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2022-01-13
Morrison & Foerster LLP;
Achieving rapid, large-scale improvements in social, environmental, and economic outcomes for people and business in all countries around the world is an imperative that requires an "all hands on deck" approach. It is not enough to leave it to governmental and non-governmental organizations to do the hard work of addressing climate change, environmental degradation, and inequalities in health outcomes, education, and social welfare. On the other hand, while many businesses have also taken steps to address these problems, we cannot rely on the goodwill of business interests at large to reform economic systems to promote sustainable growth. Social enterprises therefore have a vital role to play in bridging this gap. Social enterprises integrate social, environmental, and other impact objectives with traditional business practices and techniques to seek profitable, and therefore self-sustaining, operations while serving the common good. Although social enterprises can be found in all corners of the world, most jurisdictions suffer from a dearth of laws and policies that support them, and in some cases, requirements that may be an actual hindrance to their proliferation.Accordingly, we have produced this social enterprise law and policy report (this "Report") to identify legal structures and policies that nations can adopt to catalyze the advancement of social enterprises around the world. The recommendations and observations included in this Report have been derived from our review of laws and policies that help social enterprises flourish in 83 jurisdictions around the world, covering every inhabited continent and every major legal structure.
2022-05-05
Greenpeace;
This study looks at and evaluates the European Union's Sustainability Impact Assessments (SIAs) carried out in the framework of trade negotiations involving the EU. SIAs are a tool used by the Directorate-General for Trade (DG Trade) of the European Commission (EC) with the objective to assess the potential economic, social and environmental impacts of a future trade agreement, inform the negotiations and shape the final agreement accordingly.The first SIA was conducted for multilateral trade negotiations when at the turn of the millennium the World Trade Organization (WTO) wanted to expand its trade regime. Over the two following decades, the EU perpetuated the use of SIAs for its bilateral trade agreements and institutionalised it so as to become, in the words of the Commission, a "key instrument for the formulation of sound, transparent and evidence-based trade policies". At the time of writing, 31 SIAs have been completed and four are being conducted.This study is based on a review of the most recent SIAs, academic literature and interviews with civil society actors involved in SIAs. It aims to establish the state of play of the EU's use of SIAs more than 20 years after they were first implemented. It gives insight into both the way SIAs are made and the role they play in the making of trade agreements.
2022-06-03
American Immigration Council;
New research from the American Immigration Council underscores the crucial role Hispanic Texans play in the Rio Grande Valley's labor force, population growth, and economy. This new fact sheet was prepared in partnership with the Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Texans for Economic Growth.
2022-05-13
Maine Center for Economic Policy;
The improved and expanded monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC) has been one of the most successful and popular American Rescue Plan Act programs, providing flexibility to parents to buy food, make rent, afford child care, and other routine but essential family expenses. It dramatically lowered the number of U.S. children living in poverty -- and the ripple effect made our economy stronger by increasing spending in local economies and supporting jobs as families use the money to purchase food, pay bills, and cover school and childcare expenses.National studies confirm CTC payments succeeded in reducing adversity for kids and improving economic stability across the country. And in MECEP's report, How the Child Tax Credit was spent in Maine, we can now see specifically how it benefited Maine families as well.
2022-05-17
Roosevelt Institute;
On February 24, 2022, the Biden administration unveiled a massive, history-making collection of supply chain reports. A combined 1,358 pages in length, these 19 reports were written by seven federal agencies and numerous staff from a network of 17 national labs. Collectively, they represent the first time since the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration that the US federal government has taken it upon itself to not only inventory the industrial resources of the national and global economies, but also set out detailed industrial policy targets designed to equip those industries to meet today's most important existential challenges. Released on the same day as Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, the reports understandably received little notice from the press and public. But amid the growing geo-economic rift wrought by the war, policymakers of democracies are attempting to rapidly unwind their economic exposure to autocracies—making the reports even more relevant.This issue brief highlights three of the reports' most important contributions. First, the reports demonstrate that everything is related to climate now. Whether the authoring agency is seen as having an environmental mandate or not, and whether the industry under study in a given report is obviously climate-related (like green hydrogen) or not (semiconductors), guaranteeing the future resilience of every industry requires planning for the destabilization that the climate crisis has brought and will continue to bring. Second, the supply chain reports show that policy in Washington is increasingly oriented toward a broader conception of the role of the state in the economy that goes beyond remedying narrow market failures. The final—and crucial—point these reports demonstrate is that policymakers have still not settled on a fully fledged paradigm for what precisely this broader role for the state could or should look like, nor what governance institutions should be formed to support that new role. The scope of this new role could include fostering better coordination among competing and complementary demands for scarce resources, standing up new institutions and sticks to hold industry accountable, and directly producing and owning needed resources. Additionally, policymakers should rewrite international rules to better support this agenda and learn to leverage the power of organized labor as a partner in industrial policy, which can in turn aid racial justice and material equality.
2022-05-11
Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy;
President Biden and South Korea's new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, have a historic opportunity to forge a closer U.S.-R.O.K. alliance. Two Presidents, One Agenda: A Blueprint for South Korea and the United States to Address the Challenges of the 2020s and Beyond is a series of articles that present the two presidents with specific policy recommendations addressing the most significant security and economic challenges and opportunities the two allies face in the years ahead. The articles are divided into two major categories: the shifting geopolitics of Northeast Asia, and economic and trade issues. There are 12 topics total under these two major areas. For each of the bigger geostrategic and economic issues, prominent experts – one from the United States, the other from the ROK—present recommendations on how each of their countries can deal with these challenges. For more narrow issues, a single expert, either American or Korean, offers recommendations. All of the writers are leading experts in their field with significant scholarly credentials. In addition, many have extensive government experience as well. Given all the shifts transforming the international environment, the United States and South Korea cannot afford a "business as usual" approach to their relations. This essay collection will chart a way forward for both administrations.
