The Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2003: An Assessment of Progress on Housing in the Greater Boston Area

Presents an annual survey of the state of housing in Greater Boston: market conditions; housing production; rents, home prices, and affordability; and public spending and support. Examines the need to increase supply as home prices continue to rise

The Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2005-2006: An Assessment of Progress on Housing in the Greater Boston Area

Presents an annual survey of the state of housing in Greater Boston: market conditions; housing production; rents, home prices, and affordability; and public spending and support. Notes a modest rise in housing supply and a slight decline in prices

"The Unmeasured Labor Force, The Growth in Work Hours"

Is the current labor market as tight as official statistics would seem to indicate? If incumbent workers increase their hours of work, it is irrelevant to the unemployment rate, but hardly irrelevant to the level of labor supply. Bluestone and Rose find that job insecurity and stagnating wages have made Americans willing to work those extra hours to build a financial cushion, and a 1 percent increase in hours worked per worker for a fixed labor supply is equivalent in terms of labor supply to a 1 percent increase in the number of workers. This more realistic picture of labor supply has important implications for expectations that welfare recipients can easily find jobs, for reforms in labor market statistics to provide better information, and for the direction of monetary policy.

"Making Work Pay, Wage Insurance for the Working Poor"

Barry Bluestone, of the University of Massachusetts, and Teresa Ghilarducci, of the University of Notre Dame, show that although the poverty rate for elderly Americans has declined over the past three decades, the total number of persons in poverty has grown and the number of poor nonelderly dults in poverty has nearly doubled since 1970. The authors argue for a comprehensive and coherent strategy aimed at the working poor and those susceptible to highly fluctuating incomes. Two essential components of a wage insurance system already exist in the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the minimum wage. Neither by itself is an ideal solution to the wage poverty problem, but the two programs complement one another. What makes the two fit together so existence of a higher minimum wage actually reduces the negative productivity, fiscal impact, and moral hazard effects of the EITC, while the EITC makes up for the weak target efficiency and income adequacy of the minimum wage.

Life Sciences Innovation as a Catalyst for Economic Development: The Role of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center

This report provides an up-to-date, independent evaluation of the $1 billion, 10-year Massachusetts Life Sciences Initiative and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) charged with the responsibility of carrying out its mission. The initiative was established in July 2008 by Governor Deval Patrick's Administration and the Legislature to encourage the growth of discovery and production in the life sciences, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical diagnostics, medical devices and bioinformatics in the Commonwealth. Based on the region's existing comparative advantage in life sciences research and development (R&D) emanating from the laboratories of its leading universities and medical institutions, this substantial infusion of public funds was undertaken with the ambitious goal of making this cluster of industry sectors the most successful in the world. This evaluation comes at a propitious time, given the state of fiscal affairs in the Commonwealth and the nation. Virtually every unit of government is scrutinizing the use of each tax dollar to ensure that public revenue is being spent effectively and efficiently. Put simply, our goal in this evaluation was to gather as much data as possible to assess whether the Commonwealth's sizeable commitment of public resources is paying off in the form of a life sciences "super cluster" capable of attracting massive amounts of investment dollars, generating well-paying jobs for Massachusetts residents and yielding additional tax revenue for the Commonwealth

Chapter 40R School Cost Analysis and Proposed Smart Growth School Cost Insurance Supplement

Analyzes the effects of insuring local communities against having to absorb school costs above the increased property and excise tax revenue generated by new housing units. Calls for supplements as a way to encourage the construction of moderate housing

The Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2009: Positioning Boston in a Post-Crisis World

Presents an annual survey of Greater Boston's market conditions, including economic and demographic trends; housing production; rents; home prices; housing affordability; foreclosures; and public spending in support of housing. Analyzes implications

Black Capitalism: the Path To Black Liberation?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68344/2/10.1177_048661346900100103.pd

The Greater Boston Housing Report Card 2008: From Paradigm to Paradox: Understanding Greater Boston's New Housing Market

Combines an annual survey of Greater Boston's market conditions, housing production, rents, home prices, and public spending and support with an analysis of the dynamics of rising foreclosures, falling prices, and the unresolved problem of affordability