Public Policy Commons^™

Developing A Holistic Approach For Tackling Undeclared Work: Background Paper, Colin C. Williams

Colin C Williams

Legitimacy Of Taiwan's Trade Negotiations With China: Demystifying Political Challenges, Pasha L. Hsieh

Pasha L. HSIEH

Gop Denying Women Basic Economic Rights, Alev Dudek

Alev Dudek

Tax Incentives And Housing Investment In Low-Income Neighborhoods, Matthew Freedman

Matthew Freedman

This paper examines how tax incentives to promote housing investment affect communities by exploiting the lottery structure of Missouri’s Neighborhood Preservation Act (NPA). The NPA offers tax credits to homeowners and developers that improve or expand the owner-occupied housing stock in low-income areas. Taking advantage of the random assignment of NPA tax credits and detailed property-level data, I find that the program increases construction activity modestly. There are positive but highly localized spillovers on neighbors’ investment behavior. Spillovers on property values are larger in geographic scope, implying important roles for both neighbor interactions and amenity effects in local housing markets.

Place-Based Programs And The Geographic Dispersion Of Employment, Matthew Freedman

Matthew Freedman

Public Actors In Private Markets: Toward A Developmental Finance State, Robert Hockett, Saule Omarova

Saule T. Omarova

The recent financial crisis brought into sharp relief fundamental questions about the social function and purpose of the financial system, including its relation to the “real” economy. This Article argues that, to answer these questions, we must recapture a distinctively American view of the proper relations among state, financial market, and development. This programmatic vision – captured in what we call a “developmental finance state” – is based on three key propositions: (1) that economic and social development is not an “end-state” but a continuing national policy priority; (2) that the modalities of finance are the most potent means of …

The New Panama Canal In A Global Context, Herman L. Boschken

Herman L. Boschken

Without the "container revolution" (1970-present) and its redesign of seaport and maritime-trade infrastructures, globalization as we know it would not exist. With the recent enlargements of the Panama and Suez Canals, many new implications for U.S. economic trade are unfolding. This presentation at the Commonwealth Club of California, outlines recent changes in world trade and infrastructure development, and poses five factors that will likely determine winners and losers in the unfolding developments of this highly competitive world trade-route system.

Perspectives On The Global Financial Crisis From Emerging Managers And Public Policy Makers [Full Version], James L. Grant

James L. Grant

This manuscript attempts to capture the perspectives of emerging managers and public policy makers as evinced in the perspectives of graduate students and others who were enrolled in my newly developed course on the global financial crisis—first offered in the 2010 Harvard Summer Economics Program—at a time when students were engaged in the midst and aftermath of the most severe U.S. and worldwide recession since the Great Depression of the early 1930s. The many perspectives gathered on the causes, consequences, remedies, and perhaps more importantly, a glimpse at student thoughts, concerns, and worries at the time—have been collected from the …

Parenting From Prison: Family Relationships Of Incarcerated Women In Massachusetts, Erika Kates, Sylvia Mignon, Paige Ransford

Sylvia I. Mignon

Historically in the United States, there has been little concern about the needs of incarcerated women and their family members, especially children. This began to change with the tremendous increase in the number of incarcerated women. The rate of women’s incarceration increased dramatically during the 1980s and today the number of female inmates continues to rise faster than the number of male inmates. In 1986, 19,812 women were incarcerated in the United States and this number rose in 1991 to 38,796. Today, over 112,000 women are incarcerated in state or federal facilities (Sabol et al., 2007; Snell 1994). While in …

Managing Private Vehicles In Asian Cities, S Y Phang

PHANG Sock Yong

No abstract provided.

Your Friends And Neighbors: Localized Economic Development And Criminal Activity, Matthew Freedman, Emily Owens

Matthew Freedman

We exploit a sudden shock to demand for a subset of low-wage workers generated by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program in San Antonio, Texas to identify the effects of localized economic development on crime. We use a difference-in-difference methodology that takes advantage of variation in BRAC’s impact over time and across neighborhoods. We find that appropriative criminal behavior increases in neighborhoods where a fraction of residents experienced increases in earnings. This effect is driven by residents who were unlikely to be BRAC beneficiaries, implying that criminal opportunities are important in explaining patterns of crime.

Forthcoming in the …

A Fact Book On Proposition 2 1/2, Padraig O'Malley

Padraig O'Malley

In this age of inflation many tax reduction plans have been proposed throughout the nation. This November Massachusetts voters will vote on Proposition 2 1/2 - a tax reduction proposal sponsored by a coalition of citizens. This booklet describes the costs and benefits of Proposition 2 1/2 in an objective way, so that you can make an informed decision when you cast your vote. The University of Massachusetts' Center for Studies in Policy and the Public Interest and the Massachusetts Cooperative Extension Service believe that when you have access to unbiased information you will make better decisions and participate more …

The Massachusetts Fiscal System: Structure And Performance, Padraig O'Malley, Raymond G. Torto

Padraig O'Malley

On November 4, 1980 the citizens of Massachusetts, by a vote of 59% to 41%, resoundingly endorsed a tax reduction plan known as Proposition 2 1/2. All communities in the Commonwealth were faced with an immediate reduction in their local revenues due to the immediate cut in the excise tax that Proposition 2 1/2 called for, and up to 130 communities will have to implement a 15% reduction in their tax levies for FY 1982. Already there are protestations from many local officials that they cannot make the required tax cuts without severely reducing the level of local services. The …

Sustainable Governance Indicators. Country Report The Netherlands, 2014, Robert Hoppe, Henk Woldendorp, Nils Bandelow

Robert Hoppe

No abstract provided.

