Economic Policy Commons^™

Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership’S Family Self-Sufficiency Program Evaluation, July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2015, Brandynn Holgate, Julia Tripp, Sylvia Singleton, Priyanka Kabir, Wendel Mirbel, Donna Haig Friedman

Center for Social Policy Publications

The final report on Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership's (MBHP) Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program evaluation aims to improve our collective understanding of how the FSS program works, who benefits from the program and how they benefit, and the circumstances that are associated with success. The research findings are divided into five sections:

• A comparison of MBHP’s FSS program outcomes to the national average
• A description of how FSS graduates spend their escrow savings
• A comparison of FSS graduates with those who terminate from the program
• Mini-case examples on MBHP partnerships
• An assessment of goals and outcomes for MBHP under the TBF …

The Politics Of Middle Class Decline And Growth In Industrialized Democracies, 1980 To 2010, Young-Hwan Byun

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research explains why some industrialized democracies have experienced middle class decline while others have experienced middle class growth since the 1980s. The prevailing political science literature based on the median voter theory predicts that middle class decline should not occur in democracies, whereas economic theories fail to explain national variation of middle class decline by attributing the decline to common developments such as globalization or technological change. I analyze data from the Luxembourg Income Study Database, the Comparative Welfare States Dataset, and the Comparative Welfare Entitlement Dataset, and demonstrate a significant partisan effect on middle class decline. I argue …

Agricultural Policy Reform: An Argument For A Soil Erosion Tax, Alex M. Ingulsrud

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

The purpose of this research is to examine the history of soil erosion and US agricultural policy in order to show why a soil erosion tax would be a good policy. Part A of this essay focuses on the dust bowl as an archetype for modern agriculture and ecological limits. Historical lessons are drawn from the dust bowl that illustrate why a soil erosion tax would be more practical than past policies for agricultural policy to coerce farmers into implement soil conversation practices. Part B of this essay examines the current dilemma of soil erosion and agricultural policy, why a …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 9, Spring 2016

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

The Cost Of Poverty: The Perpetuating Cycle Of Concentrated Poverty In New Jersey Cities • A Comprehensive Budgetary Analysis Of Four Urban New Jersey Municipalities, John S. Watson Institute For Public Policy Of Thomas Edison State University, New Jersey Urban Mayors Association, The Anti-Poverty Network Of New Jersey, Fund For New Jersey

Urban Mayors Policy Center

This report examines the problem of concentrated poverty in the State of New Jersey. Both the individual and the long-term economic consequences of concentrated poverty are well- documented in social science research. The report adds to that knowledge by examining the practical, budgetary consequences faced by urban centers that are characterized by high poverty levels. The report focuses on four cities, which are represented in the New Jersey Urban Mayors Association (NJUMA) — Bridgeton, Passaic, Perth Amboy, and Trenton. While these regions vary considerably, they all share one important fact: their poverty rates are double or triple the New Jersey …

Evaluation Of Financial Trends And Fundraising Program Of Stap, Jay Mcmahon

Capstone Projects 2015-Present

Every non-profit organization faces challenges with funding. This project examines fundraising trends and threats facing the Southern Tier AIDS Program (STAP). The project began out of concerns about the impact changes in Medicaid legacy rates and Governor Cuomo’s plan for the end of AIDS 2020. Government grants and Medicaid are the largest revenue streams for the organization, changes in these streams could have a devastating impact on the organization. Along with identifying the impact of the funding changes I will evaluate the current fundraising programs and make recommendations based on the past trends and projections of the impact of funding …

Modeling The "Gravity" Of Foreign Aid: A Dyadic Panel Analysis On The Impact Of Bilateral Aid Commitments On Bilateral Immigration From 1994 To 2011, Miles D. Williams

Masters Theses

While research shows policymakers increase bilateral foreign aid commitments in response to an increase in bilateral immigration, supposedly as a means for reducing the demand for immigration, the effectiveness of this strategy is given only passing consideration in the literature. Many doubt this approach's success, but little effort has been made to empirically justify this doubt. This paper attempts to fill this gap in the literature and proposes a novel hypothesis. It is argued here that aid, more than simply failing to promote development quickly enough to reduce the demand for immigration, functions as a signal of donor wealth. When …

