This paper designs a new equalization-aid formula based on fiscal gaps of local communities. Using conceptual analysis and simulations with Massachusetts data, the authors illustrate the tradeoffs that policymakers face in deciding on the policy variables in the formula and lay out several...

Local jurisdictions differ in the per capita costs that they must incur to provide a standard quality and quantity of municipal services at average efficiency. These cost differences are attributable to local social and economic characteristics or circumstances that are outside the control of...

This paper develops new measures of environmental costs and local revenue capacity as the basis for a new municipal aid formula in Massachusetts. On the cost side, unlike previous studies, we quantify the effects on local non-school spending of characteristics related to uncontrollable costs. On...

This paper develops new measures of non–school revenue capacity and environmental costs for Massachusetts cities and towns as the basis for a new municipal aid formula. On the capacity side, we account for the constraints of a tax limitation by estimating them as a function of residents’...

This paper designs a new equalization-aid formula based on fiscal gaps of local communities. When states are in transition to a new local aid formula, the issue of whether and how to hold existing aid harmless poses a challenge. The authors show that some previous studies and the formulas...

The American labor force will be transformed as the twenty-first century unfolds, a change that will confront policymakers and business firms with new challenges and new opportunities. The impending slowdown of labor force growth that will accompany the retirement of the baby boom generation...

This public policy brief examines labor force participation rates in this recession and recovery and compares them with the cyclical patterns in earlier business cycles. Measured relative to the business cycle peak in March 2001, labor force participation rates almost four years later have not...

Measures of unemployment tally people without a job who are looking for one. For measurement purposes, the critical question is what constitutes “looking.” This article summarizes how unemployment is measured in the United States and Europe, and describes recent research investigating the...

This Public Policy Brief presents estimates of the impact of price increases projected by the U.S. Department of Energy for the winter of 2004-5 on consumers in the nine Census divisions and selected metropolitan areas. It is based on materials presented in a briefing to the President of the...