Shows
The DynamistUnions and the New Right w/Liya PalagashviliFor decades, conservatives treated unions like an economic flu—tolerable in small doses, but best avoided altogether. But starting with Trump's election in 2016, that narrative began to unravel, with prominent Republicans increasingly taking pro-union positions.Perhaps the most striking example was Teamsters President Sean O'Brien speaking at the 2024 Republican National Convention. Despite both parties courting working class voters, union membership has cratered to just 10%, down from over 20% in the early '80s.This puts the Trump administration in an interesting position. The old conservative playbook misses that many workers fueling this movement are now Republican vo...2025-05-0846 min
Qualified OpinionsBusting the Myths Around Gig WorkersWhen we think of the gig economy, we think of its compartments. We might imagine an Uber driver shuttling people around town, or the DoorDash delivery person who brings us our Chinese food. But is it more complicated than this? Who are the people behind these careers? Are policymakers missing the mark when building legislation around independent workers? Liya Palagashvili joins Veronique to discuss. Liya Palagashvili is a senior research fellow and director of the Labor Policy Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.2025-04-1855 min
First Thing Today with Joe ThomasApr 4 2025 5am Hour(:00) The Sun is Rising in the Same Spot (tariff terror) / "First Things" (news)(:13) Global Fallout Proves Trump to be Correct / 2 Reasons You Import Things(:28) Email on Elon Musk and Social Security pyramid(:44) Guest: Liya Palagashvili (Mercatus) on 'Portable Benefits'2025-04-0553 min
The Human Cloud PodcastEp. 171: Liya Palagashvili, Senior Research Fellow at Mercatus Center, How Policy Can Shape the Future of Independent WorkLeaders, What does the future of independent work look like, and how are policies shaping its trajectory? In this episode, we sit down with Liya Palagashvili to unpack the economic trends, policy changes, and workforce dynamics that are shaping the shift toward flexible employment.Liya shares her journey from academia to workforce research, revealing how small businesses and independent professionals have driven the growth of freelancing long before the rise of the gig economy. She also highlights the critical role that data and research play in shaping legislation, dispelling misconceptions about misclassification, and e...2025-04-021h 12
Macro Musings with David BeckworthLiya Palagashvili on the Gig Economy, Portable Benefits, and Changing Labor Regulations Liya Palagashvili is a senior research fellow and director of the Labor Policy Project at the Mercatus Center. In Liya’s first appearance on the show she explains federal and state level changes to labor regulations, who makes up the gig economy workforce, the role women play in the independent workforce, the novel concept of portable benefits, and much more. Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on January 31st, 2025 Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Follow...2025-03-031h 03
The Reason Roundtable2024's Most Undercovered StoriesIn the last episode of The Reason Roundtable in 2024, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman select undercovered stories from the past year across three categories: politics, global affairs, and private industry. Au revoir, 2024!
00:14—Undercovered stories in politics
18:07—Undercovered stories in global affairs
33:14—Undercovered stories in private industry/commerce
48:24—2024 under the radar cultural recommendations
Mentioned in this podcast:
"No, California's $20 Minimum Wage for Fast-Food Workers Did Not Create Jobs," by Aaron Brown
"We Have Already Passed Peak Public School," by Matt...2024-12-3058 min
Disunion: The Government Union ReportUnpacking Union Power: Trade-Offs and Impacts on Jobs with Liya PalagashviliIn this episode, Liya Palagashvili, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, joins host David R. Osborne to discuss her forthcoming research on the costs and benefits of powerful labor unions. Her findings suggest that, while unions can secure higher wages in the short term, they may lead to slower employment growth and fewer jobs in
the long run.
They explore the impact of union strength, the role of job security, and the potential benefits of decentralized union models.
