Home  About  In the News  Publications  Blog  Join  Donate  > Inside Yale  Yale News Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, a group of journalists from RNN TV, the head of the Economic Policy Institute, the head of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, and a former HUD assistant secretary were among the members of the audience at the opening Announcements National Expo: July 11th Hyde Park Summit: August 14-17 Essay Winners Announced in The Nation On Campus Iowa Chapter Holds Forum Zach Hindin in the GW Hatchet Coverage of the Johns Hopkins Chapter Launch > More "This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in." — Teddy Roosevelt    Center on Economic Policy > Roosevelt Home > Yale > Economic Policy Your name: Your email: Recipient's name: Recipient's email: Message: Roosevelt Institution at Yale College Center on Economic Policy: The Center on Economic Policy focuses on analyzing and developing policies to provide all people with a decent standard of living. While we will occasionally undertake projects with a national scope that aim to contribute to national political discourse through publication, we mainly focus our efforts on policy projects with more immediate local and state implications. We will continue to develop working relationships with New Haven and Connecticut lawmakers so that we can see our policy proposals put into action. Current Projects: Affordable Housing in New Haven and Connecticut Microcredit in New Haven The Center on Economic Policy welcomes suggestions and solicitations for new projects. All Center members are strongly encouraged to share policy ideas for the Center to pursue. If you are an outside individual or organization with a research request, please contact us at: yale-economics@rooseveltinstitution.org. Click Here for the Center on Economic Policy One-Pager Past Successes: In July 2007 Ben Lazarus, a Fellow of the Center on Economic Policy, was invited to testify before the Washington, DC City Council during their hearing about the practice of predatory payday lending. Lazarus presented testimony based on his research for the Center on Economic Policy's report on payday lending, which can be found here. After the hearing, the Council voted to impose strict interest caps on payday loans, in line with Lazarus' recommendations. Lazarus's testimony can be found here. Two pieces from the Center on Economic Policy made it into The Roosevelt Institution's 25 Ideas national publication for the 2006-2007 school year. These briefs on State Earned-Income Tax Credits and Predatory Payday Lending were included in 25 Ideas for Working Families in America, and have been distributed to federal, state, and local legislators across the country. In Spring 2005, the Center on Economic Policy quickly established itself as a reputable research organization. After a New Haven Living Wage Ordinance amendment was proposed in 2004, the Center completed a detailed analysis on the potential effects on New Haven's economy, ultimately culminating in a 48 page report that was released to the offices of the Mayor and Aldermen of New Haven. Ward 1 Alderman Ben Healey remarked, "Their policy research on the living wage will provide tremendous support as we work to move forward with this important piece of progressive legislation."   In Fall 2005, the Center conducted initial research on the state of poverty in New Haven and Connecticut in anticipation of a visit from former Senator John Edwards. The Center  prepared a brief on the issue, which we presented to Senator Edwards as part of his Project Opportunity launch tour. Concerned by the pressing poverty problems, the Center quickly began work to investigate the impact of a state Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. After completing a 24 page report in January 2006, the Center presented it to a coalition of campus and community activist groups including Project Opportunity and the Yale College Democrats. These groups used our research in their efforts to convince state lawmakers of the need for such a program. A state EITC similar to the one we proposed passed both the Finance and Human Services committees, ultimately making it to the full legislature as part of a tax relief package. Although the legislature passed a different tax package instead, coalition groups will continue to lobby for a state EITC in the hopes of securing passage later this year.   Finished Reports:   Predatory Payday Lending: A State-by-State Analysis: June 2007 The Effect of a State Earned Income Tax Credit in Connecticut On the Proposed Amendment to the Living Wage     Meetings: Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Group members: Lulu Cheng Danny Townsend Alex W Bartik Alexandra Bercow Benjamin M Bokser Ruth Botsio Michael J Buttrick Virginia Calkins Michael Chao Neil Chheda Ann Chou Haley Cohen Philip Costopoulos Torie Crown Louis Daniels Brian De Matthew Ellison Seth Extein Daniel G Fierro Bobby Fischbeck Eddie Fishman Stacey Fitzgerald Brandon Fong Charles Gariepy Gregory Geusic Joe Geylin Natalie l Ginsberg Jed Glickstein John P Good Martha Grant Xuan Gui Elizabeth K Gulliver Bing Han Lauren Hunter Eric A Kafka Katherine Kavaler Katherine E Kavaler Will Kletter Jacob L Koch Ben Lazarus Jessica Lei Tess E Lerner-Byars Matthew S Levinson Gregory Lipstein Nate Loewentheil Shelagh Mahbubani Lisa Marrone Claire Mulaney Daniel J Newman Will O'Shaughnessy Cynthia Okechukwu Jiho Park Agusta Patton Justin Petrillo Daena Ramiah Benjamin Schaffer Paul D Schneider Arsi Sefaj David Shapiro Spencer Sherman Raphael Starr Sally Tan Sanjeev Tewani Andrew J Ungerer Amira Valliani Mimi Wang Ali Weiner Brandon S Wilton Jesse P Wolfson Efan Wu Jason Wu Alina Yang James Zhang garrett.spitzer@yale.edu emily.yudofsky@yale.edu   The Roosevelt Institution is a nonpartisan, nonprofit national think tank devoted to bringing students' policy ideas to the policy process. The opinions expressed on this site are exclusively those of its members. DC Headquarters: Roosevelt Institution / 2100 M St NW Suite 610 / Washington, DC 20037 || (202) 833-1359