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33791. A Profile of the Foreign-Born in the Portland, Oregon Tri-County Area

Author:
Katherine Lotspeich, Michael Fix, Dan Perez-Lopez, and Jason Ost
Publication Date:
10-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
The Building the New American Community demonstration project is an experiment in refugee and immigrant integration in which the cities of Lowell, Massachusetts; Nashville, Tennessee; and Portland, Oregon, formed coalitions to identify integration challenges in their communities and address them collaboratively. These cities were assisted by a national team of policy analysts, advocates, and researchers from the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Immigration Forum, the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, The Urban Institute, and the Migration Policy Institute.
Topic:
Demographics, Economics, and Migration
Political Geography:
United States

33792. Budget Crisis at the Door

Author:
C. Eugene Steuerle and Rudolph G. Penner
Publication Date:
10-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
In 1995 the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform concluded that “If we do not plan for the future, entitlement spending promises will exceed financial resources in the next century. The current spending trend is unsustainable … If we fail to act, we have made a choice that threatens the economic future of our children and our nation” (U.S. Congress 1995). Now, well into the next century, we have still failed to act. Yet the problem not only remains, but in many ways has intensified simply because we are years closer to the day of reckoning. Relative to both available revenues and societal needs, we have promised more than we can afford to an elderly and fairly well-off near-elderly population that will soon grow very rapidly as the baby boomers retire and life expectancy continues to increase.
Topic:
Demographics, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

33793. Options to Finance the Additional War Costs

Author:
Leonard E. Burman and Jeff Rohaly
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
The President has requested an additional $87 billion to finance the war and reconstruction costs in Iraq. Commentators and some members of Congress have expressed an interest in options to offset these additional costs so as not to add on to the burgeoning budget deficit, which CBO estimates to be $480 billion in fiscal year 2004. This note considers four options to raise approximately enough revenue to finance the additional war costs. The estimates are approximate because they do not account for additional tax avoidance that higher rates might provoke, a significant factor in official revenue estimates.
Topic:
Government, Political Economy, and War
Political Geography:
United States and Iraq

33794. Contracting with NGOs for Social Services: Building Civil Society and Efficient Local Government in Russia

Author:
Raymond Struyk
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
A decade after the beginning of the transition to democracy in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union it is clear that the nonprofit sector has developed remarkably in many countries in the region. Progress is especially striking in Eastern Europe (EE); on the other hand, development has been notably limited in most countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) where liberal democracy has had little chance to take root (Anheier and Seibel 1998; Hyatt, Cooper, and Knight 1998; Kuti 1999; Nowicki 2000; Quigley 2000). Kendell,Anheier, and Potucek (2000).
Topic:
Development, Human Welfare, and Non-Governmental Organization
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Eastern Europe, and Soviet Union

33795. Trends in Naturalization

Author:
Michael E. Fix, Jeffrey S. Passel, and Kenneth Sucher
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
The Policy Imperative Naturalization is the gateway to citizenship for immigrants and to full membership and political participation in U.S. society. The importance of naturalization—and citizenship—has risen since the mid-1990s, when welfare and illegal immigration reform based access to public benefits and selected rights increasingly on citizenship.
Topic:
Demographics, Government, and Migration
Political Geography:
United States

33796. Unemployment Protection in Chile

Author:
Wayne Vroman
Publication Date:
08-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
Interruptions of earnings caused by unemployment and reductions in the real value of earnings caused by inflation are two important risks that face persons active in the labor market. The following paragraphs discuss these phenomena and the possible mechanisms for addressing the risks that they pose.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, and Chile

33797. The New Neighbors: A User's Guide to Data on Immigrants in U.S. Communities

Author:
Randy Capps, Michael E. Fix, Dan Perez-Lopez, and Jeffrey S. Passel
Publication Date:
08-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
Immigrant integration is now a key issue for communities across the nation. States and communities that had seen few immigrants as recently as 1990 are now welcoming new arrivals in unprecedented numbers. Although new immigrants continue to settle in the traditional U.S. centers of immigration—including California, Florida, New York, and Texas—the states with the currently fastest growing immigrant populations have not seen similar inflows for almost a century, if ever. According to the 2000 Census, these new destination states include North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee (at the top of the list) and other states in the Southeast, as well as states across the Midwest and up into the Pacific Northwest.
Topic:
Demographics, Government, and Migration
Political Geography:
United States, New York, California, Georgia, Texas, and Florida

33798. A Comparison of Military and Civilian Approaches

Author:
Maria D. Montilla and Carol J. De Vita
Publication Date:
07-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
New information on early childhood learning and increasing demand for child care services have placed a spotlight on the need to improve the quality of early education and care in America. Research on brain development and learning has shown the importance of early education for young children (Shonkoff and Phillips 2000). Surveys of child care settings have documented the mediocre to poor quality of many of our child care programs (Helburn and Bergmann 2002). Mothers who work outside the home report that child care is a critical factor in their lives, and welfare reforms are intrinsically linked to the availability of child care services. While almost everyone agrees that something needs to be done, there is less agreement on how to do it.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Civil Society, and Education
Political Geography:
United States

33799. The Gender Impact of Pension Reform in Latin America—and Broader Policy Implications

Author:
Estelle James, Alejandra Cox Edwards, and Rebeca Wong
Publication Date:
06-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
Over the past two decades multipillar pension systems that include both a public defined benefit (DB) and private defined contribution (DC) pillar have been adopted in many countries. Critics of these pension reforms argue that the tight link between payroll contributions and benefits in the DC pillar will produce lower pensions for women. In contrast, supporters of these reforms argue that multipillar systems remove distortions that favored men and permit a more targeted public pillar that will help women. To test these conflicting claims about multipillar reforms, and to analyze more generally the gender impact of alternative pension systems, this paper examines the differential impact on the two genders of the new and old systems in three Latin American countries—Chile, Argentina, and Mexico. On the basis of household survey data, we simulate the employment histories of representative men and women and the pensions that these are likely to generate under the new and old rules.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Argentina, South America, Latin America, Central America, North America, Mexico, and Chile

33800. Participation in a Decentralized Housing Allowance Program in a Transition Economy

Author:
Tatiana Lykova, Sergei Sivaev, Raymond J. Struyk, and Ekaterina Petrova
Publication Date:
05-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
When Russia's housing allowance program, the country's first means-tested program, was introduced in 1994, it was truly innovative. But there were difficulties from the start, many arising from the division of authority for setting program parameters among different levels of government and the potential for variation in the treatment of similar households in different cities. In 1996, the program's original simple basis for benefit determination was seriously impaired by the introduction of different principles for very low-income households. Moreover, local governments have exhibited a willingness to vary benefits from year-to-year, depending on political and budgetary considerations. The analysis presented here documents the impact of these variations on participation rates in a sample of Russian cities. Large inequities are obviously present in the treatment of similar households from city to city. Indeed, it is questionable whether the program as currently configured is fulfilling the social safety net function envisioned for it in the original legislation.
Topic:
Development, Government, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia