CLOSUP publications

The Fall 2010 MPPS asked Michigan's local government leaders about their views on global warming and environmental sustainability, and the role of local government in these areas. While Michigan's local leaders are divided in their views about the...

This paper examines affordable housing developments supported by the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program and how they have contributed to neighborhood redevelopment in the city of Detroit. For cities like Detroit that have long suffered...

The nation's largest charter management organization is the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP). KIPP schools are emblematic of the No Excuses approach to public education, a highly standardized and widely replicated charter model that features a long...

The Michigan Public Policy Survey asked Michigan's local government leaders an extensive battery of questions regarding intergovernmental cooperation, service sharing, consolidation, and more, during the Fall 2010 survey. Responses show that...

To help inform the growing policy debate in Michigan on public sector pay and benefits, the MPPS asked Michigan's local government leaders what they think about their jurisdictions' employee compensation levels and policies. Only 6% of Michigan's...

The following report summarizes results drawn from  national level surveys in the United States and Canada that examine public perceptions regarding various aspects of climate change. Since 2008, the National Survey of American Public Opinion on...

Economic gardening is a new economic development strategy used to grow local economies by cultivating existing businesses, rather than, or in addition to, hunting for new businesses to relocate from the outside. This report presents findings about...

On Friday, July 30, 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau closed its public phone call-in lines that had allowed U.S. citizens who were missed by mailed forms and door-to-door efforts to be counted in the 2010 Census. The Census data, according to the Census...

The fiscal health of Michigan's local governments has declined in the last year and has become a much more widespread problem, increasingly affecting communities of all sizes, in all regions of the state. This MPPS report examines how local...

A “sales tax holiday” is a period of time, usually lasting a few days, during which state sales tax and sometimes local sales taxes are not levied on a set of goods. This report begins with a history of sales tax holidays and a discussion of the...

On April 20, 2006, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm signed into law the Michigan Merit Curriculum (MMC) establishing some of the most ambitious core graduation requirements in the nation. The curriculum requires all students in the graduating...

We assess the potential for expanding regional planning by asking local government officials their perspectives on the potential for increasing regionalism in their communities, and the most promising approaches to achieving greater regionalism. Our...

This paper focuses on the labor market outcomes that represent a key marker of the transition to adulthood—the attainment of economic stability and self-sufficiency. Achieving labor market success is a necessary condition for a successful transition...

We analyze SSI applications and benefit receipt after the 1996 welfare reform by single mothers who received cash assistance in February 1997. We address these questions: First, what characteristics are associated with SSI applications and how do...

Since the early 1970s, dramatic changes in the economy, demographic composition of the population and in public policies have combined to reduce the antipoverty effects of economic growth. Because economic growth is now necessary, but not...

Over the last three decades, structural changes in the American labor market eliminated many highly‐paid, stable jobs that had previously been available to workers with a high school diploma or less. Job security is important, particularly for the...

This report seeks to identify and quantify some of the challenges faced by districts as they push their students to higher academic levels in a time of fiscal hardship. We have conducted surveys and interviews of school and district level personnel...

This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ opinions on the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)—also known as the Federal Stimulus Package—based on statewide surveys in the Spring 2009 and Fall 2009 waves of the...

Local government officials from across the state of Michigan were surveyed as part of the Michigan Public Policy Survey program during Fall 2009 in the second MPPS survey wave. This wave focused on educational, economic, and workforce development...

This first brief examines a variety of policy issues related to smoke-free legislation including economic issues, public health issues, and questions of the role of government in the private...

This second brief examines potential reform of the individual health insurance market in Michigan. Attention is paid to how policy changes would affect both insurers and Michigan...

This third brief examines potential reform of the business tax structure in Michigan. The brief describes the current Michigan Business Tax and other forms of business taxes, and analyzes each type of tax in terms of its advantages and...

This fourth brief in the series provides an overview of programs developed to spur economic growth through college scholarships and discusses the effects of such programs, with a particular focus on the Kalamazoo Promise. Note: On of Oct. 13,...

This fifth brief in the series provides an overview of transportation funding for highways, roads and bridges, and offers information on possible policy options to modify that...

The sixth brief reviews trends in crime rates, the incarceration rate, and corrections expenditures. The brief also examines potential solutions to reduce the cost of corrections while maintaining public...