When You Need More Than Just An Apple A Day: A Review Of The Empirical Evidence Relating To Disparities In Access To Health Care And A Preliminary Perspective On The Effects Of The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act, Alexis Coulis

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

The concept of medical care is twofold, made up of both prevention and treatment. Prevention itself consists of three distinct levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary prevention includes actions protecting healthy people from developing a disease in the first place. Secondary goes on to refer to management of a diagnosed condition that works to keep symptoms at a minimum. Finally, tertiary prevention encompasses measures taken in an attempt to control an existing disease. Three individual case studies – the influenza vaccine, asthma management, and control of congestive heart failure – exemplify these primary, secondary, and tertiary preventive measures. Together, they …

Effects Of Fiscal Policy On Consumer Confidence, Sara Omohundro

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

It has long been debated which type of fiscal policy is most effective in a recession, a tax cut or an increase in government spending. Throughout the history of the United States, many administrations have tried to implement various forms and combinations of tax cuts and spending hikes to jump start the economy. Some were effective, and some were not. By determining what it is that makes fiscal policy effective, the government can be better prepared and more informed when designing fiscal policy in the future. Consumer confidence is one relevant metric for this analysis because it is sensitive to …

The Use Of Catastrophe Bonds As A Means Of Economic Development In Emerging Economies, Lauren Mattucci

Honors Theses and Capstones

Catastrophe bonds offer a way for entities located in natural disaster prone regions to safely and efficiently transfer the risk of insuring property to the financial markets and subsequently, create a financially attractive environment for insurers and investors. The opportunity for investors to utilize modeled loss analytical platforms such as those created by AIR, Risk Management Solutions, and EQECAT, could be used to bridge the growing gap in emerging economies between economic losses created by natural disasters and insured losses. Bridging this insurance gap in emerging economies could have positive global implications for the insurance industry, global trade, foreign direct …

Assessment Of Impacts Of The Biomedical Careers Program – Just-A-Start Corporation Of Cambridge, Ma, Brandynn Holgate, Françoise Carré, Michael Mccormack, Wendel Mirbel

Center for Social Policy Publications

In 2015, Just-a-Start Corporation (JAS) of Cambridge, MA asked the UMass Boston Center for Social Policy to conduct an assessment of the impacts of the Biomedical Careers Program on the region and state, examining individual impacts for graduates as well as the economic contributions of program graduates to the biomedical industry.

The Biomedical Careers Program (hereafter “BioMed”) is described by JAS as an eight month program designed to enable local residents to complete “a Certificate in Biomedical Sciences to prepare them for entry level jobs at local biotechnology companies, universities, research institutions, clinical laboratories and hospitals. The program includes a …

The Impact Of State-Provided Paid Family Leave On Wages: Examining The Role Of Gender, Aimee Samantha Abrams Widdicombe

Scripps Senior Theses

The U.S. is the only OECD country that does not offer any form of federal paid parental leave. Only three states—California, New Jersey and Rhode Island—have state-provided paid leave policies; implemented in 2004, 2009 and 2014, respectively. Through descriptive statistics and difference-in-difference-in-difference regression analyses of the wages of women and men of childbearing age (19-45 years) in those three states, we assess whether the paid leave programs have effected wages, and whether these effects vary depending on gender. Our results show that wages of women of childbearing age saw negligible net effects post-policy in policy states, although statistically insignificant. On …

Why Are We Still Listening To This Dead British Guy: An Analysis Of Emergency Liquidity Assistance In Germany During The Sovereign Debt Crisis, Nia R. Gillenwater

Scripps Senior Theses

Germany’s position of power within the European Union disguises how impacted the German economy was by the 2008 Financial Crisis and Europe’s subsequent Sovereign Debt Crisis. Two of Germany’s major banks-Commerzbank and Bayerische Landesbank- suffered major losses and required emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) to survive. Walter Bagehot wrote the theory underpinning lenders of last resort (LLRs) in 1873 but how has the development of systemically important banks affected the usefulness of Bagehot’s theory? This paper aims to explain why Germany is in need of updated LLR recommendations through an analysis of the ELA Germany at large, Commerzbank and Bayerische Landesbank …

