The New England rental market

New England’s rental prices are high but relatively affordable to most residents.Housing - New England ; Housing - Prices - New England ; Rental housing - New England

The future of skilled labor: New England’s supply of recent college graduates

One of New England’s greatest assets is its skilled labor force which has historically been an engine of economic growth in the region. Yet the population of recent college graduates—the skilled labor force of the future—has been growing more slowly in New England than in the rest of the United States. Thus, the need to attract and retain recent college graduates has become a salient issue in every New England state. Policymakers and business leaders alike are concerned that an inadequate supply of skilled workers will hamper economic growth by creating barriers for companies looking to locate or expand in New England. Yet few steps have been taken to tackle this challenge because of lack of information on the extent of the problem, its root causes, and how best to address it.College graduates - New England

Pathways to Economic Mobility: Identifying the Labor Market Value of Community College in Massachusetts

This report provides a timely contribution to the growing public policy debate around how we combat structural inequality by quantifying the power of community college as a pathway to economic mobility. Until recently, it has been difficult to accurately estimate the return to a community college education in Massachusetts because numerous factors affect who enrolls, when they enroll, the rate at which they complete a credential, and the field of study that they pursue. The Commonwealth's State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) allows us to build statistical models that untangle these patterns.Utilizing this dataset, we can isolate increases in employment and earnings over and above what individuals would have experienced if they had not pursued community college studies. While community colleges serve many types of learners, with this first analysis, we focus on Massachusetts public school students who graduated from high school about a decade ago and enrolled in a community college within five years of high school graduation. These young adults represent a large segment of community college enrollment and a population for whom community college is often the highest level of educational attainment.Our analysis consistently uncovers strong labor market returns to community college studies for young adults. The gains are greater for women than men. Students who obtain degrees or credit-bearing certificates in high-demand fields garner particularly large increases in employment and earnings. While we find that low-income students and students of color are less likely to persist in community college, those who do complete degrees and credit-bearing certificates enjoy returns that are at least as large as White and non-low-income students. As detailed below, the findings in this report suggest efforts to position more students for community college success can play a meaningful role in building a more equitable Commonwealth

The ROI of ESOL: The Economic and Social Return on Investment for ESOL Programs in Greater Boston

Recognizing the importance of immigrants to Greater Boston and the value of English classes and other supports to building an inclusive and welcoming community, the Boston Foundation and the Latino Legacy Fund commissioned a study that explores the "return on investment" (ROI) for teaching English to adults who are speakers of other languages. Known as ESOL programs, these services are an important component of adult education and a key piece of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The result of that study is this report, comprising an analysis of the region's ESOL landscape that provides background and context for the in-depth case studies and ROI estimates that follow

The Impact of Antihypertensive Drugs on the Number and Risk of Death, Stroke and Myocardial Infarction in the United States

Estimating the value of medical innovation is a continual challenge. In this research, we quantify the impact of antihypertensive therapy on U.S. blood pressures, risk and number of heart attacks, strokes, and deaths. We also consider the potential for further improvements. We estimate the value of innovation using equations relating blood pressure to adverse outcomes from the Framingham Heart Study. Our results show that without antihypertensive therapy, 1999-2000 average blood pressure for the U.S. population age 40 plus would have been 10-13 percent higher. 86,000 excess premature deaths from cardiovascular disease (2001), and 833,000 hospital discharges for stroke and heart attacks (2002) would have occurred. Life expectancy would be 0.5 (men) and 0.4 (women) years lower. At guideline care, there would have been 89,000 fewer premature deaths (2001) and 420,000 fewer hospital discharges for stroke and heart attack (2002) than observed. Our analysis suggests that antihypertensive therapy has had a significant impact on cardiovascular health outcomes but that mortality gains would have been approximately twice as high if guideline care had been achieved for all.

Crowded out of the housing market: declining affordability and availability are squeezing New England's very low-income households

Though many New Englanders find it difficult to buy and maintain a home or pay monthly rent, the problem is particularly acute for the region's very low-income households. While many reports about housing affordability focus on the growing affordability challenges faced by middle-income households, they often overlook a crucial problem in the region: very low-income households--those in the bottom fifth of the income distribution are squeezed by declining affordability and limited availability.Housing - Prices - New England