Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Latinos In Massachusetts: Selected Economic Indicators, Ramon Borges-Mendez, Nicole Lavan, Charles Jones

Gastón Institute Publications

This brief presents an analysis of various economic indicators pertaining to the Latino population in metropolitan areas of high Latino concentration in Massachusetts. It includes information on and comparisons of the Primary Metropolitan Areas of Boston and the Metropolitan Statistical Area of Springfield and when available the Primary Metropolitan Area of Lawrence. The information comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey of 2004.

Can We Talk? Feminist Economists In Dialogue With Social Theorists, Julie A. Nelson

Economics Faculty Publication Series

The article focuses on the issues regarding the social and political theory of feminism. It has been mentioned that political action will be dynamized rather than compromised by a more alive observation of economic organizations and activities. The author has suggested that feminist social theorists across the disciplines must join the several feminist economists who are dropping the negative one-size-fits-all prescription of protection from markets. It is essential to have more positive results in the complex contemporary economies.

Data Note: Relationship Between Ssi Recipients Who Work And State Unemployment Rate, Katherine Fichthorn, Dana Scott Gilmore

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

The Supplemental Security Income program (SSI) administered by the Social Security Administration provides cash assistance to low-income individuals who are seniors, blind, or have a disability.

Research To Practice: The National Survey Of Community Rehabilitation Providers, Fy2004-2005 Report 1: Employment Outcomes Of People With Developmental Disabilities In Integrated Employment, Heike Boeltzig, Dana Scott Gilmore, John Butterworth

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

Where do people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities work? What are their hours, wages, and benefits? This brief covers partial results from a survey that gives a snapshot of the outcomes for recently employed people with developmental disabilities.

Research To Practice: Trends And Emerging Issues Regarding Ssa/Vr Reimbursements For Ssi/Ssdi Recipients, John Halliday, Dana Scott Gilmore, Katherine Fichthorn

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This brief discusses the declining amount of reimbursement paid to public VR agencies from federal fiscal year (FFY) 2002 to FFY 2005 by considering the impact that fewer claims submitted and a rising SGA level may have on the amount of reimbursement paid.

Human Development And Resources Use In The Coastal Zone: Influences On Human Health, Robert E. Bowen, Anamarija Frankic, Mary E. Davis

Environmental, Earth, and Ocean Sciences Faculty Publication Series

Coastal watersheds and nearshore marine areas are the most valuable and dynamic places on Earth. Human population growth is great in these regions, which are home to some of the most sensitive habitats in the world. Coastal areas provide more than half of the overall service value derived from the global environment (Costanza et al., 1997). Natural (e.g., hurricanes and tsunamis) and human pressures on this environment require it to constantly adjust. More than any other area, the global coast has defined the progress of human culture and continues to be a singular influence in how humans connect to the …

Report I: An Assessment Of The Coastal And Marine Economies Of Massachusetts, University Of Massachusetts Donahue Institute, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

This three-part study — An Assessment of the Coastal and Marine Economies of Massachusetts — provides an analysis of the economic value of the coastal and marine economies as well as an overview of employment, wages, business activities and trends within important sectors of the Massachusetts marine economy. The data used is primarily from 2004, unless otherwise noted.

Massworks: Creating Effective Business Partnerships: What Businesses Want Human Service Agencies To Know, Rick Kugler, Cindy Thomas

MassWorks Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

In October 2005, the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston hosted Mission: Employment II, a conference that brought together people with disabilities and workforce, rehabilitation, and employment professionals. Representatives from the Massachusetts Business Leadership Network (MassBLN) presented these tips on how employment service providers can better respond to companies' needs.

Prevention At Work: Homelessness Prevention Initiative (Hpi) Interim Evaluation Report, January 2004 Through September 2005, Donna H. Friedman, Jennifer Raymond, Consuela Greene, John Mcgah, Elizabeth Brown, Julia Tripp, Helen Levine

Center for Social Policy Publications

This interim report summarizes what has been learned about the processes and outcomes of interventions by HPI grantees in the first 21 months of the initiative, from January 2004 through September 2005. To ground our findings, Section One begins with a discussion of the housing, economic, and policy contexts in the U.S. and the state that impact low-income households. This section focuses on the public and nonprofit sectors these households rely upon for help when their housing circumstances are precarious.

Section Two describes the households served by HPI grantees and their varied circumstances. Section Three offers detail on the prevention …

Data Note: Vr Outcomes For People With Spinal Cord Injury, Frank A. Smith, Dana Scott Gilmore, John Butterworth

Data Note Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

An estimated 250,000 people are living with a spinal cord injury (SCI). Since 2000, the average age of injury has been 38, with almost 80% of new injuries affecting men. Approximately 7,154 persons with SCI entered the VR service system in 2004. In 2004, 2382 individuals with SCI achieved successful rehabilitation with the support of state vocational rehabilitation agencies.

