Knowledge — Leadership — Action
A Profile of the Southern Economy: Living Standards, Economic Structure,
and Lower Income Workers was prepared for the Southern Institute on Children
and Families by the Division of Research at the University of South Carolina
Moore School of Business. Broad economic indicators generally portray the
Southern economy as vibrant and fast growing. According to measures such
as employment growth, personal income growth, and unemployment rates, the
Southern region does perform very well. Yet, these broad economic indicators
do not tell the whole story. Behind this record of rapid economic growth
lies other statistics that portray the South as being last in the nation
in terms of many different measures of living standards.
The purpose of the executive summary is to synthesize many different types
of data to uncover what the statistics have to say about the Southern economy.
The emphasis is on exploring the underlying factors explaining the South’s
lower level of living standards, developing a profile of lower income workers
in the South, and considering long-term structural changes in the economy
that will affect the future for the Southern economy and its lower income
population.
The goal of the full report is to represent one distillation of the available
data for the purpose of providing a profile of an economy that has made gains,
but in which a large portion of the population continues to face obstacles
in improving material well-being.
Economic Development Strategies to Promote Quality Child Care is a report which is part of the larger Cornell University Linking Economic Development and Child Care Research Project supported by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Bureau research funds and by the US Department of Agriculture Hatch Research Program administered by Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station. The intent of this document is two fold: 1) to educate the child care community in the core concepts of economic development, and 2) to assist the economic development community to see the connections between their work and the child care sector. Please click here to access a PDF version of this report.
Child Care and Parent Productivity: Making the Business Case is a paper written as part of the Linking Economic Development and Child Care Research Project of Cornell University outlining that continuous and comprehensive measurement of human capital initiatives in organizations is an essential practice of resilient and financially successful organizations. It presents current research, as well as a comprehensive “5 Step Plan” with example calculations to help those interested in collecting data on the effectiveness of work/life initiatives. Please click here to access a PDF version of this paper.
Study Finds Health Care Costs Account for a Quarter of U.S. Economic Growth. Health care spending consumes about one-quarter of the growth in the U.S. economy, according to a study from the Boston University School of Public Health's Health Reform Program. Health care spending will increase to $1.9 trillion this year, up $621 billion from 2000. The increase in health care spending over the past five years accounts for about 24 percent of the expected increase in the nation's gross domestic product during the same period. The primary sources of "unnecessary spending" include administrative costs, insurance industry profits, and high prescription drug and health services costs.
The report also found that U.S. health spending per person is twice the average spending in Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain, all of which guarantee coverage for their citizens. "Current U.S. spending should be adequate to cover all Americans," according to the report, which used data collected by the government and other researchers. Please click here to access a PDF version of the report.
Job-Based Health Insurance in the Balance: Employer Views of Coverage in the Workplace. Historically, employers have been the primary source of health insurance coverage for working-age Americans and their dependents. Yet according to a recent survey of 453 employers, the job-based health system is under stress. The Commonwealth Fund Supplement to the 2003 National Organizations Study (NOS) finds that double-digit increases in health insurance premiums led employers to shift more of their health care costs to employees in 2002–03. But the survey also finds that most employers who offer health insurance see it as a core part of their compensation packages—a benefit that improves morale and productivity and makes it easier to recruit and retain employees. Employers voice strong support for many recent health reform proposals made by federal and state policy leaders to expand insurance coverage, including proposals that would require them to make financial commitments. Please click here to access a PDF version of the report.
Struggling to Make Ends Meet: Low-Wage Work in America is
a study released in September by Corporate Voices for Working Families, a
non-partisan, non-profit corporate membership organization created to bring
the private sector voice into the public dialogue on issues affecting working
families. Findings from the report indicate there is a widespread concern
over the worsening problem of low-wage work, and that the general voting
public and low-wage workers believe it is critical that corporations and
government work to improve the low-wage crisis – particularly focusing
on creating jobs that can support families and for employers to provide better
benefits and job skills training. To access the executive summary of the
report, click
here and
you will be taken to the Corporate Voices for Working Families Web site.
Banking the Poor: Policies to Bring Low-Income Americans Into the
Financial Mainstream is a paper prepared for the Brookings Institution, which calls
for the transformation of financial services for the poor. Better access
to financial services is critical for low-income persons seeking to enter
the economic mainstream. Click
here to download a PDF version of this paper.
Making Ends Meet: Six Programs That Help Working Families and Employers was developed in 2002 by the Center for Law and Social Policy as a guide
for business leaders and policymakers. The report provides general back-ground
on six work support programs: the Earned Income Tax Credit, child care, Food
Stamps, health care, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and child support.
For each work support, the report offers a brief overview description of
the program, information about how it helps promote family financial security
and employment retention and evidence about barriers to participation among
eligible workers. Click here to download a PDF version of this paper.
Unrealized Gains: How Workforce Organizations Can Put Money in the
Pockets of Low-Wage Workers: Social policy continues to emphasize the importance
of work, but many working families struggle to make ends meet. Work supports
can be a critical factor in enabling people to make a successful transition
to employment. Packed with tools and resources, Unrealized Gains will help
practitioners make use of work supports: laying the groundwork with a financial
literacy curriculum, creating income packages, promoting access to work supports
through advocacy and keeping graduates on track with a variety of retention
strategies. Readers will come away with a concrete plan for addressing their
participants’ economic security. You may order a copy of the publication
from Public/Private Ventures for $10.00 or download A PDF version free from
their Web site by clicking
here.