2022-05-04
Appalachian Funders Network (AFN);
Appalachia is a region of contrasts. Rich history, abundant natural beauty, and hard-working, good-hearted people co-exist alongside enduring poverty and unemployment, polluted abandoned mine lands, chronic poor health, and widespread opioid abuse. Appalachia is historically under-resourced and underinvested. A 2017 report showed granting foundations spent only $43.00 per person in Appalachia versus the national average of $451.00. This means the average Appalachian resident had access to less than 10% of the charitable giving funds available to most Americans; yet, the need for investment and charitable giving in Appalachia is greater now than ever due to higher rates of poverty and unemployment, struggles with educational achievement, and poor health outcomes.These current facts do not have to be the final story of Appalachia. Geoff Marietta, an Eastern Kentucky investor and founder of Invest 606, eastern Kentucky's business accelerator and pitch competition, said in a recent interview that "if you want to be successful in investing, you have to know a secret...you have to know something no one else knows, because if everyone else knows, it becomes price competitive." The secret Geoff knows is simple: Appalachia is one of the best places in America to invest. There is a movement across the region with local residents leading the charge to rewrite the story of Appalachia as people are currently investing in their communities like never before. After over a century of relying on coal, a single extractive industry, locals are spurring an entrepreneurship renaissance and making their hometowns places where they want to continue living and others want to start visiting.This playbook builds on the momentum of the Appalachian Investment Ecosystem Initiative, Invest Appalachia, Central Appalachian Network, Appalachian Funders Network, and countless other efforts to foster sustainable economic development across the region, and provides communities with tools and resources to stimulate downtown revitalization.
2022-05-26
Demos;
This case study is part of Demos' new Economic Democracy project, which asks how poor and working-class people, especially in Black and brown communities, can exercise greater control over the economic institutions that shape their lives. This framework has 3 goals:Break up and regulate new corporate power, including Amazon, Google, and Facebook.Expand the meaning of public goods and ensure that services are equitably and publicly administered.Strengthen "co-governance" strategies so that people and public agencies can collectively make decisions about the economy.With the accelerating frequency of climate disasters, it is especially important to build the power of those most impacted by disasters— often Black, brown, and Indigenous communities—to ensure they have equitable access to the resources needed to recover and move forward.This case study spotlights how the New Economy Project (NEP) launched the Public Bank NYC (PBNYC) campaign to build a public bank in New York City that is specifically configured to serve Black and brown communities. By shifting the focus of finance from private profits to the public welfare, public banks can begin to repair harms caused by longstanding discriminatory practices that have extracted wealth from Black and brown people and neighborhoods, like predatory lending, overdraft fees, and redlining.
2022-06-14
American Immigration Council;
New research from the American Immigration Council highlights the crucial role that new Americans play in Arizona's economy, including in some of the state's fastest-growing and most in-demand fields, like healthcare, education, and the skilled trades. Still, the state is facing critical workforce shortages across the skills and education spectrum. One meaningful way for Arizona to remain competitive and tackle these workforce shortages is by increasing access to higher education for Dreamers. By passing Proposition 308, Arizona would join more than 20 states that recognize the financial hardship that out-of-state tuition imposes on young Dreamers. Granting access to in-state tuition to all Arizona graduates is an important step toward meeting critical workforce needs and would greatly benefit the state's economy.
2022-01-27
Upstart Co-Lab;
The creative economy is defined as a set of art, culture, design and innovation industries, and the economic contribution of those industries within a geographic region. A unique set of industries comprises each local creative economy, reflecting the culture, traditions and heritage of that place. Upstart Co-Lab identified 145 industriesthat states and regions across the U.S. use to define their local creative economy, and grouped these industries into five categories to describe the inclusive creative economy for the benefit of impact investors.
2022-03-21
Annie E. Casey Foundation;
For nearly two decades, the Annie E. Casey Foundation has been a key partner in the redevelopment of a 31-acre former industrial site in Atlanta's Pittsburgh neighborhood. Though the project — now known as Pittsburgh Yards — has evolved since UPS first sold the land to AECF Atlanta Realty (a subsidiary of the Casey Foundation) in 2006, the mission has remained the same: spur more equitable career, entrepreneurship and wealth-building opportunities for Black residents in the surrounding communities of Neighborhood Planning Unit V (NPU-V).To realize that vision, staff in Casey's Atlanta Civic Site, which serves as primary investor and advisor on the project, used the Foundation's Race Equity and Inclusion Action Guide as a blueprint. In doing so, Casey and the Pittsburgh Yards development team have prioritized community engagement from the start, maximizing community-based strengths and assets and creating pathways for residents to participate in key decisionmaking processes.This brief describes those community engagement efforts and identifies lessons and recommendations that may be useful to other organizations interested in undertaking similar redevelopment efforts.
2022-04-13
FWD.US;
New FWD.us statistical analysis shows that longtime holders of Temporary Protected Status (TPS)—a designation granted by the Department of Homeland Security offering work authorization and deportation protections for individuals in the U.S. who cannot safely return to their home countries—are able to contribute significantly to the U.S. economy.
