Beyond Demographic Destiny [PDF file]
An Analysis of Massachusetts Minority and White Student Achievement Gaps
Author(s): Richard Cross, Theodor Rebarber, Kathleen Madigan, and Bruce Bean — Publication date: 2010-03-12
Category: Education
Abstract: While Massachusetts is widely recognized for the high academic achievement of its students when compared to other states, unacceptably large achievement gaps persist between historically under-achieving minority groups—African-American and Hispanic students—and White students.1 Using the 2009 results from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), for example, 61 percent of White students in Grade 4 achieved Proficiency in English Language Arts (ELA) but only 29 percent of African-American students in the same grade attained Proficiency, resulting in an achievement gap of 32 percentage points. Heading Down [PDF file]
The Loss of Massachusetts Headquarters
Author(s): John Friar and Megan Gay — Publication date: 2010-03-05
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: This brief is the second in a series on employment trends in Massachusetts from 1990 to 2007, an eighteen- year period leading up to the current recession. From 1990 to 2007, the U.S. experienced net job growth of 26.6%; in the same period Massachusetts experienced a net job loss of 0.3%, losing a total of 11,816 jobs. From 1990 until 2003, Massachusetts job trends roughly followed US trends: losing jobs in 1990-1992 and 2001-2003 due to recessions and gaining jobs in intervening years. Why Race to the Middle? [PDF file]
First-Class State Standards Are Better than Third-Class National Standards
Author(s): Ze'ev Wurman and Sandra Stotsky — Publication date: 2010-02-23
Category: Education
Abstract: The case for national standards rests on more than the need to equalize academic expectations for all students by remedying the uneven and often deplorable quality of most state standards and tests. The case also rests on the urgent need to increase academic achievement for all students. In mathematics and science in particular, we require much higher levels of achievement than our students now demonstrate for this country to remain competitive in the global economy. These goals are not compatible at the secondary school level, and the tensions they create are not easily resolved. For example, although the National Mathematics Advisory Panel recommended 27 major topics for school algebra, it is unreasonable to make them a high school graduation requirement. An Interim Report Card on Massachusetts Health Care Reform [PDF file]
Part 2: Equitable and Sustainable Financing.
Author(s): Amy M. Lischko and Kristin Manzolillo — Publication date: 2010-02-18
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: On April 12, 2006, Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006, entitled "An Act Providing Access to Affordable, Quality, Accountable Health Care" was passed reforming the Massachusetts health care system. The goals of the legislation were to make health insurance affordable to most every resident and establish mechanisms to help control health care inflation.
Prior to the reform, Massachusetts health care costs exceeded national averages and were growing at faster rates than the nation overall. For example, Massachusetts’ 2004 per capita health expenditure of $6,683 was 27% greater than the national average of $5,283. In addition, health care spending from 2000 to 2004 grew by 7.4% in Massachusetts, compared with 6.9% nationally. Failure to Thrive: [PDF file]
Job Creation and Loss in Massachusetts: 1990 – 2007
Author(s): John Friar and Megan Gay — Publication date: 2010-01-29
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: Failure to Thrive examines employment trends in Massachusetts from 1990 to 2007. In the United States as a whole, the number of employed individuals peaked in December, 2007. Since then, the country has shed 7.3 million jobs. In the past two years, Massachusetts has faced the same economic pressures as the rest of the country, shedding jobs in 2008 and 2009. However, Massachusetts is distinguished from the rest of the U.S. by the fact that it has been shedding jobs since the 2001 recession. Overall, job trends in Massachusetts from 2001 on show a significant and negative divergence from those in the rest of the country. An Interim Report Card on Massachusetts Health Care Reform [PDF file]
Part 1: Increasing Access
Author(s): Amy M. Lischsko and Anand Gopalsami — Publication date: 2010-01-13
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: On April 12, 2006, Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006, entitled “An Act Providing Access to Affordable, Quality, Accountable Health Care” was passed reforming the Massachusetts health care system. The goals of the legislation were to make health insurance affordable to most every resident and establish mechanisms to help control health care inflation.
