Library

Reports: Economic opportunity

What Can Policymakers Do to Help Young Adults Cope with Debt? Subtitle Credit Health among Adults Ages 18 to 24
The Urban Institute, December 2022, 5 pp.
Nearly 20 percent of young adults (ages 18 to 24) in the US with a credit record have debt in collections, suggesting they struggle to meet their current financial obligations. Many are students or early-career employees with limited financial resources to meet their needs and buffer against economic shocks. Additionally, they may face high interest rates and other barriers when accessing credit. Findings from this report suggest that targeted policies can help improve the financial resilience of young adults and potentially reduce disparities in debt burdens. more info >

Big Ideas for Children
First Focus, December 2022, 191 pp.
Part of a series calling upon policy thinkers to provide fresh proposals designed to advance federal policy and improve the health, safety, and well-being of children. more info >

Profile of Older Americans
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging, November 2022, 20 pp.
National data profile of older adults, including living arrangements, racial and ethnic composition, geographic distribution, income, poverty, housing, employment, education, health and health care, disability, and caregiving. New reports are issued annually. more info >

Material Hardship and Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2022
The Pew Charitable Trusts, October 2022, 9 pp.
This brief examines hardship and financial well-being measures to see how American households are faring post-pandemic. It finds that material hardship rates which decreased during that pandemic have increased in 2022 and discusses policy implications related to this change. more info >

America's Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, October 2022, 33 pp.
Reports data on a set of indicators of child well-being. Indicators included are in the categories of family and social environment, economic categories, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health. This is an annual report. more info >

Review of Rural U.S. Economic and Health Care Trends
Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health, September 2022, 24 pp.
A summary of research exploring the nexus of health care and local economic vibrancy in rural communities. Key issues include the personal and community impacts of reduced services, hospital closures, health care workforce shortages, Medicaid expansion, and the delivery and reimbursement of patient care through telehealth. more info >

Advancing Economic Mobility for Low-Income Families: Policy Options for Governors
NGA Center for Best Practices, September 2022, 25 pp.
Suggests a range of strategies for policymakers to help promote savings and increase income levels among low-income individuals and families. more info >

U.S. Child Poverty in 2021
First Focus, September 2022, 5 pp.
An examination of a historic decline in child poverty in 2021, due to significant but temporary investments made for children in the American Rescue Plan Act. Although such progress is unprecedented, the loss of improvements to the Child Tax Credit combined with high food costs and rising rents means that many families briefly lifted out of poverty will once again experience significant material hardship. more info >

State of Black America
National Urban League, June 2022
Annual report presenting the National Urban League's Equality Index. Focuses on unemployment and income equality, but also includes measures of education, health, civic engagement, housing, transportation, and public safety for Hispanic, Black, and White populations. Includes metropolitan area rankings of unemployment and income equality. Requires a free registration to download full reports. more info >

The Food and Nutrition Assistance Landscape: Fiscal Year 2021 Annual Report
USDA Economic Research Service, June 2022, 36 pp.
This report uses preliminary data from USDA, Food and Nutrition Service and USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service to examine program trends and policy changes in USDA’s largest U.S. food and nutrition assistance programs through FY 2021. more info >

The Economic, Educational, and Health-Related Costs of Being a Woman
Center for American Progress, March 2022, 5 pp.
Discusses how from the gender wage gap to gender-based pricing, the cost of being a woman in America is integrated into economic, health, and education systems and requires a multi-pronged policy approach to address more info >

The Supplemental Expenditure Poverty Measure: A New Method for Measuring Poverty
Brookings Institute, March 2022, 88 pp.
Examines a new method for measuring poverty in the United States,based on families’ spending and easily accessible resources, finds that about eight million more people lived in poverty in 2019 than reported by the government’s conventional income-based approach. more info >

How Poverty in the United States Is Measured and Why It Matters
Population Reference Bureau, January 2022, 10 pp.
The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked renewed interest in the social safety net and the government’s role in reducing poverty. How assistance is distributed depends partly on how poverty is measured. This report examines different poverty measures and their effects on eligibility and distribution of economic relief. more info >

Understanding Coping Strategies of Mothers with Low Income
Urban Institute, January 2022, 75 pp.
An exploratory study of the strategies that mothers with young children and few economic resources use to meet their caregiving and related needs. The report also examines the role of community-based organizations in supporting mothers and families and improving outcomes for children. more info >

