Sources
Article summaries and links to the resources used in the Invest for Real Prosperity project are organized here by topic.
Demographic Trends
“Trends in America: Charting the Course Ahead,” Council on State Governments (June 2005): 40 pages. Council on State Governments This is a great primer on the basics of today’s economic and demographic trends – 40 pages but the first two put it together in a nutshell. Emphasizes the need for state governments to become more flexible/dynamic/responsive and less bureaucratic: New era requires new governance.
“The Changing Shape of Minnesota: Reinvigorating Community and Governments in the New Minnesota,” Stan Greenberg, Anna Greenberg, Julie Hootkin, (December 2004) 86 pages. Humphrey Institute on Public Affairs
“The purpose of this research project is to understand how the state is changing
demographically, culturally, politically and religiously, with a particular focus on exurban Minnesota. The aim is to understand areas of consensus and conflict as the state changes with an eye to building renewed support for community and a vision of the role public institutions can play in improving the quality of people’s lives (pg. 3).”
“Compare Minnesota: Profiles of Minnesota’s Economy and Population, 2002-2003,” Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (June 2003): 103 pages. This is a comprehensive overview of Minnesota’s population and economy. It was updated in 2003 and a 2005 version is expected.
Developing a Consensus on Public Investment
“Facing the Fiscal Crises in State Governments: National Problem; National Responsibilities,” Robert D. Behn, Elizabeth K. Keating (June 2004/Revised September 2004) Taubman Center for State and Local Government
“Two-and-half years after the 2001 recession ended, the states -- both individually and collectively -- continued to face hard fiscal times. The states' problem, however, is not that merely that they were hit very hard by the recession of 2001 or that they have been recovering from it very slowly. The problem is deeper. As the national economy continues to grow, the states continue to face a serious financial mismatch between revenues and expenditures. Indeed, given the realities of American federalism, state policymakers should prepare themselves to deal with tough fiscal times for the rest of the decade and maybe longer. Until citizens make a fundamental change in their political thinking -- either increasing the state taxes that they are willing to pay, or readjusting their expectations about the services they want state (and local) government to provide, or making some fundamental changes in intergovernmental responsibilities -- state policymakers should expect the tough fiscal times to continue for years to come.”
“What Works: Stronger policies for public services in Minnesota,” John Brandl, Bryan Dowd, JT Haines, Maria Hanratty, Marcia Jefferys and Jay Kiedrowski. (January 2005): 84 pages. Humphrey Institute on Public Affairs
The report offers several alternatives to current state policies in fiscal policy, education, health and human services, describing current and proposed policies and research findings about their efficacy.
“The Minnesota Consensus: A Paper of the Minnesota Community Project,” John Farrell (2003): 23 pages. Humphrey Institute on Public Affairs
“This paper examined the original question of the Minnesota Community Project: did there used to be a political consensus around public investment in Minnesota and was it a partisan one? It explores the political history of a state that has been dubbed Most Livable for 7 years in a row by the Morgan Quitno Group.”
“We Own the Store Building ‘A More Vital Democracy’ in Local Government,” Harry Boyte, Josh Zepnick, Center for Democracy and Citizenship (2001) 13 pages. Humphrey Institute on Public Affairs “It is the central argument of this study that while a focus on increased connectedness, flexibility, and responsiveness have brought improvements, what is implied by customer service is also insufficient. Citizens are not customers of government. We own the store (pg.2).”
“Goals and Measures for Growth and Justice in State of Minnesota” (March 2003). Growth and Justice Through exploration with advisers from around the state and across the political spectrum, this articles lays out 6 goals for the state of Minnesota and measures for determining the success at meeting these goals.
Economic Development and Competitiveness
“The Great North Alliance Opportunity Forecast Summary 2005-2006,” (2005): 25 pages. The Great North Alliance
“This Opportunity Forecast impartially benchmarks Twin Cities’ social and economic competitiveness against 11 peer high performance comparison regions (HPCR)…Overall, the Twin Cities performs better than most of the HPCR to receive a ‘B-‘ grade.” (pg.2).
“Economic Development,” (2002): 3 pages. McKnight Foundation
A short thoughtful report from 2002 that uses a regional approach to set the backdrop for understand several key aspects of our state’s situation.
“Economic Development: Concepts and Approaches,” Matt Kane (November 2004): 24 pages. Northeast Midwest Institute
Emphasis in this report is on: recognizing market forces; understanding the regional economy; building on strengths; ensuring changes yield real net impacts on growth and support broad benefits for both residents and businesses; attention to the lagging areas; addressing both challenges and opportunities throughout the region; increasing production of capital-intensive processes; and addressing the development potential of places and people. There is also four page version of this report.
“Knowledge Clusters and Entrepreneurship as Key Elements of Regional Economic Development,” State and Local Policy Program, (September 2005) 19 pages. Humphrey Institute on Public Affairs
This report highlights the importance of building the knowledge-infrastructure of the state’s economy in order to develop or maintain competitive advantage in national and international markets.
“Mind the Gap: Reducing Disparities to Improve Regional Competitiveness in the Twin Cities,” (2005): 44 pages. Brookings Institution Although the Twin Cities metropolitan area is blessed with relatively high incomes and levels of educational attainment, this report identifies significant disparities in success levels by race, class and location.
“White Paper: A New Economy Strategy for the Twin Cities Region,” Candace Campbell (2000): 51 pages. McKnight Foundation
“Explores strategies to improve the Twin Cities' global competitiveness.” Appendixes include excellent summaries of other communities efforts to develop their communities economic strengths.
“10 Good Reasons – Why Minnesota,” Department of Employment and Economic Development, MN (2005): 2 pages.
