Urban Institute Latest Reports
The Urban Institute is a nonprofit nonpartisan policy research and educational organization established to examine the social, economic, and governance problems facing the nation.

• Who Has Insurance and Who Does Not in the District of Columbia?
  DC fares better than the nation as a whole in the share of its population that is uninsured. Lower rates of employer-sponsored coverage are more than offset by higher rates of public coverage. The District's relatively generous Medicaid eligibility standards, and the DC HealthCare Alliance, a locally funded coverage program, contribute to the high share of publicly insured residents. Although all low-income individuals are eligible for either Medicaid or the Alliance, some 66,000 residents remain uninsured. These are among the findings of this data brief on insurance status in DC by age, employment, income, family status, and health status.
• Retaining Older Volunteers Is Key to Meeting Future Volunteer Needs
  The boomers' impending retirement has spurred interest in tapping their productive energies to benefit society. This study examines older adults' decisions to stop or start formal volunteer work. The findings show that older adults usually stick with their original decisions, but more often stop than start volunteering. Volunteers who contribute a lot of hours over many years and who are married to volunteers are less likely to quit. And nonvolunteers are more likely to start volunteering if they have been uninvolved for few years and their spouses volunteer. The results highlight the importance of volunteer retention strategies for nonprofit agencies.
• Volunteer Transitions among Older Americans
  As the nation ages, older adults' volunteer activities are becoming increasingly important This study uses longitudinal data from a nationally representative survey to examine entries into and exits from volunteer activities by adults age 55 to 65. The findings reveal considerable persistence among both volunteers and nonvolunteers; however, older adults are more likely to stop volunteering than to start. Duration and intensity of volunteering, as well as marriage to a volunteer, are strong predictors of continued volunteer activities. And, the time spent away from volunteer activities, as well as marriage to a nonvolunteer decreases the odds of volunteer starts.
• Will Boomer Retirees Form a New Army of Volunteers?
  As the first phalanx of the 76 million-strong baby boom generation begins turning 62 and receiving Social Security benefits January 1, will they create a massive army of willing and able volunteers? Researchers from the Urban Institute's Retirement Project examine this question in three new research briefs.
• Will Retiring Boomers Form a New Army of Volunteers?
  This study looks at older adults retiring between 1996 and 2004 to see who engages in formal volunteering after retirement. The results, based on data from the Health and Retirement Survey, show that while most volunteers acquire the volunteer habit while still working, a significant share begins volunteer work after retirement. Among adults who retire, 45 percent engage in formal volunteer activities even though only 34 percent of these same adults volunteered while working. Since boomer cohorts following this group will be much larger, nonprofit organizations seem destined to benefit from a significant growth in the services of retirees.
• Are We Taking Full Advantage of Older Adults' Potential?
  Staying engaged in work and formal volunteer activities at older ages significantly benefits the well-being of the volunteers, the organizations that count on them, the people served by those organizations, and the economy. This study, based on data from the Health and Retirement Survey, shows that over 10 million healthy older adults with no caregiving responsibilities did not work or volunteer in 2004. About half of these able seniors are under age 75 and 9 out of 10 have prior work experience. Given this untapped potential, shortages of volunteers and workers should prompt employers and nonprofits to court this talent.
• District of Columbia Housing Monitor Summer 2007
  The District of Columbia Housing Monitor provides a quarterly look at the Washington, D.C., housing market, tracking home prices, real estate listings, new construction, and affordable housing. This issue's special section reports on neighborhood-level housing price trends and highlights the continuing strong price growth in neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River.
• Better Workers for Better Jobs : Improving Worker Advancement in the Low-Wage Labor Market
  Low-wage workers in the United States are falling further and further behind their higher-earning counterparts. This brief examines a discussion paper for The Hamilton Project, proposing a new federal funding stream to identify, expand, and replicate the most successful state and local worker advancement initiatives. Under the proposed Worker Advancement Grants for Employment in States (WAGES ) program, the federal government would offer up to $5 billion annually in matching funds for increases in state, local, and private expenditures on worker advancement initiatives.
• Better Workers for Better Jobs : Improving Worker Advancement in the Low-Wage Labor Market
  This paper proposes a new federal funding stream to identify, expand, and replicate the most successful state and local initiatives designed to spur the advancement of low-wage workers in the United States. In the Worker Advancement Grants for Employment in States (WAGES) program, the federal government would offer up to $5 billion annually in matching funds for increases in state, local, and private expenditures on worker advancement initiatives. To gain funding, states would have to develop local advancement "systems", partnerships would be developed between local training providers and financial supports for the working poorincluding child care, transportation, and stipends for working studentswould have to be funded. Initially, the WAGES program would require states to compete for federal grants; states would have an incentive to innovate and use information from other initiatives. The federal government would provide substantial technical assistance and oversight.
• Have Middle-Income Married Couples Prospered with Age?
  Using data from the Federal Reserve Board's Surveys of Consumer Finances (SCFs), we follow one segment of a cohort over its life cyclemarried couples as the husband ages from 3644 in 1989 to 5159 in 2004. We find that middle-income and lower-middle-income married-couple households experienced modest income growth but rapid growth in net worth. Overall, the evidence documents significant gains in income and wealth as married couples aged from their late 30s to their 50s.
• Revenue and Distributional Effects of the Individual Income and Estate Tax Provisions of Senator Thompson's Plan for Tax Relief and Economic Growth
  Republican Presidential Candidate Fred Thompson has announced a tax plan that combines tax cut extensions, additional tax cuts, and an election to pay tax under a new alternative tax system that would substitute a larger standard deduction for all current deductions and credits and have two rates of 10 and 25 percent. Thompson's plan would reduce federal revenues by $6-7 trillion over ten years, amounting to a reduction of almost 20 percent below current projections, and would be highly regressive. This article describes the proposed changes in the individual income and estate tax and examines their implications for revenue and the distribution of tax burdens.
• Should People Work Longer, and Will They?
  Older adults' employment is attracting attention as many baby boomers approach traditional retirement ages. This fact sheet examines the benefits of working longer, the characteristics of today's older workers, and recent changes in older Americans' labor supply.
• Are Employers Willing to Hire and Retain Older Workers?
  Older adults' employment is attracting attention as many baby boomers approach traditional retirement ages. This fact sheet examines employers' current attitudes toward older workers and the likely future demand for their services.
• The Experiences of SCHIP Enrollees and Disenrollees in 10 States : Findings from the Congressionally Mandated SCHIP Evaluation
  Congress mandated in the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 (BBRA) that the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services conduct an independent comprehensive study of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This report presents the findings from the mandated surveys of SCHIP enrollees and disen