Category: Economic Development
Resource | Category | Topic | Type |
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A Demographic and Economic Profile of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin In this brief, we present a demographic and economic profile of Duluth, MN, and Superior, WI, with a specific focus on families with children. The cities, situated at the western point of Lake Superior (see Figure 1), share a rich economic history as major ports for coal, iron ore, and grain. Each city is also home to numerous colleges and universities, including the University of Minnesota-Duluth and the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
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Demography, Vulnerable Families Research Program | Demography, Economic Development, Poverty | Publication |
A Path to Conventional Equity for CDFIs In this working paper, authors Charles Tansey and Michael Swack outline a path to conventional equity for CDFIs.
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Center for Impact Finance | Community Development Finance, Economic Development | Publication |
A Path to Conventional Equity for CDFIs In this report designed to serve the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) sector, authors Charles Tansey and Michael Swack describe a step-by-step blueprint for accessing private equity in Stage One and conventional equity in the public market in Stage Two through participating CDFIs.
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Center for Impact Finance | Community Development Finance, Economic Development | Publication |
Behavioral Finance of Impact Investing Donor-advised funds present a unique opportunity to promote impact investing into the local community, including Community Development Financial Institutions that serve their local communities.
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Center for Impact Finance | Community Development Finance, Economic Development | Publication |
Beliefs about Development Versus Environmental Tradeoffs in the Puget Sound Region Using data from a phone survey of 1,980 Puget Sound residents conducted in 2012, this fact sheet outlines residents’ views about the importance of environmental protection as well as their opinions about energy development, protection of wild salmon, and land use regulation.
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Community, Environment, and Climate Change | Community Development, Economic Development, Environment, Public Opinion | Publication |
Biofueling Rural Development: Making the Case for Linking Biofuel Production to Rural Revitalization Biofuels play a crucial role in America's quest for oil independence. In recent years, the biofuel industry has seen significant technology and efficiency advances, as well as expansions in the materials that can be used to create biofuels. Grains and oilseeds are limited in their ability to meet fuel needs, but a shift to biomass feedstocks offers better production possibilities. For rural communities, locally owned biomass refineries may offer promise of new investment, job growth, and revitalization.
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Community, Environment, and Climate Change | Economic Development, Environment, Infrastructure, Rural | Publication |
Capital Markets, CDFIs, and Organizational Credit Risk Can Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) get unlimited amounts of low cost, unsecured, short- and long-term funding from the capital markets based on their organizational credit risk? Can they get pricing, flexibility, and procedural parity with for-profit corporations of equivalent credit risk?
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Center for Impact Finance | Community Development Finance, Economic Development | Publication |
Carsey Perspectives: Local Owners Driving Lasting Solutions As outlined in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, there is an urgent need for mechanisms that effectively scale proven interventions for tackling some of humanity’s toughest challenges (United Nations 2015). While there are exemplary models that have proven to be highly effective, there are relatively few examples that have achieved large-scale replication.
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Changemaker Collaborative | Community Development, Economic Development, Employment, Entrepreneurship | Publication |
Carsey Perspectives: Meeting Farmers Where They Are This case study provides an overview of Ziweto Enterprises, a social venture using franchising methodology to scale its growth. The goal of this study is to present a clear picture of how the starting stages of a social franchise can expand and thrive in a developing country such as Malawi. By discussing Ziweto’s history, business model, operations, challenges, successes, decision-making process, social impact, and projected future, this case study aims to provide insight into the application of business format franchising to address social problems.
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Changemaker Collaborative | Community Development, Economic Development, Employment, Entrepreneurship | Publication |
CDFIs Can Make the SBA PPP Loan Program Work for Smaller, Minority-Owned, and Women-Owned, Small Businesses As currently being implemented by the Small Business Administration, the loans made available through the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program, part of the CARES Act recently enacted to address the COVID-19 crisis, are likely to significantly bypass smaller small businesses and those that are minority- or women-owned.
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Center for Impact Finance, COVID-19 | Community Development, Community Development Finance, COVID-19, Economic Development, Housing, Low Income | Publication |
Challenge and Hope in the North Country Hit hard by the national decline in natural-resource and manufacturing jobs, North Country communities in northern New Hampshire and bordering areas of Maine and Vermont (Figure 1) continue to face challenges in restructuring their economies.1 A 2008 study classified Coös County, New Hampshire, and Oxford County, Maine, as “amenity/decline” regions, a common pattern in rural America where historically resource-dependent places experience decline in their traditional industries, even while natural amenities present new opportunities for growth in areas such as tourism or amenity-based in-migration. Complicating this transition, there is often out-migration of young adults seeking jobs and financial stability elsewhere, as new industries in rural areas tend toward seasonal employment or require different kinds of skills.2 In this brief, we report on a 2017 survey that asked North Country residents about their perceptions, hopes, and concerns regarding this region. Many of the same questions had been asked on earlier surveys in 2007 and 2010, providing a unique comparative perspective on what has changed or stayed much the same.
