All Published NJSPL Reports

  • One Million More Acres Report

Report Release: One Million More Acres: We’re One-Third of the Way There…

May 17th, 2023|Comments Off on Report Release: One Million More Acres: We’re One-Third of the Way There…

By Thomas G. Dallessio. As the nation’s most densely populated state, New Jersey has a reputation for suburban sprawl development that belies its nickname, “The Garden State.” “You’re from Jersey? What Exit?” is both a joke and a truism for many [...]

  • The Status of New Jersey's Childcare Infrastructure Report

Report Release: The Status of New Jersey’s Childcare Infrastructure

May 10th, 2023|Comments Off on Report Release: The Status of New Jersey’s Childcare Infrastructure

By Jocelyn Fischer and Debra Lancaster While children, parents, and employers have felt the sting of childcare market failures for several decades, deficiencies in the market were made more apparent and were more deeply felt as a result of pandemic-related closures and labor shifts [...]

  • Using Technology to Reduce SNAP Learning Costs Report

Report Release: Using Technology to Reduce SNAP Learning Costs: Lessons from a Survey Experiment

April 27th, 2023|Comments Off on Report Release: Using Technology to Reduce SNAP Learning Costs: Lessons from a Survey Experiment

By Stephanie Walsh, Ph.D. Interactions with government processes, whether to renew a driver’s license or apply for public assistance, commonly include frictions referred to as administrative burdens. Administrative burdens occur [...]

  • Garden State Open Data Index

Report Release: Garden State Open Data Index

February 16th, 2023|Comments Off on Report Release: Garden State Open Data Index

By Jim Samuel. Open data and artificial intelligence (AI) are vital for future value creation. The value of aligning open data with AI development and deployment requirements has been elaborated upon in the Garden State Open Data Index (GSODI) 2023 report [...]

  • Math Course-taking in New Jersey High Schools

Report Release: Disparities in High-Leverage Mathematics Course-Taking in New Jersey, 2016-2020

January 5th, 2023|Comments Off on Report Release: Disparities in High-Leverage Mathematics Course-Taking in New Jersey, 2016-2020

By Vandeen A. Campbell, Ph.D. The New Jersey State Policy Lab, in collaboration with the Joseph C. Cornwall Center for Metropolitan Studies, is releasing a report that examines patterns in high school math course-taking across [...]

  • Childcare Supply-Demand in New Jersey

Data Brief Release: A Supply-Demand Model Informs Childcare Market Deficits in New Jersey: Estimates Point to Need for More Data

December 8th, 2022|Comments Off on Data Brief Release: A Supply-Demand Model Informs Childcare Market Deficits in New Jersey: Estimates Point to Need for More Data

By Sarah F. Small and Debra Lancaster. Failing childcare markets have been detrimental to the US economy in recent years.[1] We have examined the childcare crisis in New Jersey from both the supply side and the demand side [...]

  • Equitable Property Acquisitions & Flood Buyback

Report Release: Equitable Property Acquisitions to Enhance Climate Resilience

November 3rd, 2022|Comments Off on Report Release: Equitable Property Acquisitions to Enhance Climate Resilience

With support from the New Jersey State Policy Lab, the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center Climate Corps conducted research to better understand how flood buyback and managed retreat programs are organized and administered nationwide. [...]

  • Discipline Disparities in NJ High Schools

Discipline Inequity and Segregation in New Jersey’s High Schools

September 19th, 2022|Comments Off on Discipline Inequity and Segregation in New Jersey’s High Schools

By Elisabeth Kim, PhD. The most segregated high schools in New Jersey often have the highest suspension rates. For example, this is the case for schools that serve large percentages of students of color (90%+) [...]

  • Adjusted Intercounty Equalized Municipal Tax Rates in New Jersey, 2020

What Influences Differences in New Jersey’s Municipal Tax Rates?

September 12th, 2022|Comments Off on What Influences Differences in New Jersey’s Municipal Tax Rates?

by Michael Lahr, Tia Azzi, and Maia de la Calle, Rutgers Economic Advisory Service It is vital for New Jersey policymakers to understand what affects municipal tax rates. In this brief, we analyze local government [...]

