The Roosevelt Institution

Center on Economic Policy

http://rooseveltinstitution.org/yale/economics

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