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Community, Environment, and Climate Change, New Hampshire | Community, Economic Development, Migration, New Hampshire, Public Opinion, Rural, Unemployment | Publication |
Continuity and Change in Coos County Results from the 2010 North Country CERA Survey This brief from Chris Colocousis and Justin Young uses the most recent North Country CERA survey to focus on change and continuity in Coos County between 2007 and 2010, and then makes comparisons of the present conditions across the three study counties. The authors examine such topics as community problems, environmental and economic concerns, and community cohesion and confidence in the local government. They report that Coos County residents remain highly concerned about the lack of economic opportunities in the region, and their concern about population decline has increased in recent years. Coos residents see the economic future of their communities primarily tied to both recreation and traditional forest-based industries, though they have become somewhat more polarized with respect to levels of support for economic development versus environmental protection. The authors conclude that challenges stemming from the economic restructuring of the past decade have been deepened by the most recent recession, and issues of limited economic opportunities, financial hardship, and population decline have become more pronounced. As the North Country moves into the future, one of its primary challenges will be working out a balance between what can sometimes be conflicting demands on the region’s substantial natural resources.
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New Hampshire | Community, Economic Development, Environment, New Hampshire, Public Opinion | Publication |
Experience of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund in Mainstreaming of Acquisition Loans to Cooperative Manufactured Housing Communities, The This study aimed to provide evidence of the extent to which a financial product―land acquisition loans for manufactured home parks―performed well and was adopted by mainstream financial institutions. The study hypothesized that The New Hampshire Community Loan Fund’s effective introduction of the new loan product, coupled with excellent loan performance, led banks to adopt the loan product.
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Evaluation, New Hampshire | Economic Development, Housing, New Hampshire | Publication |
Forging the Future: Community Leadership and Economic Change in Coös County, New Hampshire Author Michele Dillon conducted a case study of community change in Coös County, New Hampshire, for two-and-a-half years (June 2009-December 2011) to investigate how local community leaders in Coös assess the initiatives, challenges, opportunities, and progress in the North Country during this time of economic transition.
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New Hampshire | Civic Engagement, Community, Economic Development, Leadership, New Hampshire | Publication |
Jobs, Natural Resources, and Community Resilience: A Survey of Southeast Alaskans about Social and Environmental Change As part of the Community and Environment in Rural America (CERA) project, researchers at the Carsey Institute surveyed 1,541 residents of the ten boroughs and unincorporated census areas in Southeast Alaska to better understand social and environmental change in the region and their implications for Alaskan community and families. The authors of this brief report that social problems in the extremely isolated region of Southeast Alaska such as crime and drug use are closely related to economic distress, particularly in small outlying communities. They suggest that economic development interventions should be paired with social assistance to address these interrelated problems. Natural resource industries are highly valued, and supporting sustainable expansion of these industries will be critical in the future. Residents highly value the natural and cultural character of the region. Southeast Alaska’s natural assets and strong social capital suggest that residents can collaborate to address social and environmental concerns. Trust and confidence in government is low. However, increasing local engagement may help bridge this divide and encourage public-private partnerships and more cooperative relationships. With its rising energy costs and limited access to high-quality foods, national programs that increase access to affordable energy and quality foods should focus on this region. Significant economic and social challenges can make life in Southeast Alaska a challenge, yet residents remain resilient and optimistic about the future of their communities.
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Community, Environment, and Climate Change | Community, Economic Development, Environment, Public Opinion | Publication |
Mapping State Unemployment In this data snapshot, authors Michael Ettlinger and Jordan Hensley report the relative level of initial unemployment claims for the week ending March 28, and relative “insured unemployment” for the week ending March 21, each as a share of the (February) labor force.
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COVID-19 | COVID-19, Economic Development, Unemployment | Publication |
Maximizing Returns to Colleges and Communities Colleges and universities depend tremendously on their local communities in numerous ways, and through community investment, have a unique opportunity to support these communities in turn. This handbook provides an overview of community investment, including a step-by-step guide to implementing a community investment program that maximizes both financial and social returns.
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Vulnerable Families Research Program | Community, Economic Development, Education | Publication |
Measures and Methods: Four Tenets for Rural Economic Development in the New Economy Rural communities working to find strategies for success in today's economy need to rethink the tools they are using. Brown-Graham is the executive director of the Institute for Emerging Issues and a policy fellow at the Carsey Institute. William Lambe is the associate director at the Community and Economic Development Program at the School of Government, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Community, Environment, and Climate Change | Community, Community Development, Economic Development, Rural | Publication |
New Immigrant Settlements in Rural America: Problems, Prospects, and Policies Regions of rural America are being reshaped by growing numbers of immigrants who are choosing small-town life over the bright lights of the big city. This study found that immigrant settlers may have a big impact on small, rural communities—sometimes straining resources but also offering promise for reinvigorating dying communities.
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Vulnerable Families Research Program | Community, Economic Development, Immigration, Rural | Publication |
Resident Ownership in New Hampshire's "Mobile Home Parks": A Report on Economic Outcomes (revised 2010) Since 1984, the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund has been helping residents of manufactured home communities purchase the land underneath their homes. Since then, homeowners have purchased 80 manufactured home communities and converted them into Resident Owned Communities (ROCs) in New Hampshire. These communities now include 4,200 homeowners.
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Evaluation, New Hampshire | Economic Development, Housing, New Hampshire | Publication |