies, one of the most interesting trends we noticed was that overall rates of disclosure dropped in nearly every dimension.
Comparing Bonuses and Hourly Wage Increases for Frontline Workers — JUST Capital
by Catalina Caro, Kavya Vaghul May 14, 2020 Last week, JUST Capital released a report exploring what types of financial assistance America’s 100 largest employers – monitored in our COVID-19 Corporate Response Tracker – have provided to their essential workers to compensate them for putting their health at risk and help mitigate financial instability during the pandemic.
Brad DeLong: Worthy reads on equitable growth, September 28–October 4, 2019 - Equitable Growth
Worthy reads from Equitable Growth: Listen to Kate Bahn’s podcast, “Real talk with feminist visionaries, Season 3, No. 23, Kate Bahn.” This isn’t your Econ 101 take on the economy! Read Equitable Growth grantee Ellora Derenoncourt’s new paper with co-author Claire Montialoux, “Minimum Wages and Racial Inequality,” in which they present a key finding: “20 percent of the decline in the racial earnings gap during Civil Rights era stemmed from one single reform of the minimum wage.” Read Jonathan...
New research shows California Paid Family Leave reduces poverty
The United States remains the only industrialized nation without a national paid leave program, despite evidence that these programs can benefit working parents and employers as well. In 2004, California became the first state to establish a publicly funded program for family leave.
Research Shows: Raising the Minimum Wage Does Not Spell Job Loss
(This opinion piece first appeared in Morning Consult on July 9, 2019) Policymakers opposed to raising the federal minimum wage above $7.25 per hour have long argued it would lead to significant job losses. Some of those same opponents will now likely use a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the proposed minimum wage legislation currently before Congress to argue against passing it.
After Mother’s Day: Changes in mothers’ social programs over time
Yesterday was Mother’s Day. If you celebrated, maybe you enjoyed a homemade card, brunch on the town, a floral bouquet, or a mostly edible breakfast in bed. Today, I invite you to join me in thinking about how we as a nation craft the social programs that support our mothers. The first Mother’s Day was in 1905.
Economist Currie’s research on early childhood care and education highlights the need for a national childcare policy
Recent months have seen the blossoming of more concrete ideas for addressing the pressing problem of a lack of access to high-quality, affordable childcare and education—an issue that has not been treated as a national priority in recent decades. A growing body of new research is reshaping how we think about the importance of early childhood and highlights that quality, affordable childcare and education is not just good for families but also for the U.S. economy as a whole.
Discriminatory penalties at the intersection of race and gender in the United States
Race and gender disparities in wages are a relentless and troubling feature of U.S. labor markets. Economists have investigated the gender wage gap and racial wage gap for more than half a century, yet most empirical research still considers these two types of wage gaps in relative isolation, treating race and gender wage gaps separately.
Women have made the difference for family economic security
The steady movement of women into the U.S. workforce over the past half-century has dramatically changed the composition of family incomes across the country and up and down the income ladder. All these additional earnings, however, have not meant that family income has increased faster than in earlier eras. A breadth of research demonstrates that overall family economic security in the United States has been declining since the 1970s, especially among low- and middle-income families.
Across races, women bolster family economic security
Over the past half-century, the rise in women’s employment and earnings in the United States have boosted family incomes up and down the income ladder. Women’s increased time spent in paid employment means that families have lost time inside the home for caregiving, leaving many struggling to cope with the competing demands of work and life. Despite the time squeeze at home, however, women’s additional earnings have not meant that family incomes have increased faster than in earlier eras.
Maps show the geography of student debt in the Houston area
Maps show the geography of student debt in the Houston area A map of the United States shows exactly how student debt is affecting certain areas across the country - including the Houston area. The mapping project is from a team of researchers with the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. OPINION: Would canceling all student debt help the economy?
Weekend reading: the “fantasy budget” edition | Equitable Growth
This is a weekly post we publish on Fridays with links to articles that touch on economic inequality and growth. The first section is a round-up of what Equitable Growth published this week and the second is the work we’re highlighting from elsewhere. We won’t be the first to share these articles, but we hope by taking a look back at the whole week, we can put them in context. It’s all about the President’s budget this week. Well, almost.
College may not be the great equalizer across race and ethnicity | Equitable Growth
There’s a common perception that college is the great equalizer in the United States, a pathway to leveling the playing field between students from different socioeconomic groups. But the jury’s still out on whether that’s actually the case, at least according to two new papers. Amid conflicting answers to this question, research on the matter has often left out an equally important dimension: race and ethnicity.
U.S. democracy stuck in an “inequality trap”
Economic inequality in the United States appears to be trapped in a vicious cycle, as shown by several new working papers published today by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth alongside other recent research. Non-white, lower-income Americans are far less likely to vote than wealthier white citizens, and much of this participation gap is due to discriminatory practices at the ballot box.
How the student debt crisis affects African Americans and Latinos
Our first Mapping Student Debt interactive released this past December revealed a striking negative relationship between income and delinquency across zip codes. Not surprisingly, we found that higher levels of income are associated with fewer problems with student loan delinquency. In this second installment of the Mapping Student Debt project, we document that the geography of delinquency is highly racialized.
How the student debt crisis affects African Americans and Latinos - Equitable Growth
Our first Mapping Student Debt interactive released this past December revealed a striking negative relationship between income and delinquency across zip codes. Not surprisingly, we found that higher levels of income are associated with fewer problems with student loan delinquency. In this second installment of the Mapping Student Debt project, we document that the geography of delinquency is highly racialized.
Interactive: A new look at who earns what in the United States
Discussions of how wages vary for different workers are often abstract. Most analyses focus on just wage levels, paying little attention to who the workers are, what they do, or other factors—such as gender and race—that play a critical role in shaping the wage distribution.
The benefits and costs of investing in early childhood education
A fundamental challenge confronting the United States is how to generate faster and more widely shared economic growth, or equitable growth, now and well into the future. A large body of research across a variety of academic disciplines demonstrates that investments in the education of future workers can improve educational achievement and narrow socioeconomic-based achievement gaps, both of which can accelerate economic growth and promote more equal opportunity over time.
A snapshot of the long-term impacts of universal prekindergarten
Our newly released study quantifies the long-term benefits and costs of investing in a high-quality universal prekindergarten available to all 3- and 4-year olds across the United States. But before delving into the report, use the interactives below to explore how a universal prekindergarten program would affect your state and the nation as a whole.
An introduction to the geography of student debt
Today, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, with Generation Progress and Higher Ed, Not Debt, released its interactive, Mapping Student Debt, which compares the geographic distribution of average household student loan balances and average loan delinquency to median income across the United States and within metropolitan areas. The stark patterns of student debt across zip codes enable us to begin to analyze the role that debt plays in people’s lives and the larger economy.
The pernicious effects of growing student debt on the economic security of young workers
Student loans in the United States are now the second-largest source of debt, totaling $1.1 trillion shared among 42 million people with no sign of slowing down. Unfortunately, many questions about student debt, the characteristics of borrowers, and the nature of delinquency remain unanswered, primarily because agencies and researchers alike lacked access to the rich data in the U.S. Department of Education’s loan portfolio.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Kavya
Contact Kavya, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack