Dr. James A. Parrott, labor economist, New York City

James Parrott is a labor economist at the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School who has written extensively on the pay of gig workers in the United States. Along with Professor Michael Reich of the University of California, Berkeley, Parrott has worked with regulators in New York City, Seattle, and Minnesota to establish independent minimum pay standards for transportation network drivers (i.e., Uber and Lyft drivers). Several of his reports and other analyses are available through the links below.

Research on Passenger Network Drivers

Taking Stock of the First Decade of Regulating Pay for Gig Passenger Drivers, presented at the Minimum Wage and Monopsony Power Conference (aka the “Michael Reich” conference), Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, University of California, Berkeley, June 2025.

Supplemental Report to the Revised Expense Model for the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission’s High-Volume For-Hire Vehicle Minimum Pay Standard, Center for New York City Affairs, April 2025.

Revised Expense Model for the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission’s High-Volume For-Hire Vehicle Minimum Pay Standard, Center for New York City Affairs, December 2024.

with Michael Reich, and Xingxing Yang, The Economic Situation of Gig Passenger Drivers in Minnesota, IRLE-CWED Working Paper, October 8, 2024.

with Michael Reich, Transportation Network Company Driver Earnings Analysis and Pay Standard Options, Prepared for the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, March 8, 2024.

with Dmitri Koustas and Michael Reich, New York City’s Gig Driver Pay Standard: Effects on Drivers, Passengers, and the Companies, Center for New York City Affairs at The New School, December 2020.

with Michael Reich, A Minimum Compensation Standard for Seattle TNC Drivers, Report for the City of Seattle, Center for New York City Affairs, July 2020.

With Michael Reich, Jason Rochford, and Xingxing Yang, The New York City App-based Driver Pay Standard: Revised Estimates for the New Pay Requirement, Prepared for the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, Center for New York City Affairs, January 2019.

with Michael Reich, An Earnings Standard for New York City’s App-based Drivers: Economic Analysis and Policy Assessment, Report for the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, Center for New York City Affairs, July 2018.

Research on Restaurant Food Delivery Workers

The Economic Situation of NYC Restaurant Delivery Workers—Gains from Minimum Pay Standard but Challenges Remain, Presented at the 77th Annual Conference of the Labor and Employment Relations Association, Seattle, June 13, 2025.

Testimony on Gig Worker Issues

Testimony on TLC proposed rules, February 5 2025

Testimony on TLC proposed rules, March 1 2023

The Failed 2025 Effort to Reform NYS's Unemployment Insurance Financing

Albany Bails Out Our Unemployment Insurance Boat. Guess What? It Still Leaks. Q&A with James Parrott, Center for New York City Affairs, May 14 2025

New York’s Unemployment Insurance System Is Floundering. Here’s How to Save It. Center for New York City Affairs, March 25 2025

Testimony before the Joint Legislative Labor and Workforce Development Budget Hearing. Center for New York City Affairs, February 26 2025