Library

Reports: Other Economy

State Unemployment by Race and Ethnicity
Economic Policy Institute, February 2025, 8 pp.
Analyzes national and state unemployment rates by race and ethnicity to generate a national unemployment forecast and report estimates for all states and racial subgroups. more info >

Rural America at a Glance: 2024 Edition
United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, November 2024, 32 pp.
This report highlights the most recent indicators of social and economic conditions in rural areas, focusing on the U.S. rural economy, including employment, population, poverty, and income trends. more info >

Older Workers Are Growing in Number and Earning Higher Wages
Pew Research Center, December 2023, 16 pp.
Examines trends in older workers wages and work hours, finding that roughly 1 in 5 American adults over age 65 were employed in 2023 and that their earning power has grown in recent decades. more info >

U.S Child Poverty Has Significantly Increased
First Focus on Children, September 2023, 8 pp.
The year 2023 saw a significant increase in child poverty, with 12.4 percent of children living in poverty in 2022 compared with 5.2% of children in 2021. This represents a more than doubling of child poverty in 2022 from 2021 - a record one-year increase due largely to the expiration of improvements to the Child Tax Credit included in the American Rescue Plan Act. more info >

Are Income Tax Breaks for Seniors Good for State Economic Growth?
Carsey School of Public Policy, February 2023, 8 pp.
This brief looks at the impact on state economic growth of expanding income tax breaks for seniors, suggesting it would be beneficial for economic growth. more info >

Clean Energy Project Development for Low-Income Communities Strengthening the Ecosystem for Delivering Solar Energy and Deep Efficiency Retrofits
Carsey Institute for Public Policy, February 2022, 16 pp.
Scaling clean energy in low-income communities presents challenges. This report outlines a road map depicting the ecosystem needed to deliver clean energy projects to underserved communities.It includes examples of work that different organizations are doing and concludes that more capacity-building funding and support is needed at the grassroots level of the ecosystem. more info >

Midwestern Higher Education Compact: Annual Report to the Member States, 2020-2021
Midwest Higher Education Compact, February 2022, 10 pp.
Annual report including performance indicators for postsecondary education in Minnesota, North Dakota, and other midwestern states. Includes data on rates of enrollment, degree completion, and state investments in postsecondary education. more info >

Untapped Potential: Economic Impact of Childcare Breakdowns on U.S. States
Center for Education and Workforce, November 2021, 44 pp.
Examines the impact of childcare challenges on the state economies of Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Missouri, and Texas. The studies reveal that addressing childcare breakdowns would unlock significant economic potential for states, employers, and working parents. more info >

The Growing Socioeconomic Gap in Lifetime Social Security Retirement Benefits: Current and Future Retirees
Journals of Gerontology B, Oxford Academic, October 2021, 11 pp.
Explores the widening gap between lifetime Social Security benefits received based on socioeconomic status and gender. more info >

Despite Pandemic, Civically Engaged Youth Report Higher Well-Being
CIRCLE, July 2021, 6 pp.
An analysis of the effects of the pandemic on youth, suggesting that civic access and participation helped some youth thrive despite the negative economic impacts of COVID-19, especially on young people of color. more info >

COVID-19 Didn’t Create a Child Care Crisis, But Hastened and Inflamed It
Carsey School of Public Policy, August 2020, 6 pp.
This fact sheet highlights new and existing challenges related to child-care access and cost. more info >

The Poverty-Reducing Effects of the EITC and Other Safety Nets for Young Adult Parents
Carsey School of Public Policy, March 2020, 4 pp.
An estimated 2.5 million very young children live with a young adult parent (age 18 to 24), and more than four in five young adult parents,regardless of income, participate in at least one major safety net program. This brief examines the effects of these programs in reducing poverty, noting the effectiveness of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). more info >

Climate Change and Its Impact on Infrastructure Systems in the Midwest
Midwest Economic Policy Institute, October 2017, 10 pp.
This study examines how climate change will negatively impact transportation and infrastructure systems across the Midwest. It offers information for policymakers regarding the potential costs and consequences of climate change, and recommends actions to protect communities and the economy. more info >

Web sites

Disrupting Inequality: Advancing Racial and Economic Justice
Founded in 1991, Living Cities is an innovative collaborative of 22 of the world's largest foundations and financial institutions. It works to to develop and scale new approaches for creating opportunities for low-income people and improving the cities where they live. more info >

Smart Growth
Resources and information on smart growth strategies that can help communities grow in ways that expand economic opportunity while protecting human health and the environment. more info >