Massachusetts Economy

Lexington’s approach seen as a model BOSTON – As Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court prepares to hear a challenge by the Town of Milton to the enforceability of the MBTA Communities Act, a new Pioneer Institute study finds that the 177 municipalities covered...

Governor Healey should veto a provision in the recently passed economic development bill that would ease restrictions on public entities seeking to use project labor agreements on public works or building projects.  PLAs require that all trade labor on a project come...

A recent Biden administration executive order that amends the Schedule A list, which identifies occupations experiencing labor shortages and allows immigrants in those occupations to expedite their employment in the U.S., could positively impact the hiring of skilled international workers for years to come — a welcome development as the country and Massachusetts struggle to attract talent amidst a worsening labor shortage.

In “Benefit Cliffs: A Literature Review on Welfare Structures as a Disincentive to Work,” Pioneer researcher Aidan Enright examines the extent to which complicated federal and state requirements related to welfare programs can provide a disincentive to employment or to working additional hours.

The Massachusetts lottery made $5.9 billion in 2021, making it the fourth-highest source of revenue for the state. This confirms a long-standing trend: that Massachusettans love to play the lottery.

The Massachusetts labor force has transformed in recent decades, with some of the biggest changes being the advancement of women, workers getting older and more diverse, and a divergence in labor force participation rates based on levels of educational achievement, according to “At a Glance: The Massachusetts Labor Force,” a white paper written by Pioneer's Economic Research Associate Aidan Enright.

Immigrants account for 17% of Massachusetts residents but start a quarter of the Commonwealth’s new businesses. These entrepreneurs could create even more jobs that further lift wages and standard of living if not for the unnecessary obstacle of restrictive state and local occupational licensing laws.

After Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court declared an initiative that was to appear on the November ballot unconstitutional, the issue of how to classify app-based rideshare/delivery workers is back in the hands of the state Legislature.  A new study published by Pioneer Institute distills from the research literature eight questions legislators must answer before determining how to address this fast-growing industry.

If adopted, a constitutional amendment to hike state taxes that will appear on the ballot in November could erase the hard-earned progress Massachusetts has achieved toward economic competitiveness over the last 25 years and may not result in any additional education and transportation funding, according to a new book from Pioneer Institute, entitled Back to Taxachusetts?: How the proposed tax amendment would upend one of the nation’s best economies, which is a distillation of two dozen academic studies.

In this public comment, Pioneer Institute examines the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development's guidelines on how localities can comply with new zoning mandates around MBTA stations. While some of the compliance criteria and goal-setting language need further clarification and adjustment, overall Pioneer Institute is supportive of the vision for sustainable, transit-oriented development which, if properly implemented, will expand economic opportunity to a new generation of the state's residents.