MBTAAnalysis: A look inside the MBTA

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The MBTA shuttles over a million passengers a day around Greater…

The Clock is Ticking…….

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The clock is ticking towards December 30, 2017.  As part of…

New Business Creation and The Urban Economy

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Policymakers have long grappled with the challenge of revitalizing cities whose economies have declined as manufacturing jobs moved elsewhere. Older industrial cities’ economic woes have compounded other problems, including municipal budget crises, struggling schools, high crime rates, and persistent poverty.

Our Legacy of Neglect: The Longfellow Bridge and the Cost of Deferred Maintenance

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The Longfellow Bridge, connecting Boston and Cambridge, is in bad shape, due not only to its age and the ravages of our weather, but also to a troubling and persistent lack of maintenance. Fixing the bridge, in effect paying the bill for our unwillingness to maintain it, is estimated to cost at least $180 million, with the potential for cost overruns reaching into the hundreds of millions.

Managing Water Demand: Price vs. Non-Price Conservation Programs

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This paper offers an analysis of the relative merits of price and non-price approaches to water conservation. As economists, we emphasize the strong empirical evidence that using prices to manage water demand is more cost-effective than implementing non-price conservation programs.

Housing and Land Use Policy in Massachusetts

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Restrictive regulations have undermined the market’s ability to meet demand, such that homebuyers have dramatically bid up the prices of a limited supply of housing over the last 25 years.

Housing Programs in Weak Market Neighborhoods

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This paper will focus on programs that subsidize the building or rehabilitation of units for owner occupancy, as opposed to the development of rental properties. Most weak market neighborhoods already feature a high proportion of renters and high rates of vacancy.

Leaving Money on the Table: The 106 Pension Systems of Massachusetts Public Employee Benefits Series: Part 2

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The focus of this paper is the choice that local retirement boards have of managing their own investors or investing all or a portion of their assets in PRIT. Most local boards choose to retain control of their investments. In 2004, 55 out of the 104 local systems invested entirely on their own, 29 had some assets invested in PRIT or the PRIT segmentation program, and only 20 invested entirely with PRIT.

Long-Term Leasing of State Skating Rinks: A Competitive Contracting Success Story

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The state’s involvement with indoor skating arenas can be divided into distinct phases. Each phase offers lessons, not only about the evolution of competitive contracting, but also about the role of the private sector in the provision of public amenities.

Worcester

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Worcester Municipal City Guide

Taunton

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Taunton Municipal City Guide

Springfield

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Springfield Municipal City Guide

Quincy

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Quincy Municipal City Guide

New Bedford

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New Bedford Municipal City Guide

Lowell

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Lowell Municipal City Guide

Lawrence

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Lawrence Municipal City Guide

Fitchburg

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Fitchburg Municipal City Guide

Brockton

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Brockton Municipal City Guide

Boston (Spanish) Municipal City Guide

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Boston (Spanish) Municipal City Guide

Boston (English)

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Boston (English) Municipal City Guide

Competition & Government Services: Can Massachusetts Still Afford the Pacheco Law

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The Pacheco Law was enacted by the Massachusetts legislature in 1993. The law, now M.G.L. ch. 7 sections 52-55, set up a series of tests that a state agency must pass before it can award a contract to a private company to perform services that had been previously performed by state employees.

The Power to Take: The Use of Eminent Domain in Massachusetts

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This study is the first to analyze concrete data to determine patterns in the use of eminent domain. The analysis includes a survey of law review articles, practitioners’ manuals, and reported Massachusetts opinions; structured interviews with legal practitioners; and a review of Massachusetts eminent domain statutes, especially in comparison to the 1974 Model Eminent Domain Code.

Toward a High-Performance Workplace: Fixing Civil Service in Massachusetts

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The civil service system in Massachusetts is no longer up to the important task of helping government recruit and hire the most talented personnel. When the system was created in 1884, the Commonwealth was at the forefront of the battle against patronage in government hiring. Over the course of a century, Massachusetts has fallen well behind the leaders in public sector personnel administration practice.

Flawed Forecasts: A Critical Look at Convention Center Feasibility Studies

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An increasing number of American cities are pursuing an economic development strategy aimed at boosting convention and visitor activities. From Boston to Atlanta, San Antonio to San Francisco, cities are mounting massive construction projects to provide new or expanded convention center space.

The Cost of Inaction: Does Massachusetts Need Public Construction Reform?

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The study then looks at potential savings from implementing alternative delivery methods that employ a quality- and price-based selection process, and found that the three other states have indeed benefited from their experiments with A+B Bidding and Partnering.