Incomplete Grade

Massachusetts Education Reform at 15

In a world defined by rapid change and increasing global competition, education must be a top priority for Massachusetts and the nation. Fifteen years ago, Massachusetts made a bold commitment to raise the educational standards of all children in Massachusetts with the passage of the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA). Since then, the state read more

Topic(s): Education, Strong Communities, Elections

Capital Gains

Avoiding Harm to the State Budget

E. Cameron (Cam) Huff

Governor Deval Patrick recently took dramatic action to repair a $1.4 billion deficit in the state budget, a hole that is roughly the size of the state’s annual spending on higher education. The plan to fill the gap includes $1 billion in spending cuts and the layoff of 1,000 employees. The need to act has read more

Topic(s): Government Accountability

Going for Growth

Promoting Business Investment in Massachusetts Gateway Cities

Benjamin Forman

Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Strong Communities, Economic Development, Gateway Cities

Great Expectations

A survey of young adults in Massachusetts

Dawn Crossland Sumners, Stacy DiAngelo and Larry Hugick

This project was made possible by the generous support of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts with MassHousing and State Street Foundation. This groundbreaking survey represents the first of its kind for our state-and we believe the first nationally. The choices of young adults about where to live and work are critical to our state’s read more

Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Strong Communities, Economic Development, Public Opinion

Point of Reckoning

Two Decades of State Budget Trends

E. Cameron (Cam) Huff

The Massachusetts state budget has reached a point of reckoning. First and foremost, a stubborn structural imbalance threatens the state’s ability to manage or grow current programs and services. Spending increases are outpacing revenue growth, with health care voraciously consuming a more generous slice of the fiscal pie. This imbalance is exacerbated by volatility in read more

Topic(s): Government Accountability

Mass Jobs

Meeting the Challenges of a Shifting Economy

Andy Sum, Ishwar Khatiwada, Sheila Palma, Paulo Tobar and Jacqui Motroni

The Massachusetts economy is the envy of many other states. It consistently ranks among the top in measures of New Economy success. We rank near the top of the nation in our level of labor productivity and have outpaced the nation in recent years in the rate of growth (11.5% versus 10.6%). We have the read more

Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Economic Development

Reconnecting Massachusetts Gateway Cities

Lessons Learned and an Agenda for Renewal

Ben Forman, Eric McLean Shinaman, John Schneider, Mark Muro, Ed Lambert, Rebecca Sohmer, Greg Leiserson and David Warren

Massachusetts has enjoyed one of the most successful economic transitions to a knowledge-based economy anywhere in the world over the last two decades. Statewide trends describe a solid economic turnaround, built on strong institutions, soaring educational attainment and the emergence of knowledge-based industries with high-paying jobs. Yet these broader trends obscure stark geographical variations within read more

Topic(s): Strong Communities, Economic Development, Gateway Cities

Mass Economy

The Labor Supply and Our Economic Future

Andy Sum, Ishwar Khatiwada, Sheila Palma, Vladlena Sabodash, Paulo Tobar, Joseph McLaughlin, Kamen Madjarov and Jacqui Motroni

This research assesses the health of the state’s supply of labor, both now and into the future. A key question is whether the state has an adequate supply of qualified workers to fuel our next round of economic expansion. In recent years, when the national economy began to recover from the recession of 2001, the read more

Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Economic Development, Research

Paying for College

The Rising Cost of Higher Education

Bridget Terry Long and Greg Leiserson

At the same time that a college education has become the ticket to the middle class, college has become less affordable. The situation in New England is worse than it is nationally. Even though incomes are higher in the region, families are likely spending a higher share of their income to pay for college. In read more

Topic(s): Education, Jobs and Economic Security, Strong Communities

A Generation in Transition

A Survey of Bay State Baby Boomers

Dawn Crossland Sumners, Stacy DiAngelo, Larry Hugick and Greg Leiserson

A Generation in Transition: A Survey of Bay State Baby Boomers is a groundbreaking report produced in partnership with Princeton Survey Research Associates Intl. and made possible by the generous support of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. This survey represents the first of its kind for our state. Historically, baby boomers have rewritten the read more