Briefing
Retaining recent college graduates in New England: an update on current trends
Modestino, Alicia Sasser (2013)
This policy brief presents some basic facts about the retention of recent college graduates and changes in retention over time. It considers how New England compares with other divisions, what factors affect its ability to retain graduates, and the reasons why recent college graduates choose to leave New England. It also highlights a Boston-area initiative to promote internships as a retention tool.
New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief

Briefing
Saving costs through regional consolidation: public safety answering points in Massachusetts
Kodrzycki, Yolanda; Cools, Angela (2013)
As local governments seek to address growing financial challenges, many will consider a variety of cost-cutting measures, including joint service provision with other localities. This policy brief examines the potential savings from large-scale service-sharing arrangements, using the specific example of emergency call handling and dispatch in Massachusetts. The analysis finds that consolidation can significantly reduce costs, and recommends that state policymakers consider options to encourage local consolidation. ; This policy brief builds on the Center?s 2013 research report, ?The Quest for ...
New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief

Briefing
Revenue forecasting processes in New England
Shavit, Yael (2009)
State governments creating their budgets are concerned about available revenues. The basis of a successful budget is a sound revenue forecast. How states arrive at this forecast is both a science and an art and the approach differs markedly among states. This policy brief responds to the dearth of readily accessible information about states? revenue forecasting processes by describing, comparing, and contrasting the revenue forecasting processes of the New England states.
New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief

Briefing
The supply of recent college graduates in New England
Sasser, Alicia (2009)
This policy brief investigates factors affecting the region's supply of recent college graduates and how those factors have changed over time, and suggests steps that states might take to expand this source of skilled labor. This brief summarizes analysis in NEPPC research report 08-1: The Future of the Skilled Labor Force in the Region: The Supply of Recent College Graduates.
New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief

Briefing
Nurse-to-patient ratios
Hershbein, Brad (2005)
This brief is based on information presented at the 25th Massachusetts Health Policy Forum, held on March 30, 2005 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief

Briefing
The middle-skills gap: ensuring an adequate supply of skilled labor in northern and southern New England
Dennett, Julia; Modestino, Alicia Sasser (2011)
Recent evidence suggests that a mismatch between the skills demanded by employers and the skills supplied by the population may be underway, particularly for ?middle-skill? workers who possess some college education or an associate?s degree. This policy brief examines the middle-skill mismatch in New England, comparing recent labor market trends and future projections for the northern versus southern subregions. The analysis finds that the nature of the mismatch varies within the region, indicating that policymakers should tailor their potential responses as opposed to taking a uniform ...
New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief

Briefing
Evaluating business tax credits: reading between the lines
Weiner, Jennifer (2010)
This policy brief provides guidelines for critically evaluating and interpreting empirical studies of state business tax credits. This brief summarizes analysis in NEPPC discussion paper 09-3: State Business Tax Incentives: Examining Evidence of their Effectiveness.
New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief

Briefing
GASB 45 and other post-employment benefit promises : the fog is clearing
Brady, Steffanie (2007)
It is often said that you won?t get rich working for the government, but you can?t beat the benefits. One form of these benefits is ?Other Post-Employment Benefits"(OPEB), which represent government promises to employees to provide health care and other non-pension benefits after retirement. Government employers commonly use these benefits to attract talent in lieu of large salaries or bonuses and to provide future security to employees. Until now, governments have also been able to apply preferential accounting treatment to OPEB plans, which allowed deferral of the costs of today?s ...
New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief

Briefing
The fiscal capacity of New England
Nagowski, Matthew (2007)
New Englanders may demand high levels of government services, but their underlying need for public service provision remains quite low, and they tend to be able to better afford the costs of these services relative to the rest of the nation. As a result, the region?s state and local governments face relatively less pressure to raise taxes or increase spending in order to achieve a basic level of public services, and constituent preferences may play a larger role in the fiscal decisions that New England policymakers make.
New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief , Issue May

Briefing
Immigrants as a potential source of growth for New England’s highly skilled workforce
Watson, Tara (2013)
In recent decades, growth in New England?s college-educated workforce has lagged behind that in the nation as a whole. Attraction and retention of college graduates, especially those trained in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields is a policy priority. This brief analyzes the region?s attraction and retention of foreign-born college graduates, examining two groups of immigrants: those arriving in the United States between the ages of 16 and 20, and those arriving in the United States between the ages of 21 and 29. The author finds that the foreign-born make up a ...
New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief