Document Type
Research Report
Publication Date
1-2013
Abstract
Since 2009, researchers have analyzed the economic and employment impact of ARRA spending and tax policies. The current report is possible due to the efforts of Massachusetts policymakers who went beyond federal reporting requirements to require additional reporting on the number of workers who received ARRA-funded pay. ARRA workers’ demographic characteristics were also collected as part of the Massachusetts’ ARRA reporting requirements to allow for transparency and determine the fiscal policy’s impact on the state and local economy. The Massachusetts Recovery and Reinvestment Office (MassRRO) makes available much of these data on their website (www.mass. gov/recovery), including highlights for each funding quarter.
This report builds on a similar report from 2010, Demographic Analysis of Recovery Act Supported Jobs in Massachusetts, Quarters 1 and 2, 2010, providing an in-depth analysis of the data that the MassRRO office collected during Quarters 1 and 2 of 2011. In addition to analyzing the employment and demographic effects of ARRA in Quarters 1 and 2 of 2011, the 2011 data are compared with data from the same two quarters of 2010. The data represent four cross-sections of time demonstrating what the Massachusetts ARRA funding was doing at each point. The analysis emphasizes the employment effects, by race, ethnicity, gender, and disability status. In addition, data are analyzed by geographic location, providing information on the distribution of ARRA workers throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as well as the City of Boston. When possible, data from the MassRRO are compared to the general state population using data obtained from the Center for Economic Policy Research, the U.S. Census, the Boston Indicators Project, and others. However, as with any data there are some limitations, including the consistency of reporting across ARRA contractors.
Findings from this analysis provide policymakers information about how ARRA continues to impact the economy and the working population. Such information may guide policymakers in the future when crafting fiscal policies, especially those intended to spur economic growth.
Community Engaged/Serving
Part of the UMass Boston Community-Engaged Teaching, Research, and Service Series. http://scholarworks.umb.edu/engage
Recommended Citation
Hardy-Fanta, Carol; Lamboy, Monica; Merwin, David; Ransford, Paige; Thomson, Meryl; and Weller, Christian, "Demographic Analysis of Recovery Act Supported Jobs in Massachusetts, Quarters 1 and 2, 2011: FINAL REPORT" (2013). Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy. 26.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/cwppp_pubs/26
Included in
Economic Policy Commons, Health Policy Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons, Public Policy Commons, Social Policy Commons
Comments
A Study Conducted by the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy and the Edward J. Collins, Jr., Center for Public Management.