Differences in state taxes paid and benefits received for immigrants and native-born Americans are driven by differences in demographic characteristics. Spending on immigrants is somewhat greater primarily because they have more school age children. Fiscal impacts also vary by state. This brief...
This fact sheet describes the more than $275 million economic development package that the state of Massachusetts and City of Boston offered to General Electric to influence its relocation from Fairfield, Connecticut to Boston in 2016.
The synthetic control method is an increasingly popular method for state policy evaluation. It provides quantitative support for case studies by creating a synthetic control region that simulates what the outcome path of a region would be if it did not undergo a particular policy intervention....
Every year, the Urban Institute produces hundreds of reports, briefs, webcasts, and blog posts. In this publication, Urban’s State and Local Finance Initiative brings together the latest evidence-based research, data, and solutions with direct relevance for analysts crafting and deliberating...
This brief builds on work that examines replacing the current formula for calculating Pell grant eligibility with one that uses only a few family characteristics. Using data from the 2011–12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, we compare our original two-factor model with Financial Aid...
We explore issues related to a financial transaction tax (FTT) in the United States. We trace the history and current practice of the tax in the United States and other countries, review evidence of its impact on financial markets, and explore the key design issues any such tax must address. We...
The massive financial market failures that led to the Great Recession have prompted renewed calls for a financial transaction tax (FTT) to discourage excessive risk taking and recoup the costs of the crisis. A well-designed FTT could raise up to about 0.4 percent of GDP ($75 billion in 2017) in...
There is widespread agreement that the college financial aid system is too complicated and acts as a barrier to higher education. This report focusses on how eight different simplification proposals for determining Pell grant eligibility and three alternatives for calculating Effective Family...
