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The Economy And The Regulatory Environment: In Search Of A New Paradigm, Zenia Kotval, John Mullin Sep 1994

The Economy And The Regulatory Environment: In Search Of A New Paradigm, Zenia Kotval, John Mullin

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article focuses on the economy and the regulatory environment. The economic downturn over the past six years has taken its toll on Massachusetts. At the same time, there is immense pressure on the part of the electorate to ensure that our quality of life is protected and enhanced. It is clear that the business community, citizens, and our elected officials are searching for a new paradigm. The concept of a policy of sustainable development is emerging —political and corporate actions that produce well-paying jobs, that create a competitive business climate and improve life within the context of our existing …


Investing In Economic Infrastructure, Paul W. Shuldiner Sep 1994

Investing In Economic Infrastructure, Paul W. Shuldiner

New England Journal of Public Policy

The economic returns that the commonwealth of Massachusetts enjoys from its investments in transportation and other physical infrastructure result from the jobs that are created by these investments and from the enhanced utility of land that public works create. The integrative property of transportation in particular makes the comprehensive planning of transportation facilities an inordinately complex and essential public function. This function was the focus of the July 1992 workshop sponsored by the Executive Office of Economic Affairs and the University of Massachusetts. Among the principal themes the participants addressed were how the state's interest in economic development should be …


Budget Policy And Fiscal Crisis: A Political Matrix, Francis J. Leazes Jr., Robert Sieczkiewicz Sep 1994

Budget Policy And Fiscal Crisis: A Political Matrix, Francis J. Leazes Jr., Robert Sieczkiewicz

New England Journal of Public Policy

A study of 134 Rhode Island programs, administered during the state's budget crisis in the fiscal years 1987 to 1991, yielded a number of important lessons. The more mandated formula spending there was in a budget, the more uncontrollable was the budget. There is a spending bias ingrained in the political culture. Some nonentitlement spending can be difficult to curtail. Cutback management strategies are inadequate to address significant revenue shortfalls. The authors present a political budget matrix designed to assist budget policymakers and staff in making educated assumptions about the way categories of programs may be treated during times of …


Puerto Rican And African-American Males: Current Challenges, Promising Strategies, Sonia M. Pérez Sep 1993

Puerto Rican And African-American Males: Current Challenges, Promising Strategies, Sonia M. Pérez

Trotter Review

Before the beginning of the next century, the Hispanic, African-American, and other “minority” populations in the United States are expected to increase at a faster rate than the white population. In fact, the Census Bureau projects that Latinos will become the largest minority and, together with African Americans, will constitute one-fourth (25.5 percent) of the U.S. labor force by the year 2010. However, despite some gains, increases in population have not been proportionate to increases in voting and buying power—or to comparable increases in economic success or socioeconomic stability—for a significant proportion of either Latinos or African Americans. Moreover, inaccurate …


The Entrepreneurial State Goes To Europe: State Economic Policies And Europe 1992, John J. Carroll, William E. Hudson, Mark S. Hyde Jun 1993

The Entrepreneurial State Goes To Europe: State Economic Policies And Europe 1992, John J. Carroll, William E. Hudson, Mark S. Hyde

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article investigates state-level export programs in response to the emerging new economic and political regime of Europe 1992. Little related export promotion activity is found, even in states reputed to have the most active entrepreneurial policies. The authors conclude that states have few resources to invest in export promotion and are inappropriate jurisdictions around which to organize such policy, despite the much touted "entrepreneurial state."


The Housing Crisis Enters The 1990s, Peter Dreier, Richard Appelbaum Mar 1992

The Housing Crisis Enters The 1990s, Peter Dreier, Richard Appelbaum

New England Journal of Public Policy

Homelessness in the United States is a symptom of a much deeper economic and housing crisis — a widening gap between incomes and housing prices. With the end of the Cold War, the nation has the resources to solve these problems, but to do so it must mobilize the political will. This article examines the roots of crisis, the public policies and market forces that created it, and policy recommendations to solve the problem. Key to forging a solution is building the political coalition needed to create a broad public consensus.


Build Homes Not Bombs: Get A Better Economy To Boot!, Richard Krushnic Mar 1992

Build Homes Not Bombs: Get A Better Economy To Boot!, Richard Krushnic

New England Journal of Public Policy

Our nation has a rare opportunity to shift resources from military to civilian activities for the next few years. A budget pact is supposed to prevent transfers of funds from the military to domestic programs during fiscal years 1992 and 1993, but the pact is cracking in light of the sudden collapse of the Soviet military and the dismemberment of the Soviet Union. While jobs are lost when funds are shifted out of the military, the funds don't disappear - they are used for alternative federal expenditures, paying federal debt, or tax reduction. Many alternative expenditure patterns are available to …


Housing The Homeless Through Expanding Access To Existing Housing Subsidies, Barbara Sard Mar 1992

Housing The Homeless Through Expanding Access To Existing Housing Subsidies, Barbara Sard

