The library contains IGPA's publications. Please enter a filter term to narrow which publications are displayed. Filter terms include: Policy Forum, Working Paper, Opinion Paper, Special Publications, Conference-related Information, Critical Issues, Annual Report.

  • Policy Forum 20:1 - The effect of demographic change on state and local government budgets

    The impact of an aging society on fiscal institutions has garnered consider-able attention of late, mostly in connection to the federal Social Security program. In the budget year of 2005, federal government spending on Social Security, which provides old-age, survi-vors and disability insurance, accounted for 4.2 percent of total GDP.

    Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - 11:00pm
  • Do Wisconsin Tax Increment Finance Districts Stimulate Growth in Real Estate Values?

    Economic development is one of the central tasks of local government in the United States. In recent years local governments around the country have made wide use of a somewhat obscure and indirect tool call “tax increment finance” (TIF) as a major mechanism to promote real estate development. We use data on all Wisconsin municipalities during the period 1990 to 2003 to study the effect of TIF on economic development. We use panel data estimation techniques to regress non-TIF and aggregate property values on variables that measure TIF use and control variables.

    Sunday, September 30, 2007 - 11:00pm
  • Senator Carl Levin: Douglas Education Lecture

    This is the audio presentation of Senator Carl Levin, D-Michigan, recipient of the 2006 Paul H. Douglas Ethics in Government Award, presenting the annual Douglas Education Lecture on Monday, Oct. 1, 2007, at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

    Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke about the ongoing vigilance required to preserve honesty and openness in government.

    The lecture and question-answer session that followed lasts about about 40 minutes.

    Sunday, September 30, 2007 - 11:00pm
  • Property Taxation and Local Control in School Finance Reform

    This panel discussion considered whether the local property tax should be replaced by a statewide property tax to fund Illinois public schools, while enhancing local control by delegating school boards certain home rule powers. The panel examined legal, economic, and public policy issues implicated in a June 2007 law review article by Professor Laurie Reynolds. Panelists included Reynolds, U of I Economics Professor J. Fred Giertz, State Rep. Roger Eddy, R-Hutsonville, and moderator Rick Winkel, IGPA Senior Fellow.

    Tuesday, September 11, 2007 - 11:00pm
  • Modeling Immigrants' Language Skills

    This paper explores the impact of English language proficiency and country of origin on the occupational choice of high-skilled immigrants in the U.S. using the 2000 Census. The findings reveal that high-skilled immigrants with limited proficiency in English, or whose mother tongue is linguistically distant from English, are more likely to be in occupations in which English communication skills are not very important, such as computer and engineering occupations.

    Wednesday, August 1, 2007 - 11:00pm
  • Occupational Choice of High Skilled Immigrants in the United States

    This paper explores the impact of English language proficiency and country of origin on the occupational choice of high-skilled immigrants in the U.S. using the 2000 Census. The findings reveal that high-skilled immigrants with limited proficiency in English, or whose mother tongue is linguistically distant from English, are more likely to be in occupations in which English communication skills are not very important, such as computer and engineering occupations.

    Saturday, June 30, 2007 - 11:00pm
  • Prescription Drug Insurance and Its Effect on Utilization and Health of Elderly

    In this paper we estimate the effect of prescription drug coverage on drug use, hospitalization and health of the elderly. Estimates are obtained using a fixed-effects approach to control for unmeasured person-specific effects that may confound the relationships of interest. Results of the analysis showed that prescription drug coverage, particularly public coverage, significantly increased the utilization of prescription drugs, but prescription drug coverage had little effect on hospital admissions or health.

    Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 11:00pm
  • Aging and the Regional Economy: Simulation Results from the Chicago CGE Model

    Future demographic changes, arising from an aging population, have attracted a lot of attention because of their sizable and rapid transitions. In particular, considering their significant economic impacts, there has been an explosion in research on many aspects of the aging population. However, most of these studies on economic consequences of aging population have been conducted at the national level, so that their results fail to capture the local effects of demographic changes due to the existence of the regional differences in terms of economic and demographic structures.

    Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 11:00pm
  • Policy Forum 19:4 - School's Out: After School Programs and Policies That Work

    This Policy Forum summarizes the presentations of three national experts and a local planning committee at a 2007 IGPA Family Impact Seminar devoted to after-school programs in Illinois. We begin by comparing Illinois to other states in terms of availability of after-school programming and innovation in design and funding of these programs. We then summarize insights into how successful after-school programs achieve their goals, and how program quality can be assessed for program self-improvement and for accountability.

    Thursday, May 31, 2007 - 11:00pm