Borrowing Trouble? Vi: High-Cost Mortgage Lending In Greater Boston, 2004, Jim Campen

Gastón Institute Publications

Five years ago, in response to numerous reports of the growth of predatory lending, both locally and nationwide, the Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (MCBC) – whose Board of Directors has an equal number of bank and community representatives – commissioned a study of subprime refinance lending in the city of Boston and surrounding communities. The resulting report, Borrowing Trouble? Subprime Mortgage Lending in Greater Boston, 1999, was the first detailed look at subprime lending in the city of Boston and in twenty-seven surrounding communities.

This is the sixth report in the annual series begun by that initial study. …

Profiles Of Asian American Subgroups In Massachusetts: Chinese Americans In Massachusetts, Shauna Lo

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

This report presents a profile of Chinese Americans statewide as well as highlights Chinese Americans living in four communities: Boston’s Chinatown, Quincy, Malden and Newton. It draws upon U.S. Census data, secondary sources and interviews.

Housing Affordability: One-Third Of A Nation Shelter-Poor, Michael E. Stone

Community Studies Faculty Publication Series

The chapter examines the housing affordability problem in the U.S. through the lens of the shelter poverty concept. "Shelter poverty" challenges the conventional view that a household can reasonably afford up to a certain percent of income -- currently thirty percent -- for housing without hardship. It offers instead a sliding scale that takes into account differences in household composition and income in determining how much reasonably can be afforded for housing without compromising non-shelter necessities. Following a discussion of conceptual and methodological issues around housing affordability, the chapter summarizes the contours of housing affordability in the U.S. at the …

Social Ownership, Michael E. Stone

Community Studies Faculty Publication Series

The chapter begins with an overview of the social dimensions of all housing. This is followed by a definition of the more particular concept of social ownership and explanation of how the housing tenure available to residents of socially owned housing differs from both conventional renting and conventional homeownership. The bulk of the chapter then examines the nature and scope of existing models of social ownership, grouped into two major categories: socially owned rental housing, consisting of public housing, nonprofit rental housing, and mutual housing associations; and nonspeculative homeownership, consisting of limited-equity cooperatives, ownership with community land trusts, and some …

Research To Practice: The National Survey Of Community Rehabilitation Providers, Fy2002-2003 Report 3: Involvement Of Crps In The Ticket To Work And The Workforce Investment Act, Heike Boeltzig, John Butterworth, Dana Scott Gilmore

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

This Research to Practice brief examines CRP participation in the Ticket to Work and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Findings showed that CRPs were more involved in WIA than the Ticket program.

Research To Practice: Community-Based Non-Work Services: Findings From The National Survey Of Day And Employment Programs For People With Developmental Disabilities, Jennifer Sullivan Sulewski, John Butterworth, Dana Scott Gilmore

Research to Practice Series, Institute for Community Inclusion

As community-based services for adults with developmental disabilities develop, one category remains underexplored: community-based non-work (CBNW). Findings from an ICI survey show that while CBNW is a growing part of the service mix, its definitions and requirements remain fuzzy.

Research-Informed Models For Communicating The Value Of Court-Connected Alternative Dispute Resolution For Public Funding, Kevin Dye

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The purpose of framing the research in the following models is to assist the court and its court-connected mediation programs in their ongoing dialogue with the funding decision-makers in addressing the question: Is state funding of community mediation centers and court ADR generally a worthwhile investment? As a means of setting forth components of an analytic framework, the following simplified financial models are offered to draw out salient aspects of the nature of the investment. The simplified models are employed primarily for the purpose of illustrating the investment in terms of classic financial models familiar to a budget analyst. These …

The Boston Mpo Planning Process And Low-Income Suburban-To-Suburban Transportation Needs, Phillip Granberry, Michael Landon, David Terkla

Economics Faculty Publication Series

The rapid evolution in the Boston MPO transportation planning process is discussed as well as its particular application to the suburban-suburban transportation needs of low income individuals. The results of two experiments designed to improve access to transportation for low income suburban individuals are discussed and policy suggestions are made for improving such access.

The Theory Of The Firm, The Theory Of Competition And The Transnational Corporation, Janis Kapler

Economics Faculty Publication Series

Coase’s 1937 paper on “The Nature of the Firm” formed the basis of the transaction-cost and internalization theories of transnational enterprises in the 1970s-1990s. These emphasized the problem of firms transferring intangible assets across national borders. Newer theories of the firm adopt resource-based Penrosian, knowledge-based, capabilities and evolutionary perspectives, yet most continue to explain the international firm as a function of transaction-cost economizing. It is argued that Coase’s intention was to present a theory of the firm abstracted from its competitive environment. The application of this approach to a theory of the TNC is flawed because it cannot explain the …

Report On The Archaeological Site Examination Of The Entrance Drive, Carriage House, Greenhouse, Vegetable Garden, Flower Garden And Grapery At Gore Place, Waltham, Massachusetts, J.N. Leith Smith, Gregory Dubell

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Alandscape restoration plan for the 45-acre Gore Place property in Waltham and Watertown, MA, calls for restoration of grounds, gardens and structures to depict and interpret the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century occupation of Massachusetts governor and United States senator, Christopher Gore, and his wife, Rebecca. The restoration plan includes archaeological investigation to help identify the location and integrity of six historically documented features on the Gore Place grounds. Blocks and transects of shovel test pits at 5, 10 and 20 meter intervals along with 1 x 1 m excavation units and trenching were employed in the archaeological site examination …

