Library

Looking for new and notable information to help you dig deeper into an issue? Start with these featured reports and web sites, and then browse through our full selection by topic.

Reports: Featured

High black unemployment widespread across nation's metropolitan areas
Economic Policy Institute, October 2011, 8 pp.
This report compares black unemployment rates before and after the recent economic downturn, finding that many metropolitan areas current have rates of over 20 percent, black unemployment rates of over 20 percent, comparable to the peak national unemployment rates during the Great Depression of the 1930s. more info >

oneMinneapolis: Community indicators report
Wilder Research, October 2011, 64 pp.
A look at disparities in education, economic vitality, and social capital indicators for the city of Minneapolis. more info >

A crisis in our community: Closing the five education gaps
African American Leadership Forum, September 2011, 28 pp.
This report outlines five gaps in educational achievement for African American children in Minnesota--preparation, belief, time, teaching, and leadership -- and a plan for closing those gaps. more info >

Health status of rural Minnesotans
Minnesota Department of Health, September 2011, 90 pp.
Summarizes key health indicators, health behaviors, and other health determinants of rural Minnesotans. more info >

Everybody in: A report to reduce racial employment disparities in the Ramsey County Metropolitan Area
Blue Ribbon Commission Reducing Racial Employment Disparities, September 2011, 68 pp.
Strategies to reduce racial employment disparities in Ramsey County Metropolitan Area. more info >

Healthy food, healthy communities: Promising strategies to improve access to fresh, healthy food and transform communities (expanded version
PolicyLink, July 2011, 84 pp.
Presents promising programs and policies that work to increase access to healthy foods in underserved communities. Includes case studies. more info >

Wealth gaps rise to record highs between Whites, Blacks and Hispanics
Pew Research Center, July 2011, 39 pp.
Economic analysis for this report revealed that the median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households. This report also examines economic trends, net worth by type of asset and the geography of the housing downturn. more info >

Cigarette smoking interventions among diverse populations
American Journal of Health Promotion, May 2011
This special issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion focuses on how to effectively reduce tobacco's impact on populations who are disproportionately affected by tobacco use. more info >

The unraveling of the American dream
Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota, April 2011, 9 pp.
Research on the relationship between various household characteristics and foreclosures for households with children enrolled in Minneapolis public schools. more info >

Women in America: Indicators of social and economic well-being
U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration, March 2011, 97 pp.
This report provides a statistical picture of women in America in five critical areas: demographic and family changes, education, employment, health, and crime and violence. more info >

14 Solutions that expand job and economic opportunity, and reduce Minnesota's disparities
Organizing Apprenticeship Project, December 2010, 16 pp.
This policy brief offers solutions that expand opportunity, reduce Minnesota's racial, gender and economic disparities, and highlights equity implications of the most pressing policy issues. more info >

Building a grad nation: Progress and challenge in ending the high school dropout epidemic
America's Promise Alliance, November 2010, 88 pp.
This report shows how some states and school districts are raising their high school graduation rates with scalable solutions in public schools, revealing that more than half of all states increased their statewide graduation rate from 2002 to 2008. more info >

The unequal distribution of health in the Twin Cities: A study commissioned by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation
Wilder Research, October 2010, 41 pp.
Examines the extent to which social and economic factors impact health in the Twin Cities 7-county region. The study finds that income, race, education, and place all matter when it comes to health in the Twin Cities. more info >

Health reform and communities of color: Implications for racial and ethnic health disparities
Kaiser Family Foundation, September 2010, 14 pp.
Discusses parts of the health care reform law that are likely to improve access to care for people of color and have an impact on health disparities. more info >

Change in income by education level, by race in Minnesota
The Minnesota Private College Council, Fund and Research Foundation, July 2010, 11 pp.
This brief examines income in Minnesota by race/ethnicity for each level of education attained, and illustrates income premiums for each level of education over a high school credential. It also compares income by age for each level of education, to show earning power over time. more info >

Uneven pain: Unemployment by metropolitan area and race
Economic Policy Institute, June 2010, 11 pp.
Details the variation in unemployment across the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. The Twin Cities metropolitan area has the highest black-white unemployment ratio, with the black unemployment rate three times that of the white rate. more info >

Disparities in early learning and development: Lessons from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort (ECLS-B)
Child Trends, June 2009, 39 pp.
This study finds disparities between poor, at-risk children and more advantaged children as early as 9 months of age. It identifies low income and low maternal education as the factors most strongly associated with poorer cognitive, social-emotional, and health outcomes among very young children and also finds that the more risk factors a child has, the more profound the disparities. more info >