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

The Multicultural economy, 1990-2013
Selig Center for Economic Growth, December 2008, 156 pp.
The Selig Center’s estimates and projections of consumer buying power for 1990-2013 show that minorities—African Americans, Asians, Native Americans, and Hispanics—share in gains in after-tax income, and together possess formidable economic clout.

Help wanted: Projections of jobs and education requirements through 2018
Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, June 2010, 122 pp.
Provides detailed national forecasts of educational demand from 2008 through 2018, including educational demand by education level, occupation, and industry. Minnesota is ranked among the top five states that will lead the nation in job openings requiring postsecondary education.

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.

Status of women and girls in Minnesota: Research overview
Women's Foundation of Minnesota and Center on Women & Public Policy, June 2010, 20 pp.
Provides health, safety, economic and leadership data on women and girls in Minnesota. Analysis of the measures reveals greater disparities for women of color, rural women, older women, women with disabilities, and women who identify as lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

Evidence scan of work experience programs
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., May 2010, 38 pp.
This report presents evidence on the effectiveness of interventions that include work experience as a strategy to improve employment outcomes for people with barriers to employment. The report reviews 26 years of rigorous research gathering information from 27 evaluations. The author distinguishes between interventions targeting adults versus youth, paid versus unpaid work, and length of work opportunity.

Quarterly economic pulse April 2010
Greater Twin Cities United Way and Twin Cities Compass, April 2010, 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.

A Modern framework for measuring poverty and basic economic security
Center for Economic and Policy Research, April 2010, 63 pp.
Presents a series of recommendations for improving the way poverty is measured while addressing why the current measure is insufficient and examining the Supplemental Income Poverty Measure as proposed by the Obama administration.

Broadband adoption in low-income communities
Social Science Research Council, March 2010, 103 pp.
Analyzes the factors shaping low rates of home broadband adoption in low-income and other marginalized communities. The Twin Cities was one of the sites included in the research.

Building communities for a lifetime in Minnesota: A report to the 2010 Minnesota Legislature
Minnesota Board on Aging, February 2010, 43 pp.
The Minnesota Board on Aging explored designating Minnesota "Communities for a Lifetime," or community settings that foster healthy and successful aging. They looked at national and local models, sought stakeholder input, looked at requirements for administering such a program, and made recommendations based on the results.

U.S. economic and social trends since 2000
Population Reference Bureau, February 2010, 20 pp.
Presents social and economic data from the American Community Survey.

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.

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.

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.

Ethnic capital and Minnesota's future: People of Liberian origin in Minnesota
Bruce P. Corrie, November 2008, 17 pp.
Using a series of policy scenarios, the author documents the economic contributions of people of Liberian origin in Minnesota.

Estimating the contribution of immigrant business owners to the U.S. economy
Small Business Association, Office of Advocacy, November 2008, 40 pp.
The objective of this study is to provide a set of estimates of immigrant business owners in the U.S. economy. The study also examines the contribution of immigrant businesses to the economy.

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.

Ethnic capital and Minnesota's future: Mexican Americans in Minnesota
Bruce P. Corrie, June 2008, 81 pp.
Using a series of policy scenarios, the author documents the economic contributions of Mexican Americans in Minnesota.

Economic impact of immigrants
Office of the Legislative Auditor, May 2006, 25 pp.
Summary of economic research on the impact of immigrants in Minnesota, including impacts on government costs and revenues. The report includes census data on Minnesota's immigrant population, a summary information available on the economic impact on immigrants and on U.S.-born workers, and the national and state level impacts of immigrants on public costs and revenues. The final section addresses the impacts of illegal immigrants.