Journal of Economic Literature
Book Reviews
2026-08-28
Kate Antonovics of University of California, San Diego reviews “Chutes and Ladders: Navigating the Low-Wage Labor Market” by Katherine S. Newman,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Explores whether the poorest workers and families in America benefited from the tight labor markets and good economic times of the late 1990s. Discusses lives in the long run; the best-case scenario; high flyers, low riders, and the “up but not out” club; all in the family; the national picture; streetwise economics; work and welfare in the boom years; dreams deferred--aspirations and obstacles in work and family life; and opening the gates. Newman is Malcolm Forbes Class of 1941 Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Index.”