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Report
State foreclosure prevention efforts: mediation and financial assistance
Housing foreclosure activity in the United States and New England increased dramatically at the beginning of the housing crisis in 2006 and remains elevated. Given their economic and social costs, policymakers have developed a number of policies designed to prevent foreclosures. In recent years, state and local policymakers in New England have implemented two major foreclosure prevention policies: foreclosure mediation programs and financial assistance programs. This report reviews these two foreclosure prevention programs in the New England region. It explores how they are funded, weighs ...
Report
Can subsidized housing help address homelessness in New England?
This report examines the scope of homelessness in New England and the potential role of subsidized housing in alleviating homelessness in the region. The report finds that the number of sheltered homeless families in Massachusetts and Vermont is on the rise, driving an increase in measured homelessness in New England. The authors consider three theories for the cause of the increase: the interaction of national market forces and area-specific shelter policies, area-specific market forces, and challenges in accurately measuring the homeless population. The research also explores the extent to ...
Report
Student-loan debt, delinquency, and default: a New England perspective
In 2009, student-loan debt became the largest non-housing-related consumer debt in the United States. By 2013, outstanding student debt balances had grown to exceed $1 trillion, and by the end of 2015, had reached $1.23 trillion. These milestones coincided with increasing rates of delinquency and default among borrowers, raising concerns about the affordability of this debt. In addition, researchers have recently found an array of adverse effects from such debt, including the impact on homeownership and vehicle purchases, small-business formation, and retirement preparedness. These factors ...
Report
Demand for H-1B visas in New England: an analysis of employer requests for highly-skilled guest workers
This report finds that New England has some of the highest levels of demand for H-1B workers nationwide, relative to employment, due to significant demand from a few metropolitan labor markets in Connecticut and Massachusetts. This analysis also shows that there are various intended uses of the H-1B visa: it is not solely used to address a STEM-skills shortage nor is it used principally to outsource work to less costly locations. Finally, the report recommends developing a clearer policy goal for the H-1B visa program, which would support more coherent criterion for admitting highly skilled ...
Report
The criminal population in New England: records, convictions, and barriers to employment
The portion of the U.S. population with a criminal record has been receiving mounting attention in recent years. While there is a significant amount of data about the criminal population under supervision, there is very limited linked data identifying how most individuals move through the criminal justice system. By analyzing multiple national and state data sources, this report aims to identify the size of the New England population with a criminal record and to describe the broad demographic characteristics of this population. The report illustrates that the size of the population in the ...
Discussion Paper
The housing bust and housing affordability in New England
This discussion paper updates the Center's 2006 housing affordability working paper, drawing on housing market data through 2008 to provide an in-depth analysis of housing affordability after the recent housing market bust. The paper looks at affordability in the New England states, their largest metropolitan areas, competitor metropolitan areas, and for the nation. The results show that as New England's housing prices have declined, affordability has been returning to the pre-housing crisis levels of the early 2000s. However, declining prices nationwide continue to make owner-occupied ...
Working Paper
“No more credit score”: employer credit check bans and signal substitution
In the past decade, most states have banned or considered banning the use of credit checks in hiring decisions, a screening tool that is widely used by employers. Using new Equifax data on employer credit checks, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax data, and the LEHD Origin-Destination Employment data, we show that these bans increased employment of residents in the lowest-credit score census tracts. The largest gains occurred in higher-paying jobs and in the government sector. At the same time, using a large database of job postings, we show that employers ...
Periodic Essay
Labor market trends in Massachusetts regions: northeast
Using the most recent data available, the Northeast Regional Labor Market Profile provides a detailed picture of the region?s current and future labor supply. For context, it also provides detailed information on labor demand in the region over the past decade. This profile is designed to help guide workforce development professionals, policy makers, and civic, education, and business leaders as they make decisions about education and training opportunities.
Periodic Essay
Labor market trends in Massachusetts regions: metro south/west
The profile of the Metro South/West reveals that the region's residents and its workforce have remarkably high levels of education, but looking forward, the region faces the demographic challenges of an aging population.
Journal Article
An overview of New England's economic performance in 2008
Like most of the nation, New England suffered economically in 2008. Job losses, rising unemployment, and slumping real estate markets were all factors in one of the worst years for the region?s economy. Nevertheless, while the recession certainly took its toll, it did not affect New England as much as it did the nation as a whole.