News
Here’s what NJ’s latest economic data indicates
Rutgers professor Will Irving was less sanguine about the office market and the state’s economy. With respect to a hard or soft landing, he said, “it’s still a landing, and the landing that we’re seeing in New Jersey is a little ahead and a little harder than we’re seeing elsewhere.”
Xie and Smart Research Spatial Accessibility of PCPs
This study examines the spatial accessibility of primary care physicians (PCPs) in New Jersey and neighboring areas.
Progress & Poverty Institute Bloustein Scholarship Recipients
The Progress and Poverty Institute (PPI) and the Bloustein School are pleased to announce the recipients of the inaugural Progress of Ideas Scholarship Program. Established by PPI, the Progress of Ideas scholarship program was created to support graduate students in the areas of public policy and economic equity/justice, part of PPI’s organizational mission.
Funding for lawmakers’ pet projects largely flowed to Democratic districts
“If a legislator is threatened, if their district is more at risk, they get greater consideration,” said Marc Pfeiffer, a senior policy fellow at Rutgers University’s Center for Urban Research who has long experience in state and local government.
Can Trump tariffs, state aid spur NJ manufacturing resurgence? There are many hurdles
By 1943, over half of the jobs in New Jersey were manufacturing, said James Hughes, an economist at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.
Greenberg, Mayer Review DOE’s Nuclear Storage Collaboration
We examine the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s collaborative process to locate, build, and operate one or more federal consolidated interim storage facilities (FCISFs) for commercial U.S. spent nuclear fuel—instead of continuing to store the material at over 70 nuclear reactor sites.
NJ’s credit rating just improved again. Here’s why it matters
The rating upgrade announcement is “very reputational,” said Marc Pfeiffer, a senior policy fellow at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, who studies local government in New Jersey.
NJSPL Summer Intern Presentation Videos
Last week, the New Jersey State Policy Lab’s most recent cohort of summer interns presented on their respective areas of public policy research on August 6th, and the recordings of these presentations are now available.
Prof. Cantor Discusses Housing as a Public Health Issue
Homelessness nearly doubled in 2025 with the lifting of the COVID-era eviction moratorium. Cantor noted that New Jersey has focused additional resources to support residents, but needs federal help. He’s also concerned that President Donald Trump’s recent executive order punishing homelessness as a crime will make things worse.
Relocate or repair question creating post disaster cracks
“Our study reveals that residents and officials across all levels of government are concerned about the financial implications of coastal risk strategies – underscoring the need to clearly demonstrate the long-term economic benefits of alternatives like voluntary relocation and to bolster both household and local fiscal resilience to climate and political shocks.” said Geronimo
Cultural Factors Driving Severe Repetitive Flood Losses
A central debate was whether public resources should support staying or leaving the island. Key concerns included the economic impacts of strategies on household and public finances, the effectiveness of strategies to mitigate future flood damages, and fairness in the distribution of costs and responsibilities.
NJSPL Report: Supporting Aging in Place in New Jersey
Our key findings indicate that the model faces significant regulatory, labor market, and financial challenges. These challenges prevented the ALPs from growing in the past decade, resulting in many older low-income New Jerseyans remaining underserved.