TITLE:
The Labor Market Effects of Right-to-Work Laws, 2010-2014
AUTHORS:
Philip G. Hoxie, Michael R. O’Herron, Matthew L. Floyd, Aidan C. McLaughlin, Paul M. Sommers
KEYWORDS:
Right-to-Work Laws, Great Recession, Employment-to-Population Ratios, Labor Force Participation Rates
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.5 No.2,
January
25,
2017
ABSTRACT: The authors use contiguous county pairs to study the effects of Right-to-Work (RTW) laws on employment-to-population ratios and labor force participation rates since the end of the Great Recession (2009). For counties located in the West and Midwest census regions, annual changes in employment-to-population ratios and labor force participation rates were either equal or significantly higher in RTW states than in non-RTW states between 2010 and 2014. In the South, the recovery was discernibly faster in non-RTW states.