The Dynamics Of Income Diversification In Ethiopia: Evidence From Panel Data, Adugna Lemi

Economics Faculty Publication Series

Block and Webb (2001) in Food Policy address the issue of the dynamics of livelihood diversification in Ethiopia. Their study uses the ratio of per capita income derived from crops to the sum of all other incomes as an indicator of livelihood diversification for the years 1989 and 1994. Their study focuses only on drought-prone areas during the survey years. The aim of the present study is to explore further the demographic and economic determinants of the dynamics of income diversification using survey data. The data used in this study cover larger and more representative sample and was colleted from …

Fueled By Technology Market Demand, Massachusetts Economic Growth Increases, Alan Clayton-Matthews

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

The pace of economic growth in Massachusetts has picked up significantly, beginning in the fourth quarter of last year, reflecting improved worldwide markets for information technology equipment in the last half of 2005. This resurgence in technology markets helped reverse a deceleration in state economic growth that the state experienced between mid-2004 and the third quarter of 2005. The Massachusetts economy has performed better over the last six months than at any time since the current expansion began in the second quarter of 2003. The recent pace of expansion matched the long-term average growth in real gross state product of …

Look For Little Growth In The First Half Of 2006, Alan Clayton-Matthews

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

The state’s economy remains stuck in slow gear, and may no longer even be moving forward. In the face of slow employment growth, a population and brain drain, a sharp spike in energy costs, volatile consumer confidence, housing prices that are clearly cooling, increasing federal budget deficits, trade deficits and rising interest rates, perhaps it’s good news that the economy has been able to grow at all.

2006 Year In Review: Slow And Steady Does It For 2006, Alan Clayton-Matthews

Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series

The state’s economy continued to expand in 2006, continuing a path of slow, steady growth that began in 2003. By most measures, such as employment, output, labor force, and population growth, it was the best year so far of the recovery, but not by much; and the pace of expansion has been much slower than that of the two prior ones of the 1990s and 1980s. Weighing on the economic accomplishments of the year was a decline in the housing market and a rise in unemployment of the state’s residents, setting the stage for a likely slowing of growth in …

Pernicious Problems Of Housing Finance, Michael E. Stone

Community Studies Faculty Publication Series

This article traces the evolution of the housing finance system in the U.S., with particular attention to changes from the 1960s through the early 2000s. The paper shows the trends to increasing risk taking by lenders and households, predicting the collapse of the mortgage system in the mid 2000s.

Massachusetts’ Clean Energy Cluster, David Levy, David Terkla

Economics Faculty Publication Series

The renewable energy industry in Massachusetts is identified through a “top-down” and “bottom-up” processes to determine the total employment and boundaries of this sector. Related sectors are also identified that are linked to the core renewable energy sector in the state and policies for enhancing this cluster are suggested.

Changing Patterns Xii: Mortgage Lending To Traditionally Underserved Borrowers And Neighborhoods In Greater Boston, 1990-2004, Jim Campen

Gastón Institute Publications

The present study is the latest in a series of annual updates of the original report, Changing Patterns: Mortgage Lending in Boston, 1990-1993. Beginning in 1998, the reports’ geographic scope was expanded to include an examination of mortgage lending patterns in 27 cities and towns surrounding the city of Boston. In 2003, the report’s geographic coverage was further expanded to include a total of 108 communities.

The text that follows this introduction highlights some of the most significant findings that emerge from the extensive set of tables and charts that constitute the bulk of the report. Part I, together …

The War On Terror, Gwyn Prins, Stanley Heginbotham, John Cooley, Steven Van Evera, Jack Blum, Jonathan Schell

New England Journal of Public Policy

Presents comments (from the EPIIC Symposium at Tufts University, February 2004) concerning the war on terror; concern on the problem about terrorism; elaboration on the claim that the world is not in a global war on terror; and problems of the use and abuse of the word terrorism.

One Morning In Morocco, Eli Mechanic

New England Journal of Public Policy

Presents the journal of an American student studying in Morocco based on his firsthand experiences on how Arabs viewed the Iraq war from January to May 2003. Lesson learned on March 20, 2003 where he felt the anger of Arab people upon seeing an American; Excitement of Arabs upon hearing news about dead Americans; Realization of the Moroccans on the cruelty of the Americans.

We Were Allies Once: Lessons Of D Day, 1944, Nigel Hamilton

New England Journal of Public Policy

Nigel Hamilton swivels the century around the pivot of the massive cooperation and collaboration between the United States and its allies during World War II. In the early years, European and British troops suffered a series of discouraging defeats by the Nazis, and then when the United States entered the war the great collaboration among the allies was instrumental in achieving victory in Europe. This joint effort of nations continued for a time with such institutions as the UN and NATO and other international bodies. The war in Iraq ruptured the alliance. American unilateralism has distinguished most of the debacle …