We examine the effect of changes in constitutional provisions on education policies and outcomes. Our research finds that student outcomes improve and inputs change following the passage of constitutional amendments that raise the minimum standards for education. In addition, analysis of 74 state constitutional amendments, more than 34,000 enacted bills, and about 13,050 state appellate court cases between 1990 and 2018 shows that passage of state amendments results in an increase in education-related bills enacted, without a corresponding increase in court cases.

Following the passage of strong education amendments in states:

For many, college offers an avenue to economic opportunity. However, who can attend and what their outcomes are during and after college are shaped by how, and how much, higher education is funded. Two-year community colleges, which educate millions of Americans, rely on state governments for much of their funding. But when state budgets are stressed, as may result from the pandemic’s downturn, funding cuts follow. Research presented by Opportunity & Inclusive Growth Institute affiliate Rajashri Chakrabarti at the Institute’s spring 2020 conference on higher education shows that increasing state funding of two-year colleges improves students’ educational and economic outcomes. Inequities in higher education are not the only barrier to an inclusive economy, but more funding would have meaningful benefits for those served by community colleges, including many students of color and students from lower-income groups.

We examine the effect of changes in constitutional provisions on education policies and outcomes. Our research finds that student outcomes improve and inputs change following the passage of constitutional amendments that raise the minimum standards for education. In addition, analysis of 74 state constitutional amendments, more than 34,000 enacted bills, and about 13,050 state appellate court cases between 1990 and 2018 shows that passage of state amendments results in an increase in education-related bills enacted, without a corresponding increase in court cases.

Following the passage of strong education amendments in states:

Our Regional Outreach team surveyed businesses across the Ninth District to gauge recent economic activity and the near-term outlook of firms in various sectors. Join Ron Wirtz, Regional Outreach director, for a live webinar discussing the latest results from a mid-April survey of firms. Learn about current business conditions, continuing effects of the pandemic, and the near-term outlook of district firms.

You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

Using recent data and ongoing surveys by the Minneapolis Fed, Ron will discuss the pandemic’s evolving impact on firms, workers, and the broader Minnesota economy. Using an interactive survey, Ron will also gauge sentiment among event attendees regarding recent business activity, hiring demand, labor and wage trends, and outlook.

-----

Ron Wirtz is a Regional Outreach Director for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Ron’s primary responsibilities involve tracking current business conditions across the six-state Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes northwest Wisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Minnesota, the Dakotas and Montana.

Among many areas of the economy, Ron pays special attention to employment and wages – which are central to the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate of promoting stable prices and maximum employment – along with construction, real estate, consumer spending and tourism. Ron is a central contributor to the Beige Book, which...

Since its establishment in 1913, the Federal Reserve has been responsible for supporting the liquidity and stability of the U.S. banking system. In order to help businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve began supplying liquidity to financial institutions in a new way in 2020, through the Paycheck Protection Program Liquidity Facility (PPPLF).

During this webinar, Christine Gaffney, senior vice president of Supervision, Regulation, and Credit, explained the PPPLF and how it helps to bolster the effectiveness of the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in providing relief to American workers and businesses. She was joined by Melodie Carlson, chief operating officer of Twin Cities-based Sunrise Banks, who discussed how the PPPLF has enabled Sunrise to assist local small businesses during this challenging time.

On a warm fall day in 1963, crowds gathered near Heber Springs, Ark., to watch President John F. Kennedy dedicate the newly completed Greers Ferry Dam. For almost three decades, residents had pushed for a dam on the Little Red River to control flooding, generate electricity, and create new spaces for outdoor recreation.

In his address, Kennedy flattered the Arkansas congressional delegation and praised the dam, while also making a bold claim that economic growth creates shared prosperity. Projects like the Greers Ferry Dam, he said, “produce wealth, they bring industry, they bring jobs.” He concluded with one of the most famous lines of his presidency: “A rising tide lifts all the boats.”

But even as he said it, Kennedy knew that his phrase was a hope, not a guarantee. For years, the post-World War II economic boom had been raising living standards for the average American. But not everyone was better off. A New Yorker article from earlier that year, read...

The COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting enormous human and economic costs on the Ninth District, nation, and world. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is charged with closely monitoring economic conditions in our region so that local and national policymakers can make informed policy choices.

Given rapidly changing conditions, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is monitoring a variety of daily and weekly data sources to more accurately assess economic developments in real time, some of which are displayed below. Please check back for frequent updates and new indicators.

In aftermath of Great Recession, government fiscal transfers targeted banks and other financial institutions rather than households New research suggests household credit frictions generate greater declines in employment than firm credit frictions of same size Directing credit to ease household debt constraints might have led to faster employment recovery

The COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting enormous human and economic costs on the Ninth District, nation, and world. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is charged with closely monitoring economic conditions in our region so that local and national policymakers can make informed policy choices.

Given rapidly changing conditions, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is monitoring a variety of daily and weekly data sources to more accurately assess economic developments in real time, some of which are displayed below. Please check back for frequent updates and new indicators.

Center for Indian Country Development (CICD) Director Casey Lozar launched our CICD Policy Webinar Series, a set of virtual forums focused on understanding and addressing the systemic limitations and structural barriers that constrain tribal self-determination and the modernization of tribal economies. The series informs policymakers and their advisors on how tribal governments labor to provide an optimal yet shifting mix of public goods and services under conditions of scarcity and limited autonomy. Throughout the series, thought leaders are exploring potential policy actions that can improve the collective good of Indian Country.

The series kicked off on March 24 with a session focused on the question “How Are Tribal Economies Faring Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic?” Due to COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on service-oriented industries such as gaming, Indian Country has been especially vulnerable to this period of economic contraction. At the kick-off event,...