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181. Restoring Order: Practical Solutions to Congressional Dysfunction

Author:
Norman J. Ornstein and Thomas E. Mann
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Framers of our nation created a political system built upon three vibrant, assertive, and active branches of government, with a series of checks and balances in place to make sure that no single branch or individual could accumulate too much power and threaten the rights and freedoms of citizens, and to create a deliberative process to make good public policy. Congress, the first branch of government, was designed to be the linchpin of this system, the body closest to the people, with the most robust specified powers.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States

182. Using the Earned Income Tax Credit to Stimulate Local Economies

Author:
Alan Berube
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Over the 30 years of its existence the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has been described variously as a wage supplement, a program to reduce tax burdens, an antipoverty tool, a welfare-to-work program, and a form of labor market insurance. The program has enjoyed expansions under both Republican and Democratic administrations, and in 2006, the EITC will provide more than $40 billion to low-income working families. The credit lifts nearly 5 million Americans above the poverty line each year. Moreover, because the EITC aids only those families with earnings from work, researchers have credited it with raising labor force participation levels and helping families transition from welfare to work.
Topic:
Economics, Human Welfare, and Markets
Political Geography:
United States and America

183. Measuring the Informal Economy - One Neighborhood at a Time

Author:
Yusef Freeman, John Talmage, and Jamie Alderslade
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The study of the urban informal economy has expanded in the last thirty years, challenging researchers to find more accurate methods of quantifying its activity. This paper examines recent works that focused on the urban informal economy in particular, and evaluates different definitions and techniques for measuring it. Methods discussed include indirect estimation methods, such as currency demand, electricity consumption, and labor force statistical profiles, as well as direct estimation measures such as labor force and household surveys. This paper discusses the prospects for applying these largely macro-level methods to more micro-market analysis and speculates on the avail ability and usefulness of existing data sources in the United States. It concludes by suggesting that there is much room for further research on the size, determinants and implications of the informal economy in American cities and calls for new efforts to align different methods of measuring the inform al economy so they can be increasingly used to support decision-making processes in the public and private sectors.
Topic:
Demographics, Economics, and Markets
Political Geography:
United States and America

184. Corporate Citizenship and Urban Problem Solving: The Changing Civic Role of Business Leaders in American Cities

Author:
Royce Hanson, Hal Wolman, David Connolly, and Katherine Pearson
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Business-led civic organizations have historically played an important role in urban policymaking, planning, and renewal. These elite organizations of CEOs of the area's largest employers could quickly mobilize their members' personal devotion to the community, their deal making talent, and their ability to commit corporate financial resources to their city's emerging needs.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Emerging Markets, and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
America

185. Building a Better New Orleans: A Review of and Plan for Progress One Year after Hurricane Katrina

Author:
Amy Liu
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
It has been one year since Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area and the surrounding Gulf Coast. While longtime residents of these communities can easily rattle off the names of past hurricanes, “Katrina” will be emblazoned like no other. And for good reason: After accounting for all households and structures, Hurricane Katrina is the deadliest and costliest storm this country has ever seen, causing over 1,800 deaths to date and approximately $81.2 billion in total damage.
Topic:
Development, Disaster Relief, and Environment
Political Geography:
United States

186. Federal Allocations in Response to Katrina, Rita, and Wilma: An Update

Author:
Amy Liu and Matt Fellowes
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Federal allocations in response to hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma now total $109 billion. Additionally, over $8 billion in tax relief is available. While these numbers appear quite large, widespread uncertainty exists over how much of this money has been spent and where.
Topic:
Development, Disaster Relief, and Environment
Political Geography:
United States

187. New Goals and Outcomes for Temporary Assistance: State Choices in the Decade after Enactment

Author:
Sean Fremstad and Margy Waller
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
State officials are spending Temporary Assistance funds quite differently from the early years after welfare reform. States now spend a majority of Temporary Assistance funds on benefits and services other than cash assistance, and the beneficiaries of these benefits and services include a substantial number of families who do not receive cash assistance.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Humanitarian Aid
Political Geography:
United States

188. Kids in the City: Indicators of Child Well-Being in Large Cities from the 2004 American Community Survey

Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Conditions for children living in large cities are worse than those for children nationwide on most measures of well-being. Children growing up in large cities are at greater risk of dropping out of school, living with parents who are not in the labor force, and residing in single-parent families. Children in large cities are twice as likely as children nationwide to have difficulty speaking English (10 percent compared with 5 percent), creating potential barriers for children in school and for young adults who are entering the labor market. As a reflection of these underlying disadvantages, in 2004, more than one-fourth of children in large cities lived in poverty.
Topic:
Civil Society, Human Welfare, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United States

189. From Traditional to Reformed: A Review of the Land Use Regulations in the Nation's 50 largest Metropolitan Areas

Author:
Jonathan Martin, Robert Puentes, and Rolf Pendall
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
A key component of the struggle for prosperity in American metropolitan areas is development patterns, which define everything from density to the socioeconomic make up of residents. Development patterns are partly a consequence of decisions by local governments—often with very little coordination, oversight, or even guidance from state or regional entities—about the physical character of new growth. Among the most important of these decisions is how to regulate land; a prerogative that local governments guard jealously.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, and Environment
Political Geography:
United States and America

190. Annexation and the Fiscal Fate of Cities

Author:
David Rusk
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
An analysis of the relationship between the annexation patterns and fiscal health of the nation's largest cities shows that: A city's ability to annex land from its surrounding county is a primary determinant of its fiscal health. Cities with greater abilities to annex have much higher bond rating scores. Of cities in large metropolitan areas, every city that expanded its boundaries by as little as 15 percent between 1950 and 2000 had a high bond rating in 2002. Conversely, all cities with low bond ratings are those that had been unable to expand their boundaries. The ability to annex land varies widely by region and state. Most high- bond-rated cities are located in “big box” states (primarily in the South and West) where land is more easily annexed. Most low-bond-rated cities are in “little box” states (primarily in the Northeast and Midwest) where land is more difficult, or impossible, to annex. Annexation is far from an outmoded, dying practice. During the 1990s, about 90 percent of the central cities that could annex additional land did so. Collectively, in just one decade they expanded their municipal territory by more than 3,000 square miles.
Topic:
Demographics, Economics, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United States