The legislation was the product of over two years of work by Administration officials, legislators, health care providers, insurers, and consumer groups. The legislation reformed the health care system by focusing on the role of the individual within the health care system. Specifically, the law modernized health insurance laws, eliminated some of the barriers to purchasing health insurance, transitioned existing government assistance from hospitals to the individual in the form of subsidies to purchase health insurance, encouraged personal responsibility, and attempted to contain health care costs. Putting Children First: [PDF file]
The History of Charter Public Schools in Massachusetts
Author(s): Cara Stillings Candal — Publication date: 2009-11-12
Category: Education
Abstract: For over a decade, Massachusetts has been viewed as a national model for K-12 education reform. One of the first states to significantly revamp an inequitable state formula for school funding that relied too heavily on the local property tax, Massachusetts has also implemented a strong system of academic standards and accountability for student outcomes, one that federal legislators looked to when crafting the No Child Left Behind Act. Because of their wide influence and overwhelming success, these reforms sometimes overshadow another important facet of education policy in Massachusetts that also came into being with the Education Reform Act of 1993—charter public schools. Home to a great number of very successful charter public schools, Massachusetts has been cited as a nationwide leader when it comes to the academic achievement of its charter schools and sensible charter authorization practices. Follow the Money [PDF file]
Charter School and District Funding in Massachusetts
Author(s): Ken Ardon — Publication date: 2009-11-05
Category: Education
Abstract: Charter public schools operate under five-year charters from the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and are not part of traditional local school districts. Charters often organize around a core mission, curriculum, or teaching method. They are free from district management and local collective bargaining agreements, and they control their own budget and hire teachers and staff separately from the local school district. The Know-Nothing Amendments [PDF file]
Barriers to School Choice in Massachusetts
Author(s): Cornelius Chapman — Publication date: 2009-04-04
Category: Education
Abstract: This paper will consider a sad phenomenon in
American history—19th-century nativism and
in particular, anti-Catholic prejudice—and its lingering and deleterious effects on American primary and secondary education. The wave of nativist sentiment that swept through American thought and institutions in the 19th century wiped out an older, pluralistic approach to primary and
secondary education in which the interests of
parents were balanced with those of the state. The purported constitutional grounds for this shift will be shown to rest on an incorrect assumption as to whether the framers of the Constitution intended
to include education within the prohibition of established religions. Public Pensions [PDF file]
Unfair to State Employees, Unfair to Taxpayers
Author(s): Ken Ardon — Publication date: 2009-03-23
Category: Better Government
Abstract: The Public Employee Retirement System covers
all state and local government employees and
retirees in Massachusetts. The state is responsible for retirement costs not only for state employees, but also for teachers. In total, these groups account for 176,000 employees and 96,000 retirees who are covered by the system’s main feature, a mandatory defined benefit pension, jointly funded by employer and employee contributions. Lessons Learned [PDF file]
An Assessment of Select Public-Private Partnerships in Massachusetts
Author(s): Dr. John B. Miller — Publication date: 2008-12-10
Category: Better Government
Abstract: Public-private partnerships are a much misunderstood and still-evolving innovation in transportation infrastructure. Viewed with great suspicion by some as a ‘selling off’ of public goods,it is viewed with great enthusiasm by others as a source of additional revenues. In Massachusetts,
we see public-private partnerships through the lens of recent projects that used private sector participation. This study seeks to examine several of those recent projects to learn about the private
sector’s role and its impact on the project. Life Cycle Delivery of Public Infrastructure [PDF file]
Precedents and Opportunities for the Commonwealth
Author(s): Dr. John B. Miller — Publication date: 2008-12-01
Category: Better Government
Abstract: Life-cycle delivery of infrastructure projects
demands our attention. As the Commonwealth
faces the interlocking threats of massive funding
deficits, creeping levels of deferred maintenance,
and unabated demands for expansion, publicprivate
partnerships (PPPs) offer some potential
relief. But, unless properly implemented and
monitored, PPPs can also be a hindrance to
strategic transportation planning and responsible
budgeting. This report summarizes the
opportunities and challenges PPPs present and
recommends a strategy Massachusetts should
follow in the future that adds life-cycle approaches
to infrastructure delivery, a strategy based on
delivering “value for money” and which demands
improved levels of service, durable employment,
and decreasing costs to users and taxpayers. Regionalization [PDF file]
Case Studies of Success and Failure in Massachusetts
Author(s): Pioneer Institute — Publication date: 2008-10-08
Category: Better Government
Abstract: Regionalization is a perennial favorite. In its various incarnations – inter-local agreements, shared services, regionalism – it is popular in theory and universally acknowledged to save money but not as widespread as one might expect. The urge to regionalize goes through periods of intense interest when budgets are tight, then is frequently ended by bureaucratic inertia and
parochialism. Vocational-Technical Education in Massachusetts [PDF file]
Author(s): Alison L. Fraser — Publication date: 2008-10-03
Category: Education
Abstract: Massachusetts, a pioneer in many ways, has
always been at the forefront of vocationaltechnical
education. A century ago, the Smith
Vocational and Agricultural High School opened
in Northampton. Smith is still operating today,
and is the forerunner to a mode of education
that remains vitally important to the state’s
workforce. Massachusetts’ Vocational-Technical
Education (VTE) is a unique method of academic,
career, and extracurricular activity that creates
a comprehensive blend of opportunity and
advancement. School Choice Without Vouchers [PDF file]
Expanding Education Options Through Tax Benefits
Author(s): William Howell and Mindy Spencer — Publication date: 2007-10-01
Category: Education
Abstract: The school choice movement has suffered
a number of severe setbacks during the last
decade. California and Michigan voters rejected school voucher ballot initiatives in 2000, state courts in Colorado and Florida ruled that their voucher programs were unconstitutional, and during negotiations over the No Child Left Behind Act, President Bush abandoned provisions that would allow students in failing
public schools to switch to private schools.
