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

American Indians and the great recession: Economic disparities growing larger
Economic Policy Institute, December 2009, 8 pp.
American Indian workers suffered recession-level rates of unemployment long before the current recession began. This issue brief examines the increasing gap between American-Indian and white unemployment rates, both nationally and regionally.

Quarterly economic pulse December 2009
Greater Twin Cities United Way and Twin Cities Compass, December 2009, 4 pp.
Provides recent information on economic trends impacting the Twin Cities region. This issue includes data on unemployment rates, housing, and community basic needs, and briefly examines the outlook and implications.

Minnesota nonprofit economy report: A Statewide and regional analysis
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, December 2009, 28 pp.
Annual report providing employment and and financial data for nonprofit organizations statewide and in six Minnesota regions.

Measure by measure: The Current poverty measure v. the National Academy of Sciences measures
CLASP, November 2009, 11 pp.
Compares the current federal poverty measure and the more recently-developed National Academy of Sciences measures. The report includes comparisons of the current poverty rate by state with the rates using the NAS measures.

Alternative welfare-to-work strategies for the hard-to-employ: Testing transitional jobs and pre-employment services in Philadelphia
MDRC, October 2009, 186 pp.
This report presents interim results from an evaluation of two different welfare-to-work strategies for hard-to-employ recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in Philadelphia. The study is part of a larger project testing innovative employment strategies for groups facing serious obstacles to finding and keeping a steady job.

A woman's nation changes everything
Center for American Progress, October 2009, 454 pp.
Discusses how a workforce comprised of half women changes many aspects of the nation.

Strengthening community colleges' influence on economic mobility
Economic Mobility Project, October 2009, 43 pp.
This paper examines the role community colleges play in enhancing the upward mobility of their students. The study looks at the various pathways through which students can increase their earnings, including transferring to a four-year college and completing an associate degree or certificate in a range of high-return fields.

The Consequences of dropping out of high school: joblessness and jailing for high school dropouts and the high cost for taxpayers
Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern University, October 2009, 16 pp.
This research paper outlines the employment, earnings, incarceration, teen and young adult parenting experiences and family incomes of the nation’s young adult high school dropouts and their better educated peers in 2006 to 2008.

The economic impact of immigrants in Minnesota
Minnesota Business Immigrant Coalition, September 2009, 48 pp.
Information on the estimated fiscal costs and contributions of immigrants in Minnesota.

Struggling to make ends meet: Hard hit by recession, Minnesotans take action but expect officials to do more
Northwest Area Foundation, September 2009, 6 pp.
Minnesota data from a Summer 2009 national survey that asked about people struggling to make ends meet, what they're willing to do about it, and what locally elected officials should do to reduce poverty long term.

2009 Kids Count data book: State profiles of child well-being
Annie E. Casey Foundation, July 2009, 148 pp.
Provides data on 10 indicators of child well-being, such as health, family income, and educational attainment, by state and for the U.S. Also includes an essay, "Counting what counts: Taking results seriously for vulnerable children and families."

Focus on childhood hunger: A quarterly review of the state of hunger in Minnesota, 1st quarter, 2009
Hunger Solutions, July 2009, 2 pp.
Minnesota statistics on food shelf use, food support, and childhood hunger.

Reducing the child poverty rate
Annie E. Casey Foundation, July 2009, 16 pp.
This brief describes strategies to help lift families and children out of poverty and move toward greater economic security.

The Elder economic security initiative program: The Elder economic security standard index for Minnesota
Minnesota Women's Consortium and Wider Opportunities for Women, January 2009, 118 pp.
Addresses income adequacy for Minnesota’s older adults using the national WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) methodology. The Index benchmarks basic costs of living for elder households and illustrates how costs of living vary geographically and are based on the characteristics of elder households, including household size, home ownership or renter status, and health status.

Preparing Minnesota's workforce for tomorrow's economy
Governor's Workforce Development Council, November 2008, 24 pp.
The Council's recommendations for preparing Minnesota's workforce for the future. Committees identified problems and provided recommendations in the areas of business and community connections, diversity, education, and skill and wage advancement.