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53572. 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
53573. 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
53574. 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
53575. 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
53576. Budget Blues: The Fiscal Outlook and Options for Reform
- Author:
- William G. Gale, Alan J. Auerbach, Peter Orszag, and Samuel R. Potter
- Publication Date:
- 05-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- Establishing a sustainable fiscal policy is central to the nation's long-term economic prospects, but requires a clear understanding of how past and current policies affect future resources. The federal budget should, but does not, provide this information, both because the task is difficult and current accounting practices are deficient. This paper shows that adjusting the official budget for many accounting and economic issues implies a bleak fiscal outlook that presents policymakers with difficult choices. We also explore options to restore fiscal sustainability directly and to improve the budget process that governs fiscal decisions.
- Topic:
- Demographics, Economics, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States
53577. Russia's Winter Woes: Tariff Setting for Local Utilities in a Transition Economy
- Author:
- Sergei Sivaev, Raymond J. Struyk, Valentin Andrianov, and Emin Askerov
- Publication Date:
- 04-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- During the past two winters, breakdowns in district heating services in Russia have grabbed international headlines. In Russia these services and water and sewerage services are the responsibility of municipal governments; these governments set the tariffs for these services. This article examines the tariff-setting process during 1997–2001 for these two services with particular emphasis on the decision process for considering tariff increases. We find that little progress has been made during the transition period in developing the legal base for rational tariff-setting procedures. Overall, tariff increases have been substantially less than the rate of inflation. Statistical analysis confirms that decisionmaking is highly politicized and that in times of extreme inflation tariff increases lag even further behind inflation, with the sector being used as a kind of shock absorber to cushion the full impacts of inflation on the population. There is an obvious acute need for leadership at the national level to address these problems.
- Topic:
- Development, Energy Policy, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Asia
53578. The Enron Debacle: Lessons for Tax Policy
- Author:
- Jane G. Gravelle
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- The Enron debacle had potential implications in three areas of tax policy: tax-favored retirement plans, stock options, and differences in book versus tax accounting. The most important issue relates to the increasing riskiness of retirement plans that (1) can pay in a lump sum amount, (2) are of the defined contribution variety, and (3) may be excessively concentrated in employer stock. Proposals to remedy this issue even in a limited way may be unsuccessful if they do not address the especially favorable tax treatment of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Most stock options do not benefit from preferential treatment, although for both book and tax purposes it may be desirable (and feasible) to recognize compensation payments at the time of grant. Stock options may not be accomplishing their purposes efficiently, and special benefits (such as those for qualified stock options) might either be reconsidered or restricted to plans with desirable features. The spectacle of a purportedly profitable company paying little or no tax has become a common phenomenon. The Enron case suggests the need for more disclosure regarding the sources of book versus tax differences, if not some substantive corporate tax reforms.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
- Political Geography:
- United States
53579. How Are Immigrants Faring After Welfare Reform?: Preliminary Evidence from Los Angeles and New York City - Final Report
- Author:
- Randy Capps, Michael Fix, Dan Perez-Lopez, Jeffrey Passel, Leighton Ku, Chris Furgiuele, Rajeev Ramchand, and Scott McNiven
- Publication Date:
- 02-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- In 1996, debates about welfare reform and immigration converged and reshaped federal policies about the eligibility of legally admitted immigrants for means-tested public benefits programs, including the Food Stamp Program (FSP), Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Before the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) was enacted in 1996, legal immigrants were eligible for benefits on terms similar to those of native-born citizens. The new law significantly limited the eligibility of legally-admitted immigrants for means-tested federal benefit programs, particularly immigrants entering the United States after the welfare reform law was passed in August 1996.
- Topic:
- Government, Human Welfare, and Migration
- Political Geography:
- United States
53580. The Dog that Would Never Bite? The Past and Future of the Stability and Growth Pact
- Author:
- Martin Heipertz and Amy Verdun
- Publication Date:
- 11-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
- Abstract:
- This paper analyses the underlying reasons for the creation of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) and its subsequent development in recent years. The paper examines the economic and political factors behind it, including the role of economic ideas, experts, politicians, institutional arrangements in the Maastricht Treaty, domestic politics, and the exceptional position of Germany in the realm of monetary integration in the EU. It concludes that a set of commonly held beliefs together with a corresponding power-political constellation explain the creation of the SGP.
- Topic:
- International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Germany