Our Legacy of Neglect [PDF file]
The Longfellow Bridge and the Cost of Deferred Maintenance
Author(s): David Westerling and Steve Poftak — Publication date: 2007-07-31
Category: Better Government
Abstract: Bridges are the physical manifestation of
vital connections between communities. The
Longfellow Bridge connects two economic and
cultural powerhouses - Boston and Cambridge
- yet suffers from such neglect and disrepair
that reconstruction may cost several times more than the price of simply building a new bridge.The bridge’s problems, clearly visible to the naked eye but even more dramatic below the surface, are symptomatic of a statewide failure to maintain our public assets.... Managing Water Demand [PDF file]
Price vs. Non-Price Conservation Programs
Author(s): Sheila M. Olmstead and Robert N. Stavins — Publication date: 2007-07-18
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: Even though the Commonwealth is
blessed with adequate rainfall and full reservoirs,many towns greet summer with watering bans and other draconian conservation tactics that seem
better suited to the desert Southwest. Why?
Economists Sheila Olmstead and Robert Stavins,in their new Pioneer Institute study Managing Water Demand, argue that heavy-handed, punitive restrictions on water use are not only expensive, but often ineffective. Rehabbing Urban Redevelopment [PDF file]
Working Paper on Building the Next Urban Economy
Author(s): Jim Stergios, Executive Director, Pioneer Institute — Publication date: 2007-02-08
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: While the Commonwealth’s economy faces slow growth in wages and tax revenues, our costs – especially housing – remain sky high. To confront both slow growth and high costs, there are concrete policy steps that could transform older industrial cities – the Middle Cities – into engines of economic growth. “Rehabbing Urban Redevelopment,” by Pioneer Executive Director Jim Stergios, makes the case for comprehensive strategies that, in some cases, have already led to more jobs, more housing, and healthier municipal balance sheets.
Please note: This is a working paper and we welcome any feedback on its content, especially on benchmarking and our other policy recommendations.Feedback should be directed to Steve Poftak.
Powerpoint presentation also available. Housing and Land Use Policy in Massachusetts [PDF file]
Reforms for Affordability, Sustainability, and Superior Design
Author(s): Amy Dain — Publication date: 2007-02-01
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: Massachusetts' is burdened by housing-price hyperinflation, loss of population, poorly designed neighborhoods, and sprawling, environmentally destructive development. Amy Dain presents detailed evidence of how aggressive, convoluted zoning - not a shortage of land - undermines the proper function of the housing market. Dain also presents detailed, actionable proposals for state-level efforts that could make affordable, environmentally sound development the path of least resistance for communities and developers. Housing Programs in Weak Market Neighborhoods [PDF file]
Developing the Right Tools for Urban Revitalization
Author(s): Peter A. Gagliardi, Executive Director HAP, Inc. — Publication date: 2006-12-01
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: While housing affordability is an important state policy goal, a new Pioneer Institute report details how well-meaning state policies may actually hurt the revitalization of poorer communities. The study finds that most state programs are intended to ensure affordability in the state's heated housing markets. In neighborhoods with weak housing markets, vacant properties, abandoned buildings, and aging infrastructure, these programs are counterproductive: restricting homeowners' equity, discouraging the sale of redeveloped properties and concentrating poverty.
