<P> According to Tim Bartik of the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, studies of the effect of right - to - work laws "abound," but are not "consistent ." Studies have found both "some positive effect on job growth," and no effect . Thomas Holmes argues that it is difficult to analyze right - to - work laws by comparing states due to other similarities between states that have passed these laws . For instance, right - to - work states often have some strong pro-business policies, making it difficult to isolate the effect of right - to - work laws . Looking at the growth of states in the Southeast following World War II, Bartik notes that while they have right - to - work laws they have also benefited from "factors like the widespread use of air conditioning and different modes of transportation that helped decentralize manufacturing". </P> <P> Economist Thomas Holmes compared counties close to the border between states with and without right - to - work laws (thereby holding constant an array of factors related to geography and climate). He found that the cumulative growth of employment in manufacturing in the right - to - work states was 26 percentage points greater than that in the non-right - to - work states . However, given the study design, Holmes points out "my results do not say that it is right - to - work laws that matter, but rather that the' probusiness package' offered by right - to - work states seems to matter ." Moreover, as noted by Kevin Drum and others, this result may reflect business relocation rather than an overall enhancement of economic growth, since "businesses prefer locating in states where costs are low and rules are lax ." </P> <P> A February 2011 study by the Economic Policy Institute found: </P> <Ul> <Li> Wages in right - to - work states are 3.2% lower than those in non-RTW states, after controlling for a full complement of individual demographic and socioeconomic variables as well as state macroeconomic indicators . Using the average wage in non-RTW states as the base ($22.11), the average full - time, full - year worker in an RTW state makes about $1,500 less annually than a similar worker in a non-RTW state . The study goes on to say "How much of this difference can be attributed to RTW status itself? There is an inherent "endogeneity" problem in any attempt to answer that question, namely that RTW and non-RTW states differ on a wide variety of measures that are also related to compensation, making it difficult to isolate the impact of RTW status ." </Li> <Li> The rate of employer - sponsored health insurance (ESI) is 2.6 percentage points lower in RTW states compared with non-RTW states, after controlling for individual, job, and state - level characteristics . If workers in non-RTW states were to receive ESI at this lower rate, 2 million fewer workers nationally would be covered . </Li> <Li> The rate of employer - sponsored pensions is 4.8 percentage points lower in RTW states, using the full complement of control variables in (the study's) regression model . If workers in non-RTW states were to receive pensions at this lower rate, 3.8 million fewer workers nationally would have pensions . </Li> </Ul>

Is washington state a right to work state