Case Studies
Project QUEST: A Case Study of a Sectoral Employment Development Approach
Aspen Institute (2001). Project QUEST: A Case Study of a Sectoral Employment Development approach.
Economics & Workforce Development
Compelling local investment in shared prosperity
Gathering Power: The Future of Progressive Politics in America
"Osterman, an MIT professor of management and urban studies, offers a template to reenergize the American progressive movement...He believes that progressive politics is the best antidote to the top-down decision making of party politics, which he views as a danger to democracy and responsible for the well-documented alienation of voters. His progressive politics poster child is the Industrial Areas Foundation, or IAF, a network of community organizations whose mundane name belies the local political power it has built through grassroots campaigns." -- Publishers Weekly.
Books | Articles | Essays
Training and Immigration in the Real World
In this paper, Cortes argues that the success of a democracy and the wealth of a society are based largely on their human capital, and recognizes labor economist Vernon Brigg's contribution to the thinking behind IAF labor market intermediaries, the workforce development strategy that has moved thousands of families out of poverty. He breaks from Briggs' position on immigration, however, arguing that immigrant workers increase demand for domestic goods and services, thus creating new jobs.
Books | Articles | Essays
Back to Shared Prosperity, Chapter 35: Justice at the Gates of the City: A Model of Shared Prosperity
In "Justice at the Gates of the City: A Model of Shared Prosperity," Ernesto Cortés draws on the IAF's organizing strategies to argue that shared prosperity is a question of politics, not just economics. He traces America's growing inequality to the decline of the unions, congregations, schools and civic groups that once gave working families power against market forces. "It is imperative that those who claim to be concerned about fairness, equity, and stability begin to operate in such a way as to facilitate genuine power sharing," he writes. "And equally important, the least powerful members of society must organize themselves and their allies to develop the power necessary to persuade and negotiate with the winners [those who benefit from economic change] for their fair share of prosperity.
Books | Articles | Essays
Thinking for a Living: Education and the Wealth of Nations
Marshall, Ray and Tucker, Marc, Thinking for a Living: Education and the Wealth of Nations. (1993). Perseus Books Group.
After America's Midlife Crisis
Gecan, Michael (2009). After America's Midlife Crisis. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press
Books | Articles | Essays
Improving the Odds: Increasing Opportunities in Austin: Report to the Mayor and Council
Marshall, Ray (2001). Improving the Odds: Increasing Opportunities in Austin - Report to the Mayor and Council. Austin Equity Commission. https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/c114d8e3-4fa8-453d-98af-637ee38996d9/content
Evaluation Research
Fourteen Year Gains: Project QUEST's Remarkable Impact
This study details how Project QUEST participants earned $54,000 more than the control group during the 14-year follow-up period. [excerpt] Project QUEST and the community colleges invested an average of $16,244 (2022 dollars) in each participant over the fourteen years following study enrollment, resulting in a 234 percent return on investment. Moreover, program graduates moved out of poverty and into the middle class, earning close to $60,000, on average, in the final year of the study. Participants ages 35 and older at the time of enrollment experienced the greatest benefit from Project QUEST, earning a remarkable $138,577 more, on average, than their counterparts in the control group over the fourteen years.
Books | Articles | Essays
The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy
Greider, William (2003) The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy. Simon & Schuster
Books | Articles | Essays
Emerging Labor Market Institutions for the Twenty-First Century
Freeman, Richard, Hersch, Joni, and Mishel, Lawrence (2005). Emerging Labor Market Institutions for the Twenty-First Century. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.