Author Peter Gagliardi details how certain policy tools, such as deed restrictions on the resale of properties and extremely restrictive homebuyer eligibility criteria, "are not well suited to achieving the goal of revitalization" of low-income communities with weak housing markets. Gagliardi also makes detailed recommendations for the development of better urban revitalization policy tools. Education Reform in Massachusetts (1) [PDF file]
Aligning District Curricula with State Frameworks
Author(s): Jamie Gass and Grant Wynn — Publication date: 2006-11-01
Category: Education
Abstract: While Massachusetts taxpayers have spent over $40 billion on public education since 1993, new Pioneer Institute research shows essential mandates of the Education Reform Act—the development of district curriculum standards and the use of student data to improve performance —have been neglected by many school districts. These new studies, produced by Pioneer’s Center for School Reform, analyze school district performance assessment data reported by the Massachusetts Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA).
Each study focuses on a different EQA accountability measure. One evaluates districts’ progress in developing district curricula and aligning them with the state’s curriculum frameworks; the other considers districts’ use of MCAS data to direct their reform efforts. Education Reform in Massachusetts (2) [PDF file]
Using Student Data to Improve District Performance
Author(s): Jamie Gass and Grant Wynn — Publication date: 2006-11-01
Category: Education
Abstract: While Massachusetts taxpayers have spent over $40 billion on public education since 1993, new Pioneer Institute research shows essential mandates of the Education Reform Act—the development of district curriculum standards and the use of student data to improve performance —have been neglected by many school districts. These new studies, produced by Pioneer’s Center for School Reform, analyze school district performance assessment data reported by the Massachusetts Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA).
Each study focuses on a different EQA accountability measure. One evaluates districts’ progress in developing district curricula and aligning them with the state’s curriculum frameworks; the other considers districts’ use of MCAS data to direct their reform efforts. Measuring Up? [PDF file]
The Cost of Doing Business in Massachusetts
Author(s): — Publication date: 2006-10-01
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: A new study commissioned by Pioneer and conducted with Global Insight demonstrates that Massachusetts’ land and housing costs, along with high operating expenses from energy to unemployment insurance, are dramatically eroding business competitiveness in nine key industries. Measuring Up? The Cost of Doing Business in Massachusetts further finds that when compared with six neighboring and/or competitor states, Massachusetts is consistently among the least profitable places to do business. Public Pensions [PDF file]
Unfair to State Employees, Unfair to Taxpayers
Author(s): Dr. Ken Ardon — Publication date: 2006-05-01
Category: Better Government
Abstract: Pioneer Institute is releasing two reports by Salem State College professor Ken Ardon that underscore the Commonwealth's structural fiscal challenges and opportunities for considerable savings that are being lost. In Public Pensions: Unfair to State Employees, Unfair to Taxpayers, Dr. Ardon argues that abuse of pension eligibility exceptions, ambiguities, and loopholes have added an estimated $3 billion to the state's pension liability. In Leaving Money on the Table: The 106 Pension Funds of Massachusetts, Dr. Ardon finds that, over the past 10 years, poor investment performance in locally managed pension funds have cost taxpayers an estimated $1.6 billion. Leaving Money on the Table [PDF file]
The 106 Pension Funds of Massachusetts
Author(s): Dr. Ken Ardon — Publication date: 2006-05-01
Category: Better Government
Abstract: Pioneer Institute is releasing two reports by Salem State College professor Ken Ardon that underscore the Commonwealth's structural fiscal challenges and opportunities for considerable savings that are being lost. In Public Pensions: Unfair to State Employees, Unfair to Taxpayers, Dr. Ardon argues that abuse of pension eligibility exceptions, ambiguities, and loopholes have added an estimated $3 billion to the state's pension liability. In Leaving Money on the Table: The 106 Pension Funds of Massachusetts, Dr. Ardon finds that, over the past 10 years, poor investment performance in locally managed pension funds have cost taxpayers an
estimated $1.6 billion. The Elephant in the Room [PDF file]
Unfunded Public Employee Health Care Benefits & GASB 45
Author(s): Eric S. Berman, CPA and Elizabeth K. Keating, CPA, Ph. D — Publication date: 2006-05-01
Category: Better Government
Abstract: The Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) recently released two Statements that will profoundly affect American governmental finance. These Statements establish clear, stringent standards for the measurement and disclosure of a massive unfunded liability: the health care benefits provided to retired government employees. By requiring governments to properly account for this liability, the new GASB rules will force a national debate on government employees’ non-pension post-employment benefits. Long-Term Leasing of State-Owned Skating Rinks [PDF file]
A Competitive Contracting Success Story
Author(s): Susan Frechette — Publication date: 2006-04-10
Category: Better Government
Abstract: A new study by Pioneer Institute, entitled Long-Term Leasing of State-Owned Skating Rinks, details the benefits of competitive contracting. The study reviews the ability of competitive contracting to address long-term capital needs, reduce operating costs, and expand access to state-owned skating rinks.