New England Journal of Public Policy

The premise of this article is that homelessness in America today is essentially a product of the lack of affordable housing for very low-income people. The article outlines this central income/housing gap analysis as the factual predicate of the goal to alleviate homelessness through securing subsidized housing resources for the homeless and imminently homeless. It explains why, based on the nature and number of annually available housing subsidies, expanding access to existing housing subsidies is a valuable, workable, short-term, at least partial solution to the immediate crisis of lack of affordable housing, albeit one which does not negate the acknowledged …


Defense Cuts: What Might Connecticut Expect On The Manufacturing Employment Front?, Bruce D. Wundt Sep 1991

Defense Cuts: What Might Connecticut Expect On The Manufacturing Employment Front?, Bruce D. Wundt

New England Journal of Public Policy

Connecticut has enjoyed considerable economic prosperity as a result of its reliance on the defense industry. However, as a consequence of reductions in federal spending on defense, this favorable trend of many years is reversing, unfortunately, while the region is also experiencing a general economic slowdown. Many Connecticut industries must prepare for a new era of reducing their dependence on defense contracts and diversify into new markets and products. State policymakers can help during these uncertain times by encouraging private and public retraining of labor resources and the expansion of industries that will promote economic stability.


Women And Economic Empowerment, Kitty Dukakis, Vivian Li Mar 1990

Women And Economic Empowerment, Kitty Dukakis, Vivian Li

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article proposes a women's economic agenda to help fulfill the needs of working women. The first component outlined is the appointment of women who are sensitive to the needs of all women, including the poor, to key decision-making positions. The agenda then calls for employers to recognize changing workforce demographics by initiating programs that can accommodate the needs of single-person as well as dual-income households. The final component is an argument for the implementation of pay equity.


A Feminized Work Force, A Humanized Workplace, Evelyn Murphy Mar 1990

A Feminized Work Force, A Humanized Workplace, Evelyn Murphy

New England Journal of Public Policy

Enhancing the opportunities for women in the workplace in the next decade will become an economic imperative, not just an issue of social justice. In this article Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphy sets forth recommendations for policymakers in both the public and private sector that begin to change our notions of what constitutes a humanized workplace. If the economy is to remain strong, these initiatives will be required to improve business productivity as well as the life of all family members.


Employment Leave: Foundation For Family Policy, Mary Jane Gibson Mar 1990

Employment Leave: Foundation For Family Policy, Mary Jane Gibson

New England Journal of Public Policy

Women and men in the workforce face difficult dilemmas during family crises. Can one be a responsible family member and a responsible employee when an elderly parent is ill, a spouse is disabled, a baby is born or adopted, a child is sick? Employment leave with insurance for wage replacement is a cornerstone of family policy proposed in a workable format in H. 2191 now before the Massachusetts legislature. It can be a model for other states and, someday, the nation.


Some Observations On Closing The Gap, Jeremiah Cotton Jan 1987

Some Observations On Closing The Gap, Jeremiah Cotton

Trotter Review

James P. Smith and Finis R. Welch, along with fellow economist Richard B. Freeman, have been primarily responsible for the much accepted notion that there have been “dramatic” advances in the economic situation of blacks in the recent past. Closing The Gap: 40 Years of Economic Progress for Blacks (CTG) is just the latest installment and reworking of this optimism. Freeman attributed the alleged progress to a “collapse” of labor market discrimination caused by “governmental and related antidiscrimination activity associated with the 1964 Civil Rights Act.” Smith and Welch, on the other hand, have always been somewhat agnostic about the …


Trust, Self-Interest, And Representation In Economic Policymaking: Rhode Island Reconsidered, Thomas J. Anton, Darrell M. West Jan 1987

Trust, Self-Interest, And Representation In Economic Policymaking: Rhode Island Reconsidered, Thomas J. Anton, Darrell M. West

New England Journal of Public Policy

Industrial policy has become an increasingly central focus of political debate as American society struggles with new and troubling economic realities. Yet despite the importance of this subject, little is known about how the public gains or processes information on these matters, or about the evaluative standards used to judge industrial-policy proposals. A recent referendum in Rhode Island offered a unique opportunity to study these questions. Citizens participated directly in the debate over new industrial policy by soundly rejecting the Greenhouse Compact, a novel and comprehensive plan to "reindustrialize" Rhode Island. Here we report the results of a public opinion …


The Fund For New England: A New Environmental Philanthropy, Charles H. W. Foster Jan 1987

The Fund For New England: A New Environmental Philanthropy, Charles H. W. Foster

New England Journal of Public Policy

New England has a new, regional philanthropy, the Fund for New England, which is concerned with the advancement of natural resources and environment in the six-state region. The fund is one of a class of new regional environmental funds/trusts that are emerging across the country. The history of New England's own effort is described at the outset of the article, which also explores the experience and potential of the fund and its national counterparts with regard to advancing the novel concept of contributions in lieu of environmental fines. Finally, the process followed in establishing and operating the fund is examined …