Did Municipal Stabilization Funds Effectively Smooth Expenditures During The Great Recession?, Lauren Kesselring

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Budget stabilization fund (BSF) is a general term for rainy day funds, contingency funds, and reserves. Historically, researchers have studies BSFs at the state level. However, after the Great Recession municipalities have increasingly adopted BSFs. So far, there are several unknowns surrounding municipal BSFs. The intent of this paper is to start addressing some of these unknowns. The paper seeks to answer the question, did municipal BSFs smooth expenditures over the Great Recession? This study uses data from Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and eleven comparable municipalities.

The municipality BSF literature is in its infancy. Previous research has focused on state …

Conduit Bond Financing Of Local Governments—Perspective From The U.S. And China, Zihe Guo

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

As an alternative way to issue bonds, conduit financing has been widely used by local governments and nonprofit organizations. Conduit financing allows one entity to issue debt on behalf of single or multiple borrowers. In the state of California in the U.S., a local agency is allowed to issue municipal bonds in compliance with law, but can also borrow through a joint powers agency (JPA). In this case, the JPA serves as a conduit. Conduit financing is preferred by local agencies in certain circumstances because it is more convenient or fixed issuance costs can be split between several conduit borrowers …

Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness: Measuring What Matters, Laura Musikanski, Carl Polley

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This essay focuses on ways in which the governments of Bhutan and the United Kingdom are measuring subjective well-being as well as on how other governments including Norway, Spain, China, Canada, and New Zealand, are exploring the development of subjective well-being indicators. It concludes with recommended actions to aid in the formation of a consistent and comparable subjective well-being indicator for use by governments globally. The third in a series for which the purpose is to provide information to grassroots activists to foster the happiness movement for a new economic paradigm, this essay builds on the previous essays, Happiness in …

The Metropolitan Revolution Comes To Greater Las Vegas, Robert E. Lang

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

No abstract provided.

Bayesian Spatial Bivariate Panel Probit Estimation, Badi Baltagi, Peter H. Egger, Michaela Kesina

Center for Policy Research

This paper formulates and analyzes Bayesian model variants for the analysis of systems of spatial panel data with binary dependent variables. The paper focuses on cases where latent variables of cross-sectional units in an equation of the system contemporaneously depend on the values of the same and, eventually, other latent variables of other cross-sectional units. Moreover, the paper discusses cases where time-invariant effects are exogenous versus endogenous. Such models may have numerous applications in industrial economics, public economics, or international economics. The paper illustrates that the performance of Bayesian estimation methods for such models is supportive of their use with …

Socioeconomic Factors Associated With Cataract-Related Blindness Treatment In Women In Rural Regions Of Andhra Pradesh, Kiranpreet Kaur 4198353

Undergraduate Research Posters

Despite efforts of Vision 2020 in India, the Andhra Pradesh Eye Disease Study (APEDS) extrapolated, in 2000, approximately 18.7 million blind people in India and also, projected an increase to 31.6 million blind people by 2020. Within the state Andhra Pradesh itself, preventable corneal blindness increased to 1.84% from 1.5% in the late 1980s.

Numerous public health studies have been conducted to outline factors that cause and preclude treatment of avoidable corneal blindness in the India. Conclusively, the escalation of corneal blindness can be largely attributed to personal, social, and economic barriers in utilizing available eye-care services. However, due to …

Neighborhoods By Assessment: An Analysis Of Non-Ad Valorem Financing In California, Mathew D. Mccubbins, Ellen C. Seljan

Faculty Scholarship

Non-ad valorem assessments on property are a fiscal innovation born from financial stress. Unable to raise property taxes due to limitations, many localities have turned to these charges as an alternative method to fund local services. In this paper, we seek to explain differential levels of non-ad valorem assessment financing through the analysis of property tax records of a large and diverse set of single family homes in California. We theorize that assessments, as opposed to other forms of taxation, will be used when residents hold anti-redistributive preferences. We show that assessment financing is most common in cities with high …