An additional fact sheet is also available.
Charter School Fact Paper no. 1 [PDF file]
Author(s): — Publication date: 2006-04-01
Category: Education
Abstract: In order to address the critics' complaints about charter schools, Pioneer Institute’s Center for School Reform has authored four brief Charter Public School Policy Fact Sheets that debunk the common grievances against charter public schools. These fact sheets address charters' academic accountability, fiscal accountability, leadership and innovation, and ability to meet communities' needs. Charter School Fact Paper no. 2 [PDF file]
Author(s): — Publication date: 2006-04-01
Category: Education
Abstract: In order to address the critics' complaints about charter schools, Pioneer Institute’s Center for School Reform has authored four brief Charter Public School Policy Fact Sheets that debunk the common grievances against charter public schools. These fact sheets address charters' academic accountability, fiscal accountability, leadership and innovation, and ability to meet communities' needs. Charter School Fact Paper no. 3 [PDF file]
Author(s): — Publication date: 2006-04-01
Category: Education
Abstract: In order to address the critics' complaints about charter schools, Pioneer Institute’s Center for School Reform has authored four brief Charter Public School Policy Fact Sheets that debunk the common grievances against charter public schools. These fact sheets address charters' academic accountability, fiscal accountability, leadership and innovation, and ability to meet communities' needs. Charter School Fact Paper no. 4 [PDF file]
Author(s): — Publication date: 2006-04-01
Category: Education
Abstract: In order to address the critics' complaints about charter schools, Pioneer Institute’s Center for School Reform has authored four brief Charter Public School Policy Fact Sheets that debunk the common grievances against charter public schools. These fact sheets address charters' academic accountability, fiscal accountability, leadership and innovation, and ability to meet communities' needs. Regulation and the Rise of Housing Prices in Greater Boston [external file]
A study based on new data from 187 communities in eastern Massachusetts
Author(s): Edward L. Glaeser, Jenny Schuetz and Bryce Ward — Publication date: 2006-01-01
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: Analysis demonstrating that municipal land-use restrictions have affected housing production and prices in the region. Also see the related website. Navegando A TRAVÉS DE LAS Reglamentaciones & los Requisitos para el Obtenimiento de Licencias [PDF file]
Una Guía para los Empresarios de BOSTON en 20 Tipos de Empresas
Author(s): Adriana Nuñez, Alla Yakovlev, Michael Kane — Publication date: 2005-11-01
Category: Education
Abstract: Navegando a través de las Reglamentaciones y los Requisitos de Obtenimiento de Licencias: Una Guía para los Empresarios de Boston en 20 Tipos de Empresas está diseñado para que el empresario adquiera un entendimiento rápido de los requisitos necesarios para iniciar un negocio en la ciudad de Boston. El Pioneer Institute ha investigado las reglamentaciones de la ciudad, del estado y federales y ha compilado los resultados en esta guía de cómo hacerlo paso a paso. Boston Guide for Spanish Speaking Entrepreneurs [PDF file]
Author(s): Adriana Nuñez, Alla Yakovlev, Michael Kane — Publication date: 2005-11-01
Category: Education
Abstract: The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship has recently released a Boston guide for Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs. The guide provides a detailed roadmap for starting 20 different businesses in Boston, including a comprehensive list of permits, licenses, and forms necessary for meeting local, state and federal requirements for each business type.
A Roadmap to Financing [PDF file]
Author(s): — Publication date: 2005-08-01
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: The results of a 4-month mentor-protégé collaboration between the six community organizations and three banks of the Urban Business Alliance
Massachusetts Private School Survey: [PDF file]
Gauging Capacity and Interest in Vouchers
Author(s): Kathryn Ciffolillo and Elena Llaudet — Publication date: 2005-08-01
Category: Education
Abstract: Study finding substantial interest among private schools in publicly funded vouchers and ample private school classroom capacity for a school voucher program to be successfully launched.
