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Raising the Minimum Wage: The Impact on Women, People of Color, and Immigrants in Western New York
Sam Magavern, Russell Weaver, Haley Smith — Jan 26, 2023
The New York State Legislature is weighing legislation to raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation and worker productivity. In this brief, we examine the impact of such legislation in terms of bringing workers in Western New York closer to a living wage, which is the hourly wage sufficient to meet basic needs such as housing, food, childcare, transportation, and medical expenses.
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The True Cost of Child Care: Erie County NY (Final Report)
Lou Jean Fleron, Russell Weaver, Catherine Creighton — Oct 26, 2022
Funded by Erie County and supplemented with New York state funds allocated to the Cornell ILR Buffalo Co-Lab, the study builds on the Phase One report issued earlier this year and analyzes data on the child care industry and workforce for both Erie County and the state.
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Analysis of Predatory Lending in New York: From Origins to Interviews
Ryan Aguilar, Milena Saakyan — Aug 24, 2020
Certain legal procedures and policies have given headway for predatory lenders to become prominent and sustained. A short history, description of the New York circumstance, and analysis of CMG Services are delivered in this brief. Interviews of financial service providers were also conducted noting some of the effects of Covid-19 on predatory lending.
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Predatory Lenders: Avoiding Scams and Unethical Lending Practices
Ryan Aguilar — Aug 24, 2020
This informational document allows for greater knowledge of predatory lenders through identifying them and understanding their marketing techniques while additionally gaining advice on securing lending relationships from Community Development Financial Institutions.
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Repudiated: “Unbankable” Business Owners
Ryan Aguilar — Aug 24, 2020
This fact sheet produces a snapshot of information on business owners that are unlikely to get credit or loans from banks. Nationally, minorities account for a disproportionate share of the repudiated stemming from lack of monetary resources, insufficient credit, and systemic enforcement. Including Buffalo figures of inequality across areas like poverty, homeownership, transportation, and segregation demonstrates the disadvantaged footing faced by minority business owners in the city which is …
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The Geography of Poverty in Erie and Niagara Counties
Eli J. Levine — Nov 20, 2018
This Buffalo Brief provides visuals of the locations and rates of poverty in Erie and Niagara counties.
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Employment Data for Buffalo-Niagara
Partnership for the Public Good — Jul 11, 2018
Unemployment in Buffalo and the surrounding region shot upward in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, but declined in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. In 2017, unemployment rose in the city and region while falling in the state and nation.
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Workers on the Brink: Low-Wage Employment in Buffalo and Erie County
Nicole Hallett Apr 12, 2018
In 2017, Professor Hallett, winner of a public research fellowship from Open Buffalo and PPG, conducted a survey of 213 workers in Buffalo to learn more about the challenges they are facing.