Touts ten reasons to move your family or business to Minnesota. Economic and Social Equity
"Building a Real 'Ownership Society',” The Century Foundation and the Institute on Assets and Social Policy, J. Larry Brown, Robert Kuttner, and Thomas M. Shapiro (2005): 39 pages. Century Foundation A lengthy but highly approachable review of the tradition intentionally developing America’s middle class through policy decisions. Examines Bush’s current policy directions in relation to this topic. Emphasizes the importance of maintaining and expanding the supports we do have (unemployment insurance, Pell grants, home mortgage deductions, Social Security, health insurance support for the uninsured, quality public schools, IRA’s) and of adding news ones (Individual Development Accounts, Children’s Savings Accounts “baby bonds,” living wage policies, portable pension programs.) A highly readable and constructive introductory-level background reading.
Policy Link interactive web database, links below.
“PolicyLink is a national nonprofit research, communications, capacity building, and advocacy organization working to advance policies to achieve economic and social equity. PolicyLink collaborates with a broad range of partners to implement strategies to ensure that everyone—including those from low-income communities of color—can contribute to and benefit from economic growth and prosperity. Among our regional equity approaches is equitable development, a comprehensive local, regional, and state framework emphasizing equitable public investment, the fair distribution of affordable housing, and community strategies to improve health.”
Government Spending
“Trends in Minnesota Government Spending: A Ten-Year Analysis,” Property Tax Study Project and the Minnesota Budget Project, Nan Madden, Jeff Van Wychen (September 2002): 32 pages. MN Budget Project
“Concerns over growth in government have taken a prominent place in Minnesota’s political discourse in recent years. Some fear that the rate of growth in Minnesota government is unsustainable, while others are concerned that Minnesota will not be competitive in the global economy unless the state continues to commit to critical public investments.” This report analyzes changes in Minnesota’s government size over the last ten years and the relationship between public investment and quality of life outcomes in Minnesota.
“Impact on Working Families & Individuals,” MN Council of Nonprofits and the Minnesota Budget Project (August 2005): 21 pages. MN Council of Nonprofits
“Impact on Children & Youth,” MN Council of Nonprofits and the Minnesota Budget Project (July 2005): 15 pages. MN Council of Nonprofits
"Impact on Populations with Unique Needs,” MN Council of Nonprofits and the Minnesota Budget Project (July 2005): 15 pages. MN Council of Nonprofits These reports from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and the Minnesota Budget Project provide detailed analysis on the impact of state legislative decisions on various constituencies.
“Renew the Partnership: A Principled Approach to Financing City Government” A Report from the League of Minnesota Cities (January 2005): 32 pages.
This report has good data on the fiscal austerity practices being implemented in the last few years and strategies for improving collaboration between government agencies to improve situation for all.
Income Distribution
“What new CBO data indicate about long-term income distribution trends,” Isaac Shapiro (March 7, 2005): 2 pages. Center for Budget Priorities Concise summary of increased income in top earners over last thirty years nationally.
Bearfacts from 1993 –2004 for state of MN. Bureau of Economic Analysis
“BEA Regional Facts—BEARFACTS—consists of computer-generated narratives for states, counties, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), and BEA Economic Areas. The narratives describe an area's personal income using current estimates, growth rates, and a breakdown of the sources of personal income.”
“State demographers office report on personal income and more,” Minnesota State Demographic Center (September 2004): 9 pages.
Helpful analysis of per capita income changes and distribution across the state and in comparison with other states. Minnesota Economic Indicators
“State Profile: Minnesota,” FDIC Fall (2005): 3 pages. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Concise summary of current economic indicators for the state.
“The 2002 State New Economy Index: Benchmarking Economic Transformation in the States,” Robert D. Atkinson (2002). Progressive Policy Institute Narrative and graphic categorization of key indicators for new economic growth. State analysis section ranks Minnesota on these indicators. Links to narrative analysis includes suggested policy recommendations for building a new economy.
Taxes from Different Perspectives
“Rethinking Minnesota Taxes: Fairer for families and better for business growth,” (January 2005). Growth and Justice
Provides a review of the economic literature and reviews options suggested by tax experts, economists and business leaders. Lays out a concrete plan for executing broad principles for raising more money—if elected representatives decide to invest more in the state’s future.
“State Tax Information,” Minnesota Department of Revenue (January 2005): 4 pages.
Concise summary of today’s economic statistics.
“Progressive taxation does not harm economic performance,” (June 2005): 7 pages. MN Center for Tax Justice
Ranks states across the country on fairness of their tax structure and explores various MN legislative agendas as they relate to the distribution of tax burden in our state. Compares the economic success of states with more and less regressive tax structures.
Work and the Labor Supply
“Why Do Americans Work So Much More Than Europeans?” Edward C. Prescott, W.P. Carey, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review Vol. 28, No. 1 (July 2004): pages 2–13. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
“Americans now work 50 percent more than do the Germans, French, and Italians. This was not the case in the early 1970s, when the Western Europeans worked more than Americans. This article examines the role of taxes in accounting for the differences in labor supply across time and across countries; in particular, the effective marginal tax rate on labor income. The population of countries considered is the G-7 countries, which are major advanced industrial countries. The surprising finding is that this marginal tax rate accounts for the predominance of differences at points in time and the large change in relative labor supply over time.”
“Getting Back on Your Feet: Just how effective is our expanding public system for helping dislocated workers?” Ronald A. Wirtz, The Region (September 2005). Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Examines the effectiveness of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
“Workforce First,” (February 2004): 38 pages. Growth and Justice
Examines the current distribution of wages in the population in relation to the requirements of a basic needs budget. Analyzes the potential costs and benefits to the state of supporting initiatives aimed at raising the skill and wage level of those at the bottom of the income curve.
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