Massachusetts Collaboratives: [PDF file]
Making the Most of Education Dollars
Author(s): M. Craig Stanley, Ed.D. — Publication date: 2005-06-01
Category: Education
Abstract: Study finding that making greater use of educational collaboratives -- regional associations of individual school districts -- can produce substantial cost savings for Massachusetts districts at a time when many of them are grappling with declining funding.
Parents, Choice, and Some Foundations for Education Reform in Massachusetts [PDF file]
Author(s): William G. Howell, Assistant Professor of Government, Harvard University — Publication date: 2004-11-01
Category: Education
Abstract: Drawing on the results of a telephone survey of 1,000 parents in Massachusetts' 10 largest school district, the paper examines public school parents' knowledge of and interest in alternative schooling options.
An Evaluation of Intradistrict Equity in Massachusetts [PDF file]
Author(s): — Publication date: 2003-09-01
Category: Education
Abstract: A look at per-pupil spending on instruction within the state's seven largest school districts, showing substantial variation in intradistrict school finance, attributable largely to the cost of special education. The study also finds schools with high percentages of minorities and students with limited English proficiency tended to spend more per pupil than did other schools in a district, though federal and state grants generally play a compensatory role in the disparate spending.
Getting Home: [PDF file]
Overcoming Barriers to Housing in Greater Boston
Author(s): Charles C. Euchner, Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government — Publication date: 2003-01-01
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: Detailed anaylsis of state and local building codes, zoning requirements, and other regulatory policies and processes in Massachusetts that have hampered construction and raised costs of housing, contributing to the housing crisis in Greater Boston.
Rationalizing Health and Human Services [PDF file]
Author(s): Charles D. Baker, Jr., former Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services — Publication date: 2002-12-01
Category: Better Government
Abstract: Recommends that Massachusetts state government's $10-billion, 15-agency health and human services bureaucracy be overhauled by reorganizing existing agencies--set up along category or "product" lines--into an integrated structure based on functional lines: information technology, licensing, investigations, purchased services, administrative/financial operations, case management, and transitional assistance.
Competition and Government Services: [PDF file]
Can Massachusetts Still Afford the Pacheco Law?
Author(s): Geoffrey F. Segal, Adrian T. Moore, and Adam B. Summers, Reason Public Policy Institute — Publication date: 2002-10-01
Category: Better Government
Abstract: Finds that while competitive contracting by government agencies in other states is growing--and has resulted in significant service improvements and cost savings, the "Pacheco law" on privatization has "virtually outlawed" the practice in Massachusetts, as only six state services have been contracted out to private service providers since the law was enacted in 1993. Agenda for Leadership 2002: [PDF file]
Framing the Issues Facing the Commonwealth
Author(s): — Publication date: 2002-09-01
Category: Better Government
Abstract: Identifies 10 key issues facing the Commonwealth and offers policy recommendations for each.
A Declaration of Independence: [PDF file]
Reaffirming the Autonomy of the Third Branch
Author(s): James W. Dolan, Esq., former First Justice, Dorchester District Court — Publication date: 2002-03-01
Category: Better Government
Abstract: Details legislative micro-management of Massachusetts court system, resulting in unnecessary staffing and patronage, inequitable allocation of resources, and inefficient operation of the judiciary.
Civic Education: [PDF file]
Readying Massachusetts' Next Generation of Citizens
Author(s): David E. Campbell, research fellow at Harvard's Program on Education Policy and Governance — Publication date: 2001-09-01
Category: Education
Abstract: Examines that state of civic education in Massachusetts, comparing the performance of district, charter, and private--including parochial and independent--schools in preparing students for responsible citizenship.
Written excerpts from release of the study
Giving a Leg Up to Bootstrap Entrepreneurship: [PDF file]
Expanding Economic Opportunity in America's Urban Centers
Author(s): Samuel R. Staley, Howard Husock, David J. Bobb, Sterling Burnett, Laura Creasy, and Wade Hudson — Publication date: 2001-01-01
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: Compares the regulatory climate for small businesses in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, and Los Angeles, finding that the Hub's "accumulation of layers of regulation and government bureaucracy" is burdensome to small business.
The Power To Take: [PDF file]
The Use of Eminent Domain in Massachusetts
Author(s): Michael Malamut, New England Legal Foundation — Publication date: 2000-12-01
Category: Economic Opportunity
Abstract: Examines the use--and abuse--of eminent domain for government land takings in Massachusetts.
Written excerpts from release of the study
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