Planning Local Economic Development In The Emerging World Order, Edward Feser

Edward J Feser

A new consensus is emerging around effective modes of government action in the economic sphere—in essence, a new approach to industrial policy—that has significant implications for the reform of the subnational economic development function currently underway in the UK and US. Leading edge local and regional economic development practise must be smarter, more flexible, more collaborative among stakeholders, more experimental and evaluative, and much less prone to generic diagnoses of economic challenges and the application of universal strategies. In turn, good planning scholarship is needed to help design the organisations and practises the new model requires and to train the …

Economic Diversity In Appalachia: Statistics, Strategies, And Guides For Action, Edward Feser, Troy Mix, Mark White, Kenneth Poole, Deborah Markley, Erik Pages

Troy D Mix

Commissioned by the Appalachian Regional Commission, this report accomplishes three aims. First, it offers a quantitative portrait of economic diversity trends in Appalachian counties and sub-regions, benchmarked to U.S. trends. The portraits draws on four complementary indexes of diversity: industrial, functional, occupational, and knowledge, with the first two based on the mix of industries in a place and the latter two based on the mix of occupations. Second, the report summarizes diversity trends, economic development practices, and diversification strategies in ten Appalachian counties. The ten cases offer insights into economic development practitioners’ understanding of what economic diversity means for their …

Statistical Portrait Of Economic Diversity In Appalachia, Troy D. Mix, Edward J. Feser

Troy D Mix

Commissioned by the Appalachian Regional Commission, this report presents a quantitative portrait of economic diversity trends across US and Appalachian counties. The portrait draws on four complementary indexes of diversity: industrial, functional, occupational, and knowledge, with the first two based on the mix of industries in a place and the latter two based on the mix of occupations. Analysis and discussion focuses on the utility of economic diversity for informing regional development practice in Appalachia.

Voice Without Say: Why Capital-Managed Firms Aren’T (Genuinely) Participatory, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

Why are most capitalist enterprises of any size organized as authoritarian bureaucracies rather than incorporating genuine employee participation that would give the workers real authority? Even firms with employee participation programs leave virtually all decision-making power in the hands of management. The standard answer is that hierarchy is more economically efficient than any sort of genuine participation, so that participatory firms would be less productive and lose out to more traditional competitors. This answer is indefensible. After surveying the history, legal status, and varieties of employee participation, I examine and reject as question-begging the argument that the rarity of genuine …

The Universal Savings Credit, Christian Weller, Sam Ungar

Christian Weller

The financial crisis of 2007 to 2009 took a tremendous toll on household wealth and shattered the sense of financial security for millions of American families. American households lost more than $20 trillion in wealth (in 2012 dollars) in the Great Recession, and households still had $10 trillion less in wealth at the end of 2012 than they had before the crisis. This massive wealth decline contributed to a widespread loss of economic security, particularly among lower-income and moderate-income families, single women, and communities of color. This economic insecurity can have long-ranging adverse effects on U.S. economic growth as American …

Students Examine Connecticut’S Economic Slowdown, Lucjan T. Orlowski Dr.

Lucjan T. Orlowski

Guided by Professor Lucjan Orlowski, a group of Sacred Heart University students recently prepared and released a comprehensive analysis and outlook for the Connecticut economy. Their findings show that Connecticut has been severely impacted by the recent financial crisis, perhaps more so than other states.

Global Cities Are Coastal Cities Too: Paradox In Sustainability?, Herman L. Boschken

Herman L. Boschken

Worldwide, most global cities are located in coastal zones, but a paradox of sustainability is especially striking for American global cities. This article examines such paradox drawn between globalization-induced development and coastal ecosystems. It focuses on two developmental components found principally in global cities: (1) the agglomeration of foreign waterborne commerce and global business services and (2) the accelerated activity and mobility habits of a global professional class. Despite formidable gaps in research, some anecdotal evidence suggests unique hazards exist for the coastal ecology as globalization pressures expand a global city’s urban footprint.

Tackling Undeclared Work In Croatia, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

The Shadow Economy, Colin C. Williams, Friedrich Schneider

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

Tackling Undeclared Work In Montenegro, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

Tackling Undeclared Work In Fyr Macedonia, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

Tackling Undeclared Work In Turkey, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

Tackling Undeclared Work In Iceland, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

Tackling Undeclared Work In 27 European Union Member States And Norway, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

Tackling Undeclared Work In Croatia And Four Eu Candidate Countries, Colin C. Williams, Marijana Baric, Piet Renooy

Colin C Williams

No abstract provided.

Spillovers Of Veterans Hospice Care: The Economic And Social Impact Of Palliative Care, Maximiliano Mendieta, Bruce D. Mcdonald Iii

Bruce D. McDonald, III

In exchange for military service in the United States, soldiers are promised a benefits package inclusive of health and education after the completion of their service. While the economic effects of the defense-growth relationship are well known, this study takes a unique approach to understanding the relationship between veterans and society by investigating the social and economic spillovers of veterans hospice care. This study shows that as an early adopter of hospice care, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs maximized its efficiency through sponsoring innovative research on geriatric care, introducing competition into the health sector, and legitimizing death and dying …