Search Results
Discussion Paper
Toward a more prosperous Springfield : a look at the barriers to employment from the perspective of residents and supporting organizations
Compared to the city, the region, and the state, labor force participation rates in Springfield's downtown and surrounding neighborhoods are very low. Residents and community leaders have expressed concerns about the employment prospects for the low-income residents that make up these neighborhoods. The purpose of this discussion paper is to highlight the perspectives of residents and community-based organizations on why so few residents of Springfield?s downtown neighborhoods are employed and to look at the some of the resources available to Springfield residents to help them address ...
Conference Paper
Education in the 21st century: meeting the challenges of a changing world - a conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
During the twentieth century, the United States was a leader in raising the educational attainment of its population. This important achievement contributed to national productivity growth and extended economic opportunity to formerly disadvantaged groups in society. Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, U.S. institutions of higher learning retain an excellent reputation for quality. Less confidence exists, however, in our educational system's ability to meet broad economic and social objectives adequately. This uncertainty stems in part from the shifting global economy and the ...
Discussion Paper
Small businesses in Springfield, Massachusetts: a look at Latino entrepreneurship
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has been collaborating with community leaders in Springfield, Massachusetts, on exploring revitalization strategies. Latino entrepreneurship is playing an important and increasing role in Springfield's economic development?providing new jobs and services and maintaining storefronts that might otherwise be vacant. An analyst in the Fed's community development unit, Ana Patricia Muoz, has recently completed a discussion paper on this topic, "Small Business in Springfield, Massachusetts: A Look at Latino Entrepreneurship." Among the implications: if ...
Journal Article
Privatization of local public services: lessons for New England
As governments consider ways to provide public services more efficiently, privatization can seem like an attractive option. Yet the subject engenders sharp controversies. In New England, local governments generally have not engaged in as much privatization as those in other parts of the country. ; This article examines the evidence on the relative merits of privatizing public services and attempts to determine whether these costs and benefits actually appear to explain local government behavior throughout the United States. The limited scope of privatization by New England local governments ...
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 ...
Journal Article
Geographic shifts in higher education
A common complaint of businesses nationwide is that they have not been able to hire as many highly educated workers as they would like to employ, resulting in unfilled vacancies in professional and technical positions. Regardless of the traditional relationships between employers and nearby universities, many states now are reexamining how their higher educational institutions can play a larger role in the development and growth of "knowledge-based" industries. Colleges and universities have an effect on the availability of labor in their local area in a variety of ways, most notably in ...
Report
Small steps in the right direction?: restructuring public education
When the term "knowledge-based economy" first entered popular discussion - sometime around the early 1980s - the focus was exclusively on scientific, technological, and business leadership. Only gradually did our society come to appreciate the pervasiveness of the knowledge-based economy. It affects not just the demand for high-level technical and entrepreneurial talent but, indeed, the job requirements for virtually all types of work. This growing realization has laid the foundation for broad-scale reforms of education in the United States and many other nations.
Journal Article
Effects of state and local public policies on economic development: an overview
The use of state and local public policy as an instrument of economic development is more controversial than ever. Profound technological and political changes have enhanced the geographic mobility of capital and extended firms' geographic range, intensifying competition among states and localities. At the same time, demand for state and local public services continues to rise, while impending reductions in federal aid compound the states' fiscal dilemma.> Caught between conflicting long-run fiscal pressures, state and local policymakers have sought advice on which policies are most ...
Journal Article
Fiscal pressures and the privatization of local services
The privatization movement appears to have lost some momentum in the United States over the 1990s. Although local governments continue to look for ways to deliver services more efficiently by using private contractors, the pace at which they are issuing contracts has slowed. In part, the trends may reflect political realities. Public employees naturally are concerned about losing their jobs, and they constitute a sizable share of the electorate. The limited role of outside contractors may also reflect economic pragmatism, especially in the face of greater scrutiny of past efforts to privatize ...