Wrapping up, David and Liya touch on the public s...2024-12-1933 min
Let People ProsperRemoving Government Barriers to Work with Dr. Liya Palagashvili | Let People Prosper Show Ep. 105Join me for Episode 105 of the Let People Prosper Show to learn how to remove barriers to work and prosperity so people can have good jobs and fulfilling careers with Dr. Liya Palagashvili, a senior research fellow and director of the Labor Policy Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
Like, subscribe, and share the Let People Prosper Show, and visit vanceginn.com for more insights from me, my research, and ways to invite me on your show, give a speech, and more.2024-07-1545 min
InFi: the Future of FinanceEp. 44: Liya Palagashvili on the Economics of Dynamic PricingLiya Palagashvili is a senior research fellow and director of the Labor Policy Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She joins Bob to discuss her book chapter on dynamic pricing. Watch the video version of this episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWlDbBYO1Yk Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3XXfmGS Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infineogroup/ Follow us on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/infineogroup/ Learn more about Infineo at: https://www.infineo.io/ Audio Production by Pod...2024-07-1248 min
Free The EconomyGig Work with Liya PalagashviliThis week we cover how to rebuild after the Baltimore bridge collapse, legal challenges to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new climate disclosure rule, and how China gets an edge by continuing to identify as a developing country. Our interview this week is with Liya Palagashvili of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. We’ll talk about jobs, full time vs. part time, contractors and gig work, California’s experiment with Assembly Bill 5, recent action from the Department of Labor, and why working mothers could really use more career flexibility. Free the Economy is produced and hosted by Ric...2024-03-2841 min
She ThinksLiya Palagashvili: Are You About To Lose Your Side Job?Liya Palagashvili joins this week’s She Thinks episode to help us assess the harms and threats to independent contracting through a new Department of Labor rule. As more and more Americans are choosing flexible and entrepreneurial jobs, how will reclassifying “independent contractors” as “employees” change the opportunities and benefits that many workers seek? Liya Palagashvili is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Her primary research interests include entrepreneurship, regulation, and the gig economy. She has published academic articles, book chapters, policy papers, and articles in media outlets such as the New Y...2024-02-1621 min
LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations RadioLabor Relations Radio, E112—The War on Independent Contractors, Part IV: A Panel Discussion With Freelancers Against AB5In this fourth episode in our four-part series on the War on Independent Contractors, Karen Anderson, founder of Freelancers Against AB5—a Facebook group of more than 18,000 Californians impacted by the state’s imposition of AB5 which contains the three-pronged ‘ABC Test’— returns to Labor Relations Radio, along with a panel of independent contractors who have been harmed by the law.As proverbial ‘canaries in the coal mine,’ as the U.S. Department of Labor rolls out its 339-page final rule—which contains a vague six-factor test—on independent contractors, the panel consists of of freelance writers, musicians (includi...2024-02-011h 47
LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations RadioLabor Relations Radio, E111—The War on Independent Contractors, Part III: Economist Liya Palagashvili on the impact of California's AB5In this episode, Liya Palagashvili, an economist and Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, returns to Labor Relations Radio to discuss the Mercatus Center’s new study on California’s War on Independent Contractors through AB5 and its ABC Test, and how the U.S. Department of Labor’s six-factor final rule may impact America’s workforce.Be sure to subscribe to Liya Palagashvili’s Substack Labor Market Matters.Related:* Labor Market Matters: New Study on California AB5 and Implications for the Department of Labor’s Independent Contractor Rule...2024-01-2642 min
LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations RadioLabor Relations Radio, E73—Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) talks about the ongoing 'War on Independent Contractors'Share this episode of Labor Relations Radio with your colleagues.Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) has become one of the nation’s leading defenders of independent contractors’ right to earn a living.Recently, Representative Kiley chaired a subcommittee hearing to defend the rights of 60-70 million Americans who earn incomes as independent contractors. During that hearing, prior Labor Relations Radio guests Karen Andersen and Kim Kavin testified, as did the Mercatus Center’s Dr. Liya Palagashvili on the ‘War on Independent Contractors.’In this episode of Labor Relations Radio, Congressman Kiley was...2023-05-1114 min
