Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Panel: Economic Wellbeing, Income Instability and Precarious Work Schedules

(Employment and Work)

The papers in this panel all examine different aspects of economic instability and its consequences bringing together scholars from a variety of disciplines (sociology, social work, public policy, human development) and countries (U.S., U.K., Germany). In the first paper, Mykyta sets the stage by demonstrating how different forms of instability, like changes in employment or public assistance receipt, contribute to income volatility and poverty. The second paper (Choper, Schneider and Harknett) considers how precarious work scheduling (on-call shifts and short advance notice) is linked with job turnover, and how that in turn affects earnings mobility in the U.S. In the third paper, Pilkauskas explores how instability in maternal work schedules (changes in work hours, schedules and schedule types) is associated with child wellbeing. Last, the fourth paper (Zilanawala and Schenck-Fontaine) examines how shift work/non-standard work hours in the U.K. contribute to economic hardship among families with children. Together, these papers contribute to our understanding of economic instability and precarious schedules and their effects - to better consider how policies, like predictable work scheduling, might be able to improve the lives of families.