Briefing
The New England rental market
Sasser, Alicia (2007)
New England?s rental prices are high but relatively affordable to most residents.
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
Modestino, Alicia Sasser; Dennett, Julia (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
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
A guide to state debt affordability studies: common elements and best practices
Weiner, Jennifer (2013)
Policymakers must carefully balance a state's capital needs with efforts to keep debt levels affordable. To help weigh these competing concerns, a number of states routinely prepare formal debt affordability studies. By exploring the purpose of such studies, their common elements, and best practices, this policy brief aims to provide guidance to states that are developing or re-examining their own debt affordability analyses.
New England Public Policy Center Policy Brief

Briefing
Ensuring adequate electrical capacity in New England
Conaway, Carrie (2006)
A settlement accepted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on June 15, 2006, may finally resolve years of disagreement over how to increase New England?s electrical capacity. The final settlement was signed by 107 of the 115 parties negotiating for four months to create a forward capacity market for electricity in the region. Despite such strong support, however, several important parties oppose the plan, and its economic impact on the region is not yet clear.
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
Lasting connections: using internships to retain recent college graduates in New England
Sasser, Alicia (2009)
This policy brief discusses one promising short-term strategy for retaining the region's recent college graduates: expanding the use of internships within the region to help college students?including non-native?learn more about local job opportunities. The 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
A more equitable approach to cutting state aid
Zhao, Bo; Coyne, David (2011)
Local governments in New England rely on state aid to finance the provision of essential public services. Yet in response to the recent and ongoing fiscal crisis, state governments across the region have cut local aid deeply, often by the same percentage in each community. This across-the-board approach ignores differences in underlying local fiscal health and places a larger burden on many resource-poor communities. To address this concern, this policy brief provides a new, more equitable approach that allocates smaller aid cuts to communities that are in worse underlying fiscal health and ...
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
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