Hardly Working with Brent OrrellScott Lincicome on Empowering the New American WorkerScott Lincicome is the Vice President of General Economics and Trade at the CATO Institute, where he works to keep the economy open to innovation and change while preserving safety and opportunity for families, communities and the economy. In this episode, we discuss the intra-conservative debate over how to balance the need for stability in the market with openness to the innovation and change that have been the hallmarks of American development and prosperity throughout the nation’s history. Lincicome discusses these and other themes as they are laid out in his recent edited volume, “Empowering the New American Work...2023-04-2729 min
LaborUnionNews.com's Labor Relations RadioLabor Relations Radio, E71—Economist Dr. Liya Palagashvili on AB5, the PRO Act and the DOL's Rule on Independent ContractorsShare this episode of Labor Relations Radio with your colleagues.Economist Liya Palagashvili, Ph.D. is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University whose primary research interests include entrepreneurship, regulation, and the gig economy.For freelancers, flexibility is a right. For employees, flexibility is a privilege. — Liya Palagashvili, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus CenterDr. Palagashvili has published academic articles, book chapters, policy papers, and articles in media outlets such as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. In 2016, she wa...2023-04-261h 03Hardly Working with Brent OrrellLiya Palagashvili on benefits for non-traditional workersIn this episode of Hardly Working, I speak with Liya Palagashvili, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University as she walks us through her professional journey and research into nontraditional workers. Also known as independent workers, nontraditional workers can be defined as workers who make income outside of traditional employment and who are legally classified as independent contractors or self-employed. She describes different aspects of this rapidly expanding sector of the economy and what its future could be. Our conversation also explores what Palagashvili calls the two policy buckets often used to address challenges for...2023-04-1346 min
The Curious TaskLiya Palagashvili - What Is The State Of The Gig Economy?Alex speaks with Liya Palagashvili about the state - and the meaning - of the gig economy and how history can show the not-so-novel nature of modern labour.
References
1. Liya’s articles, The Mercatus Center
Link: https://www.mercatus.org/scholars/liya-palagashvili?utm_source=ad_link&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=scholar_branding&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAgJa6BhCOARIsAMiL7V_UHKSWyzs0ydt2lCaeIHXRbhZXVi_aQuJgZo1Wo_T-Ijxa6Esw8DEaAg-REALw_wcB
2. Liya’s Substack
Link: https://liyapalagashvili.substack.com/
3. “Employee vs. Independent Worker” by Liya Palagashvili and Paola Suarez
Link...2023-03-151h 00
Drilling Deep with John KingstonA skeptical view of the Department of Labor independent contractor ruleLiya Palagashvili is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason, and employment work--particularly gig workers--is her area of focus. She's read the Department of Labor's proposed rule on independent contractors, and she sees a lot of issues with it. Host John Kingston talks to her about it, as well as providing an update on diesel markets.Follow Drilling Deep on Apple PodcastsFollow Drilling Deep on SpotifyMore FreightWaves Podcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2022-11-1131 min
JobMakersLiya Palagashvili on the Security Threat from Losing Skilled ImmigrantsThis week on JobMakers, host Denzil Mohammed talks with Dr. Liya Palagashvili, immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and affiliated research fellow at NYU Law. Dr. Palagashvili shares findings from research she co-authored on the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which fills the gap for international students... Source2022-08-1824 min
Mercatus Policy DownloadThe Future of America's Workforce--Innovative, Mobile, and IndependentWelcome to the Bridge Policy Download produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Today we’re bringing you the audio from a recent webinar we held between Karen Czarnecki, Vice President of Outreach, and Liya Palagashvili, Senior Research Fellow, both here at Mercatus, on independent workers, the gig economy, innovation, labor law, economics, and much more. With the rise of independent work--whether app-based, contracting, consulting, and beyond--and new flexible arrangements like fully distributed teams or hybrid office environments, barriers to entering the workforce are falling and workers are embracing this newfound flexibility. 2021-07-0640 min
