Economic and Workforce Development Publications

CLASP - Poverty and Opportunity: What Difference Can a Task Force Make?, 2011
This report shares stories and lessons of how a task force can contribute to reducing poverty. It provides a closer look at efforts in Minnesota and Colorado. It also looks at initiatives in two states that have created task forces since publication. Illinois and Ohio.

Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy - The Power of Technology to Transform Adult Learning, 2009
The U.S. must reach a much greater proportion of its adult population with effective college and job readiness skills programs or it risks losing economic viabillity, declining standards of living, and undermining core democratic principles. Necessary reform requires deploying technology on an unprecedented scale and making use of all of the tools in our distance learning arsenal.

The American Prospect - Government Paves the Way: A Decent Work Agenda for the Obama Administration, 2009
This National Employment Law Program report outlines how the Federal Government can create good, family sustaining jobs using simple, exisiting policy levers. By utilizing existing authority on prevailing wage regulations, responsible contractor requirements and enforcement of workplace laws, the federal government can facilitate the growth of high-road jobs.

The Urban Institute - Short-Time Compensation as a Policy to Stabilize Employment, 2009
The report provides an overview of the effectiveness of short-time compensation and work-sharing programs. Work-sharing short-time compensation (STC) has the potential to preserve existing jobs and reduce employment losses by reducing the volume of layoffs during a period of slack labor demand and, combined with unemployment insurance benefits, it need not drastically diminish the income of job-sharking employees.

Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation - Jobs Centered Development, 2009
This report examines a new model for economic and workforce development in southern states, “jobs-centered development,” an integrated, demand-driven approach that focuses on improving conditions for the worker, for industry and the community. Similar to sectoral development, “jobs-centered development” considers a wider range of strategies that address regional needs, prevalent in the South, such as agricultural entrepreneurship.

Center for State Innovation - Sectors and Clusters, 2008
Sector and cluster strategies are two distinct but complementary approaches that attempt to align -business and workforce development at the state and regional levels and address the problem of high-quality job creation, utilitizing many of the same policy tools

NGA – Sector Strategies, 2008
An increasing number of states are addressing the challenges of globalization by establishing sector strategies – policy approaches that support regional, industry-specific approaches to workforce needs and are implemented by an employer-driven partnership of relevant systems and stakeholders.

CAEL – Adult Learning, 2008
Demographic patterns demonstrate that relying on the traditional K–16 pipeline to meet the educational and workforce needs of our states and the nation will not be enough. The economic and personal benefits that individuals gain from education argue for greater focus and emphasis on adult learning.

CLASP – Post Secondary, 2008
American employers need workers with higher skills to compete in a global economy. This report describes efforts to help community colleges identify and develop strategies to enable low-skilled adult students to fill these needs and place themselves on sustainable career pathways.

TWA – Middle-Skills - Washington Case Study, 2008
Despite its reputation for innovation Washington State is beginning to experience shortages of the middle-skill workers that are so critical to our economic success. To maintain its competitive edge in an increasingly competitive global economy, Washington must invest in both high- and middle-skill workers to ensure its businesses have the talent they need.

TWA - America's Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs, 2007
Employment opportunities in middle-skill occupations, which require some post-secondary training, are predicted to increase in the next decade. Without greater investments, future growth in the supply of educated workers will likely fall short of the labor market demand, especially in key sectors and geographic regions. While further aid for those enrolling in four- year college programs is critical, we must also provide other pathways to labor market success for those who cannot enroll in or complete such degrees.

Center for State Innovation - Microenterprise Development (Model Legislation), 2007
Microenterprise offers a unique opportunity for low-wage workers, especially women and minorities, to increase their income. This model legislation proposes new funding to support technical assistance for budding micro-entrepreneurs.

Center for State Innovation - Contingent Work (Model Legislation), 2007
Non-standard or contingent work makes up a large and growing segment of the American job market. This "Temporary Worker Bill" of rights reinforces contingent workers' right to unemployment insurance, family medical leave and basic safety standards.

Brookings – Clusters, 2006
An industry cluster is a group of firms, and related economic actors and institutions, that are ocated near one another and that draw productive advantage from their mutual proximity and connections. Cluster analysis can help diagnose a region's strengths and identify realistic ways to shape its economic future.