Do Sectoral Training Programs Work? What the Evidence on Project Quest and Year Up Really Shows
Brookings Institution, January 2022, 8 pp.
This report examines evidence on the sector-based programs Project Quest and Year Up, concluding that they remain among the most successful education and training efforts available for US workers. more info >

The State of America's Children
Children's Defense Fund, December 2021, 86 pp.
A compilation of national and state-by-state data on poverty, health, child welfare, youth at risk, early childhood development, education, nutrition and housing. Report is compiled annually. more info >

The Connection Between Unpredictable Work Schedules and Meeting Basic Household Needs
Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison, November 2021, 6 pp.
Examines how the lack of a stable and predictable work schedule can lead to income volatility and contribute to a host of other challenges for low-income individuals and households. more info >

Developing Two-Generation Approaches in Communities
Annie E. Casey Foundationm Urban Institute, July 2021, 79 pp.
An evaluation of the Family-Centered Community Change initiative, designed to integrate two-generation strategies into existing place-based community initiatives. The effort, which ran from 2012 to 2019, focused on supporting local partners in three neighborhoods with low economic resources: Buffalo, New York; Columbus, Ohio; and San Antonio, Texas and found that these sites benefited from participating in the program. more info >

Chart Book: The Far-Reaching Benefits of the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Expansion
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October 2020, 24 pp.
A growing body of research shows that Medicaid expansion is yielding significant benefits for those gaining coverage, their families, and their communities. This chart book highlights a number of the studies and outcomes. more info >

The Defining Down of Economic Deprivation: Why We Need to Reset the Poverty Line
Center for Economic and Policy Research, September 2020, 25 pp.
This report presents recommendations for improving the way poverty is measured while addressing why current measures are insufficient, particularly for households with children. It also makes recommendations to improve the relevance and accuracy of federal poverty measurement. more info >

Can Subsidized Employment Programs Help Disadvantaged Job Seekers?
MDRC, February 2020, 79 pp.
Past research has found mixed results regarding subsidized employment initiatives designed to improve participants’ longer-term employment prospects. This report summarizes findings from long-term studies of 13 subsidized employment programs and discusses the implications for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers. more info >

Taking Action: Positioning Low-Income Workers to Succeed in a Changing Economy
Annie E. Casey Foundation, August 2019, 109 pp.
This report examines educational and employment disparities in the United States and highlights policies, programs and strategies designed to improve current and future work for lower-wage individuals and their families. more info >

Family Characteristics and Macroeconomic Factors in U.S. Intragenerational Family Income Mobility, 1978–2014
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, July 2019, 42 pp.
This paper examines patterns of intergenerational income mobility of U.S. families between 1978 and 2014, looking at factors such as levels of work behavior, family structure, and race and education attainment of family head head and spouse, and examining whether the importance of these factors has changed over time. more info >

Child Poverty in North Dakota 2019
Children's Defense Fund, June 2019, 1 pp.
Child poverty data by North Dakota county. more info >

The Poverty-Reducing Effect of Five Key Government Programs in Rural and Urban America
Carsey School of Public Policy, April 2019, 4 pp.
Poverty data from the American Community Survey were released on September 17, 2015, allowing a detailed examination of poverty in 2014 across the United States. This brief discusses changes in child poverty between 2013 and 2014 and since 2009, just after the Great Recession ended. more info >

Preparing the Future Workforce: Early Care and Education Participation among Children of Immigrants
The Urban Institute, March 2019, 38 pp.
Children of immigrants will make up a critical share of our nation’s future workforce but are less likely than other children to participate in early education programs known to support school readiness and long-term productivity. This study describes the characteristics and enrollment of children of immigrants in early education programs. more info >

Work, Skills, Community: Restoring Opportunity for the Middle Class
Brookings Institute, Opportunity American, November 2018, 136 pp.
Looks at the challenges facing working-class communities and provides bipartisan policy proposals designed to create jobs, train and retrain workers and revitalize blue-collar communities. more info >

North Dakota Economic Development Strategic Plan: 2017-2025
North Dakota Economic Development Foundation, October 2018, 6 pp.
This is a strategic plan aimed at increasing economic growth in North Dakota. It provides an economic assessment of the state and examines individual business sectors and industries. more info >

Stepping on the Gas: Community Colleges as Engines of Economic Mobility
Urban Institute, U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty, February 2018, 25 pp.
This paper examines the role community colleges play in enhancing the upward mobility of their students. The study looks barriers as well as specific solutions to improve academic and economic outcomes for community college students. more info >