Young and Profiting with Hala Taha (Entrepreneurship, Sales, Marketing)YAPLive: The Gig Economy and The Future of Work on Clubhouse | Uncut VersionJoin Hala for a live Young and Profiting Podcast Episode with Gig Economy and Outsourcing experts Joey Hickson, Maddy Osman, Tim Salau, Dana Bowling and Liya Palagashvili. They will discuss how businesses effectively integrate freelancers into their workflows and benefit from having access to the best talent in the world with just a few clicks. This Episode is Sponsored by Fiverr ***Meet the Moderators*** Tim Salau - Mr.Future Of Work and CEO of Guide, a B2B Learning & Talent Development app joined us back in episode #90 The...2021-06-181h 27Mercatus Policy DownloadLessons from Liberalism: Insights for the Current Immigration DebateWelcome to the Bridge Policy Download produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Today, we’re bringing you the audio from a recent webinar we co-hosted with the Classical Liberal Institute on the current immigration debate. The panel shares insight from their recent books and working papers on the topic and then go on to discuss the benefits of immigration, reform options for our current Congress, how and why reform efforts should be informed by policy research, and much more. If you’d like to contact the scholar involved in this webi...2021-06-081h 27
Gigging: Everything & Sharing EconomyEp 41 - Gigging News - WeWork Documentary, Airbnb of Gardens, SwimmyEpisode 41 is another Gigging News episode. My cohost (Elle Tucker) and I discuss the Top News WeWork’s Adam Neumann Wasn’t Very Good at M&A https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-18/wework-spac-reveals-how-bad-former-ceo-adam-neumann-was-at-m-aBy Chris Bryant May 18, 2021There's An 'Airbnb' For Garden Rental, Here's How It WorksThere's An 'Airbnb' For Garden Rental, Here's How It Workshttps://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/theres-now-an-airbnb-for-garden-rental-heres-how-it-works_uk_60990cd3e4b0ae3c6880c972?utm_campaign=share_twitter&ncid=engmodushpmg00000004 By Rachel Moss, May 10, 2021.Airbnb sees massive travel rebound aheadhttps...2021-05-2545 minHardly Working with Brent OrrellLiya Palagashvili on the Gig EconomyUber, Lyft, and DoorDash all represent a new kind of company — one that seeks to connect individual workers to fluid market demands. These electronic gig networks have not only spread prosperity but also made it clear how important people’s talents are to the economy as a whole. They also hold promise in providing people with ways to develop new skills and business opportunities and to become their own bosses rather than working for someone else. But the gig economy is imperfect and has uncertainties regarding paychecks and health care. Dynamism, and the mobility and opportunity it prov...2021-05-0648 min
The Great AntidoteLiya Palagashvili on The Future EconomySend us a textLiya Palagashvili, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, joins us this week to discuss the gig and sharing economy, independent contractors vs, employees, and the future of work regulation.Support the showNever miss another AdamSmithWorks update.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.2021-04-0854 min
Policy-ish TalkThe PRO Act Explained - with Liya PalagashviliWhat is the PRO Act? How would it affect independent workers? What are the alternative policies and social safety nets that would make sense and benefit the growing independent workforce?
On this episode, Liya Palagashvili, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, joins Kris to share her perspective on these important questions.2021-04-0223 minShe ThinksNew Data on the Gig Economy and Women in the Freelancing WorldCongress is fast on its way to passing severe restrictions on independent workers in America. That would likely lead to the loss of contracts, employment income, and opportunities. Millions of people are freelancers or work for themselves as independent contractors. Just who would be affected and why do they choose this form of work? New research answers these questions and provides new insight into why women especially choose independent contracting.Liya Palagashvili, a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, joins She Thinks to share her new research findings. Her pri...2021-03-2921 min
The Governance PodcastSelf-Governing Social Orders, Economic Methods and Academic WomenIn this special roundtable discussion on the Governance Podcast, we sit down with Jennifer Murtazashvili (Pittsburgh), Liya Palagashvili (SUNY Purchase) and Shruti Rajagopalan (Mercatus Center) to discuss their research on self-governing social orders outside the west, the future of economic methodology and the challenges women face in academic science.
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Jennif...2019-11-141h 13
WITF Smart TalkSmart Talk 09/26/2016: Overtime rules; Candidates and energyIn 1938, the Fair Labor and Standards Act was passed, offering security for workers including a standardized forty hour work week, a minimum wage and the elimination of child labor. The Act also mandated "time and a half" pay for employees working overtime, though this benefit was restricted "line workers" - the nation's blue collar work force. But wage and salary stagnation through the last three decades coupled with a steadily rising inflationary rate has led many overworked, white collar salary earners to seek overtime benefits. In May of this year, the Department of Labor updated overtime regulations to include four...2016-09-2600 min