Search Results
Showing results 1 to 10 of approximately 33.
(refine search)
Report
Measuring municipal fiscal disparities in Connecticut
Fiscal disparities exist when some municipalities face higher costs for providing a given level of public services or fewer taxable resources to finance those services than others. A municipality's economic and social characteristics can affect both costs and resources. The potential for fiscal disparities in Connecticut is particularly high given the vast socioeconomic differences observed across the state's 169 cities and towns. This paper measures the non-school fiscal health of Connecticut municipalities using a "municipal gap." Municipal gap is the difference between the ...
Report
The potential economic impact of increasing the minimum wage in Massachusetts
In this report I review the arguments on both sides of the issue. In doing so, I discuss and critique, where applicable, the evidence presented in the two reports that have been issued on either side of the debate. I also produce my own projection of the likely impact of raising the minimum wage on aggregate employment and wages. These calculations use the two reports as a baseline, modifying some of the assumptions to better reflect evidence supported by the economic literature. According to my estimates, the current proposal to increase the minimum wage could have a negative impact on ...
Report
Reaching the goal: expanding health insurance coverage in New England: current strategies and new initiatives
As the number and percentage of people without health insurance continues to climb, the goal of expanding such coverage is even more pressing. Traditional strategies have had only limited success. And with little movement at the federal level, states have chosen to enact their own bold initiatives. Four New England states - Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont - have recently passed or implemented programs to expand health insurance coverage, some with the goal of achieving near-universal coverage. By combining different strategies from across the political spectrum, the new ...
Report
Reading the fine print: how details matter in tax and expenditure limitations
At least 30 states, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, operate under ?tax and expenditure limitations? (TELs): formula-based budgeting requirements that apply specific limits to expenditures, appropriations, or revenue collections by state or local government. More than a dozen states considered TELs in 2006. Legislation proposing a new TEL to further limit General Fund appropriations in Rhode Island was introduced; Maine citizens will vote on a more restrictive TEL this November. ; Several factors, including a desire for lower taxes and a belief that additional ...
Report
Measuring Disparities in Cost and Spending across Connecticut School Districts
Despite multiple court cases and repeated efforts at reform, there are still significant concerns about the equity and the adequacy in Connecticut’s public K–12 education funding. One vital component of any attempt to reform education finance is a methodologically rigorous evaluation of what it would cost school districts across the state to achieve target performance standards given their student characteristics. This report addresses that need, evaluating the equity and the adequacy of school spending in Connecticut based on education costs. Different from actual school expenditure, a ...
Report
A portrait of New England's immigrants
This research report uses the most recent available data to construct a detailed demographic, labor, and socioeconomic portrait of New England?s immigrants. It is the latest in a series of publications from the Center on the movement of people into and out of our region. ; The report evaluates the size, relative share, settlement patterns, and national origins of the region?s immigrants, and explores how these have changed in recent decades. It then describes the demographic characteristics of the region?s foreign-born residents, and analyzes their labor force behavior. Finally, the report ...
Report
The impact of migration on earnings inequality in New England
Migration plays an important role in the New England economy; absent immigration, the region?s population and workforce would have shrunk in recent years. Yet increasingly, immigrant inflows have been met with legislative opposition at both the national and regional levels, motivated in part by concerns that immigration may be an important factor driving the marked rise in earnings inequality. The research findings presented in this report, however, indicate that immigration accounts for a very small portion?only 6.0 percent?of the rising earnings inequality that the region has experienced. ...
Report
Water, water everywhere: dare I drink a drop? (with apologies to Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
Given New England?s ample rainfall, green forests, and extensive wetlands, many of the region?s inhabitants might question the notion that it faces potentially severe water shortages. Yet, parts of the region already confront such shortages. These shortages are likely to spread, absent corrective action. This paper describes the characteristics of New England responsible for its looming water problems, identifies areas within the region most vulnerable to such problems, and analyzes alternative strategies for alleviating them. Small, shallow, porous aquifers are the region?s primary ...
Report
The Bank of North Dakota: a model for Massachusetts and other states?
In 2010, Massachusetts legislators considered whether to create a state-owned bank as a means to address concerns about credit availability and other economic challenges stemming from the financial crisis and Great Recession of 2007-09. In 2011 a commission was established to investigate the feasibility of setting up such an institution. This research report informs the work of that commission. ; The report provides an in-depth examination of the only state-owned bank in the nation, the Bank of North Dakota (BND). It discusses BND?s history and current operations, and analyzes the degree to ...
Report
Population aging and state pensions in New England
This Research Report analyzes the features of the New England state pension plans in the context of the region's changing demographic environment. The first section of the report documents key demographic developments: the aging of the Baby Boom generation and increasing life expectancies. Key features of the primary state pension plan in each New England state are then compared, focusing in particular on the age-specific characteristics of the plans. A third section analyzes the labor market implications of the plans' formulas, such as how they apply to workers choosing retirement at ...