Does the Decision to Allow Local Cannabis-Related Businesses Impact Home Sale Prices?

September 1st, 2022|Comments Off on Does the Decision to Allow Local Cannabis-Related Businesses Impact Home Sale Prices?

by Michael S. Hayes, Associate Professor, Rutgers University-Camden and Prakash Kandel, Ph.D. Student, Rutgers University-Camden During the 2020 general election, New Jersey voters approved a ballot question to amend the state constitution to allow residents [...]

New Jersey’s Changing Population and Childcare Needs

August 24th, 2022|Comments Off on New Jersey’s Changing Population and Childcare Needs

by Sarah F. Small and Debra Lancaster Like many parents in the United States, New Jersey parents have faced some formidable obstacles finding accessible quality childcare. This is particularly true given changes in the childcare [...]

  • Freshman Science Course Taking

Equal Access to STEM Pathways? A Closer Look at Science Course-taking Trends in New Jersey’s High Schools

July 28th, 2022|Comments Off on Equal Access to STEM Pathways? A Closer Look at Science Course-taking Trends in New Jersey’s High Schools

by Vandeen Campbell Freshman Year Science Course-taking in NJ, 2016-2019 Note: The total number of schools and students represented in each chart panel varied slightly each year. In 2019-20, 58 high schools (total 9th grade [...]

State Equity Initiatives

June 2nd, 2022|Comments Off on State Equity Initiatives

by Marilyn Rubin Government actions have the potential to make a substantial and lasting impact on equity for all residents. One of government’s most powerful levers for advancing equity is its budget, “the medium through [...]

  • Grandmother, mother and daughter unpacking groceries in the kitchen

Pandemic’s Impact on Women in NJ: Domestic Violence, Access to Healthcare and Housing

May 19th, 2022|Comments Off on Pandemic’s Impact on Women in NJ: Domestic Violence, Access to Healthcare and Housing

By Sarah Small and Debra Lancaster With so much economic precarity brought on by the pandemic, many women in New Jersey have been confronted with issues of homelessness and inaccessible healthcare. According to the US [...]

  • asian chinese mother videocall working from home at dining table with her daughter drawing

COVID-19 and the Gender Wage Gap in New Jersey

March 24th, 2022|Comments Off on COVID-19 and the Gender Wage Gap in New Jersey

With childcare disruptions, deep unemployment, and job changes, women in New Jersey have faced turbulent economic prospects worse than men’s along several dimensions throughout the pandemic. However, New Jersey women are no stranger to economic [...]

  • Evaluation with woman using her smartphone on a couch

Release of “Evaluating Evaluations” Report

March 21st, 2022|Comments Off on Release of “Evaluating Evaluations” Report

Tracy P. Glova The New Jersey State Policy Lab today issued a report on evidence-based policymaking and program evaluation in New Jersey. “Evaluating Evaluations: Analyzing Evidence‐Based Policymaking in New Jersey and Insights from other Leading [...]

  • Organic Food in Bag

Report on Food Security and Organic Waste Reduction

March 3rd, 2022|Comments Off on Report on Food Security and Organic Waste Reduction

Jeanne Herb The New Jersey State Policy Lab and the Organics Workgroup of the NJ Climate Change Alliance have partnered to inform the development of statewide public policy aimed at reducing food waste, contributing to [...]

  • Rent relief sign and almost empty jar with money.

The New Jersey Housing Crisis in a COVID Era

February 24th, 2022|Comments Off on The New Jersey Housing Crisis in a COVID Era

Katharine Nelson Affordable housing is increasingly scarce within the United States, and COVID-19 has dramatically exacerbated the simmering crisis in affordable housing. In New Jersey, the risk of eviction is greater than across the country, [...]

Cannabis Legalization: A Baseline Study

February 14th, 2022|Comments Off on Cannabis Legalization: A Baseline Study

Today, we’re releasing our report, Cannabis Legalization: A Baseline Study, as part of a project led by Dean Charles Menifield, one of the Policy Lab’s Co-Principal Investigators. This report explores education, health, and law enforcement [...]