Demographic Trends In Boston: Some Implications For Municipal Services, Margaret O'Brien Jun 1986

Demographic Trends In Boston: Some Implications For Municipal Services, Margaret O'Brien

New England Journal of Public Policy

The City of Boston is gaining in population during the 1980s, after several decades of loss. During the current decade and beyond, population trends will bring increases in the number of children, adults between the ages of twenty-five and forty-four, and those aged seventy-five and over, along with declines among the older teenagers and college-age population, the more mature adults, and the younger elderly. A recent analysis of the income distribution indicates that while there were more well-to-do residents in Boston in 1985 than there were in 1980, there were also more poor and near poor. Average family income has …


The Next Threshold: Higher Skills And The New England Economy, John C. Hoy Jun 1986

The Next Threshold: Higher Skills And The New England Economy, John C. Hoy

New England Journal of Public Policy

The history of the New England regional economy — its attenuated post-World War II decline and subsequent aggressive renewal — reveals an intensifying relationship between economic resurgence, the supply and continuing demand for professional manpower, and the results of academic research and development. The New England region has "outproduced" the rest of the nation in supplying professionally trained men and women, a leading factor not fully appreciated by those describing the region's robust economic health in the decade since Neal Peirce wrote The New England States. New England's "oversupply" in professional fields has given the high-tech and sophisticated services …


Rhode Island: The Defeat Of The Greenhouse Compact, Ira Magaziner Jan 1986

Rhode Island: The Defeat Of The Greenhouse Compact, Ira Magaziner

New England Journal of Public Policy

Rhode Island has not shared equally in New England's economic resurgence of recent years. A major reevaluation of the state's economic malaise in 1982-84 resulted in a $250 million program called the Greenhouse Compact to improve business in the state. Initially supported in polls by a two-to-one margin, the Compact was defeated overwhelmingly when it went to a statewide referendum. The timing of the referendum and mistakes in the public relations strategy and in the structure of the Compact all played a role in the outcome, but post-election polls showed that defeat, based on a massive shift of undecided voters, …


De Facto New Federalism And New England: A Discussion, Kenneth Curtis, Chester Atkins, Richard Licht, David Walker, Roger Porter Jan 1986

De Facto New Federalism And New England: A Discussion, Kenneth Curtis, Chester Atkins, Richard Licht, David Walker, Roger Porter

New England Journal of Public Policy

Using John Shannons paper as a broad frame of reference (see previous article), a panel discussion titled "The Changing Nature of FederalI State Relations: The Fiscal Impact on New England" took place on 18 November 1985 at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. The discussion was sponsored by the John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs and was presented in a roundtable forum. The members of the panel were Kenneth Curtis, former governor of Maine; Chester Atkins, member of Congress from the Massachusetts Fifth Congressional District; Richard Licht, lieutenant governor of Rhode Island; David Walker, professor of political science at …


Regionalism: The Next Step, Ian Menzies Jan 1986

Regionalism: The Next Step, Ian Menzies

New England Journal of Public Policy

Although the New England states have, over the years, been regionally cooperative, they have not formally advanced the process since the establishment of the New England Governors' Conference in 1937. There is still no regional government in New England; no body politic that can enact regionwide laws; no organization authorized to perform regionwide planning, or with the power to regulate or direct growth and development or manage natural resources. There isn't even a public forum or assembly where such issues can be discussed. This article reviews the history of regionalism in New England and proposes that the six states develop …


De Facto New Federalism: Phase Ii?, John Shannon Jan 1986

De Facto New Federalism: Phase Ii?, John Shannon

New England Journal of Public Policy

1985 marked year seven for de facto new federalism, the fiscal decentralization process nudged along by strong public support for the Reagan administration's conservative policies and growing fiscal stringency at the federal level. New federalism is most dramatically illustrated by the national government retreat along the entire state-local aid front — a kind of "sorting out" — as an increasing share of the federal budget goes to strictly national government programs. The mounting public concern about massive federal deficits will quicken the federal pullback on the state-local aid front. The only question is whether it will be a ragged retreat …


Fiscal Paternalism And New England Cities: A Policy For The Year 2000, Mark S. Ferber, Elizabeth A. Ferber Jun 1985

Fiscal Paternalism And New England Cities: A Policy For The Year 2000, Mark S. Ferber, Elizabeth A. Ferber

New England Journal of Public Policy

The following commentary explores the future of urban public finance by focusing on the fiscal ills of New England's major cities. The impact of general revenue sharing, categorical grants, federal tax policy, state aid, and own-source city revenues is assessed in light of a city's ability to support itself. The authors conclude that a pattern of "fiscal paternalism" — the past and present policies for annual financial assistance to narrow the expenditure-revenue budget gap — must be altered if cities are to enter the twenty-first century as fiscally stable governments capable of providing the necessary services for a varied constituency.