Publications

It is my privilege to serve as the Executive Director of the New Jersey State Policy Lab. Since its launch in 2021, we have worked to build something meaningful—producing high-quality blogs and reports, sharing them widely on our website and across social media, and holding ourselves to a standard of excellence in everything we do. […]

We continue to share preliminary findings from our survey of 1,529 New Jersey residents on their support for sentencing reform in the state across four key areas. The third area of reform concerns the public’s support for implementing practical and equitable reform relating to financial penalties assessed by courts at sentencing. Financial penalties in criminal […]

R/ECON’s economic forecast for New Jersey at the beginning of 2026 is a mixed bag. The state, like the nation, is likely to finish the year with notably stronger GDP growth than forecast earlier in the year. At the same time, the outlook for 2026 continues to show a slowing trajectory for economic growth, coupled […]

The recent 43-day federal government shutdown was driven most prominently by disagreements over healthcare affordability. The immediate impasse centered on expiring pandemic-era subsidies for health insurance in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health Insurance Exchanges. Without these enhanced subsidies, consumers in New Jersey and nationwide face a more than doubling of their insurance premiums, with […]

In February 2024, New Jersey Advocates for Aging Well (NJAAW) conducted a Statewide Survey of Older Adults. This survey gathered both quantitative and qualitative data from residents aged 60+ on the challenges and concerns related to aging in New Jersey. The findings show that the cost of living, including taxes, housing costs, and overall expenses, […]

In 1992, political strategist James Carville famously said, “It’s the economy, stupid!” in reference to the messaging needed to get Bill Clinton elected. Carville’s admonition applied just as much to this year’s state and local elections. There is broad consensus that Mikie Sherrill and other Democrats swept the polls because they centered their campaigns on […]

The New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel, based on Equifax data, provides insights into consumer credit trends, both nationally and by state. More specifically, the survey computes national and regional aggregate measures of individual- and household-level credit balances, and delinquencies by product type. The Consumer Credit Panel also provides new insights into the extent and […]

As New Jersey prepares to elect our next governor tomorrow, November 4th, the months ahead offer a pivotal opportunity to chart a path toward a more innovative and resilient state. To help inform this transition, the New Jersey State Policy Lab invited affiliated faculty and staff to identify the most pressing priorities for the next […]

R/ECON’s economic forecast for New Jersey as of mid-2025 continues to show a slowing trajectory. Annual GDP growth is projected at just 0.5% for 2025, significantly lower than in prior forecasts and markedly below the national rate of 1.5%. Growth will slow slightly to 0.4% in 2026 before rebounding to 1.2% in 2027, though still […]

The Annie E. Casey Foundation has released its 36th Kids Count Data Book, providing updated insights into the well-being of children in New Jersey and across the nation[1]. The report assesses child well-being in all 50 states using 16 key indicators organized into four categories: Economic Well-being, Education, Health, and Family and Community. New Jersey […]

The American Rescue Plan Act’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (ARPA-SLFRF) represent a historic $350 billion investment to support state and local governments in responding to the economic and public health challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Local governments were given flexibility in how these funds could be spent. This study examines how local […]

This ongoing project has provided many insights regarding the most pressing issues facing older residents in New Jersey. The first output from the project, an op-ed by Audrey Meng entitled Cost of Living for Older Adults in New Jersey, was presented along with the results of the NJ Statewide Survey of Older Adults at the […]