CLOSUP publications

In the United States, workers in cities offering above-average nominal wages—cities with high productivity, low quality-of-life, or inefficient housing sectors—pay 30 percent more in federal taxes than otherwise identical workers in cities offering...

For political, jurisdictional and technical reasons, environmental regulation of industrial pollution is often incomplete: regulations apply to only a subset of facilities contributing to a pollution problem. Policymakers are increasingly concerned...

This study examines how neighborhoods hosting the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects in Miami-Dade County have changed from 1990 to 2000 and how these projects have affected their neighborhoods. The study applies a cluster analysis to identify...

Problem: Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) are efforts to address unjust development practices. Communities considering accepting a significant development project want mechanisms to ensure that existing residents benefit from the anticipated...

Research on the relationship between teachers' characteristics and teacher effectiveness has been underway for over a century, yet little progress has been made in linking teacher quality with factors observable at the time of hire. However, most...

Low-achieving students in many school districts are retained in a grade in order to allow them to gain the academic or social skills that teachers believe are necessary to succeed academically. In this paper, we use plausibly exogenous variation in...

This review paper, prepared for the forthcoming Russell Sage volume Changing Poverty, considers the ability of different education policies to improve the learning outcomes of lowincome children in America. Disagreements on this question stem in...

This study estimates the effects of means-tested housing programs on labor supply using data from a randomized housing voucher wait-list lottery in Chicago. Evidence for the net effects of housing programs on labor supply is central to a wide range...

Educational interventions are often narrowly targeted and temporary, and evaluations often focus on the short-run impacts of the intervention. Insofar as the positive effects of educational interventions fadeout over time, however, such assessments...

In this paper, we examine whether expanded access to sought-after schools can improve academic achievement. The setting we study is the "open enrollment" system in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). We use lottery data to avoid the critical issue of...

This paper explores the phenomenon referred to as test score inflation, which occurs when achievement gains on "high-stakes" exams outpace improvements on "low-stakes" tests. The first part of the paper documents the extent to which student...

State requirements that high school graduates pass exit exams were the leading edge of the movement towards standards-based reform and continue to be adopted and refined by states today. In this study, we present new empirical evidence on how exit...

Many cities of the Northeast and Midwest have experienced loss of population and industry since the 1950s. The resulting drop in demand for land has led to owners' abandonment of property and to vacant land after demolition of derelict structures....

Although property abandonment affects many cities, little is known about what becomes of that property or what institutional differences lead to varied outcomes. More rapid tax foreclosure in Michigan, touted as best practice nationally, offers the...

Thousands of gun shows take place in the U.S. each year. Gun control advocates argue that because sales at gun shows are much less regulated than other sales, such shows make it easier for potential criminals to obtain a gun. Similarly, one might be...

Reforming the system of care for homeless and precariously housed individuals and families is a central objective of Washtenaw County’s Blueprint to End Homelessness. This objective recognizes that improved understanding of the relationship...

This study seeks to provide detailed data on the perspectives of Michiganians regarding global warming and various policy options available to reduce human impacts on the earth’s...

Based on two recent studies of the Michigan and national workforce development systems, this report examines how Michigan’s local workforce agencies are coping with the state’s recent economic decline, and how their relationships with economic...

This report examines evidence of Michigan’s continuing economic transition and considers the state’s capacity to reinvent itself by replacing its 20th century industrial economy with a 21st century knowledge...

Parks and recreation facilities are often considered indicators of a community’s quality, as they typically contribute to the health and well-being of community residents. Based on data from the 2001 Detroit Area Study, this report examines park...

This report reviews issues related to public services and facilities, local government performance, and taxation in southeast Michigan, as examined in the 2001 Detroit Area Study...

In early 2005, Washtenaw County, Michigan administered its second annual Point-in-Time Homeless Survey, designed to collect information on all sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons residing within Washtenaw County at a single point in time....

This report reviews transportation related issues in southeast Michigan, as examined in the 2001 Detroit Area Study...

There is a growing debate across Michigan and the U.S. about the relationships between new school construction and community growth. Oft-stated concerns are that the siting of new schools in undeveloped or “exurban” locations is contributing to...

This report summarizes one of the first academic studies to systematically examine the factors that affect the formation and ongoing operations of regional governmental planning efforts related to land use issues. Michigan law (as with many states)...