Credit Scores Perpetuate Racial Disparities, Even in America’s Most Prosperous Cities
Urban Institute, November 2017, 2 pp.
Credit score data reveal how racial disparities persist in cities across the economic spectrum and contribute to wealth inequality. more info >

Race for Results: Building a Path to Opportunity for All Children
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, October 2017, 52 pp.
Presents the Race for Results Index, a collection of data presented by racial and ethnic groups and by state. Indicators address early childhood, academic achievement, teen parenting, higher education, and family characteristics. more info >

Framework for Creating a Smart Growth Economic Development Strategy A Tool for Small Cities and Towns
United States Environmental Protection Agency, August 2016, 38 pp.
A step-by-step guide to building a place-based economic development strategy which is based on building upon existing assets, taking incremental actions to strengthen communities, and building long-term value to attract a range of investments. more info >

Household Expenditures and Income
The Pew Charitable Trusts, March 2016, 20 pp.
This chartbook uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey to explore household expenditures, examining changes in overall spending and across individual categories from 1996 to 2014. By examining household spending, it helps to shed light on family financial security over time, and especially in recent years. more info >

Building Financial Capability: A Planning Guide for Integrated Services
Prosperity Now, April 2015, 196 pp.
A resource to help community-based and social service organizations integrate financial capability services into their existing programs (e.g., housing, workforce development or Head Start). Prosperity Now developed Building Financial Capability in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, with input from local, state and national partners. more info >

Living Longer on Less: Post-Recession Senior Insecurity Remains High
The Institute on Assets and Social Policy; Demos, February 2015, 4 pp.
This report examines the long-term economic security of seniors, using the Senior Financial Stability Index (SFSI) to measure the long-term economic security of senior households throughout their retirement years. more info >

America's Young Adults: Special Issue, 2014
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, July 2014, 100 pp.
Detailed report that provides data on young adults, ages 18-24. Includes demographic characteristics, living situation, and overall well-being. more info >

Disrupting Poverty: Coming Together to Build Financial Security for Individuals and Communities
FSG, March 2014, 29 pp.
Highlights lessons learned and best practices from projects that work to disrupt poverty by building financial security. more info >

Building Assets Through Microenterprise
The Aspen Institute, January 2014, 12 pp.
Strategies being used by microenterprise development programs to help low-income families improve their financial footing, acquire assets and build wealth. more info >

Where is the Land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States
National Bureau of Economic Research, January 2014, 94 pp.
In-depth look at intergenerational mobility in the United States, including the relationship between parent and child income, geographic differences, and the factors correlated with upward mobility. more info >

Mobility and the Metropolis: How Communities Factor Into Economic Mobility
Economic Mobility Project - The Pew Charitable Trusts, December 2013, 23 pp.
Explores how neighborhood economic poverty in childhood impacts the ability of individuals to move up or down the income ladder as adults, and examines with rates of economic segregation in cities are related to their rates of economic mobility. more info >

A New Majority Update: Low Income Students in the South and Nation
Southern Education Foundation, October 2013, 18 pp.
Provides data showing that a majority of students attending public schools come from low-income families and discusses implications of the findings. more info >

APA Task Force on Childhood Poverty
Academic Pediatric Association, April 2013, 7 pp.
Outlines the Academic Pediatric Association's strategic agenda for addressing childhood poverty. more info >

Healthy Kids and Strong Working Families: Improving Economic Security for North Dakota Families With Children
National Center for Children in Poverty, April 2011, 12 pp.
Looks at the basic costs associated with living and working in North Dakota and illustrates the role of work supports in helping low-income families make ends meet. 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 >

Web sites

Jobs for the Future
Research on the educational and economic advancement of youth and adults. more info >

MDRC
A social policy research organization that works to improve the well-being of low-income people. Many reports are available on-line. more info >

Economic Policy Institute
Focuses on the economic condition of low- and middle-income Americans and their families. Includes issue guides on the following topics: living wage, minimum wage, poverty and family budgets, retirement security, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and welfare. more info >

Institute for Research on Poverty
Research on the causes and consequences of poverty and social inequality in the United States. more info >

National Center for Children in Poverty
Research on preventing child poverty and improving the lives of low-income families. Includes poverty statistics and information on child care, welfare reform, and more. more info >

Prosperity Now Scorecard
Ranks the 50 states and the District of Columbia on performance measures in the areas of Financial Security, Business Development, Homeownership, Health Care and Education. more info >

diversitydatakids.org
Presents measures of child wellbeing and policy analysis for states, counties, large cities, and metropolitan areas. more info >