The way New Jersey’s Economic Development Authority has awarded incentives over the years has come under fire recently, spurring a call for an audit by Gov. Phil Murphy when he took office in January. But Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and...
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NJ Tax-Incentive Programs Under Microscope — High Cost of Camden Jobs Noted
A long-awaited analysis of New Jersey’s controversial economic-development tax-incentive programs was just made public yesterday, and it recommends a series of changes related to cost concerns. They include streamlining bonus policies that companies can use to get...
Uncertainty for Obamacare plans, as Washington and New Jersey take different paths
Eight years after former President Barack Obama's signature law was enacted without any Republican support, it continues to be the subject of bitter partisan divisions. As Democratic-controlled states like New Jersey try to compensate for steps taken in Washington to...
Unemployment down in NJ but wages not rising fast enough
Industries that lost jobs include leisure and hospitality, information, and financial activities. Meanwhile, public sector employment in Jersey rose by 800 jobs. “I guess you could say New Jersey’s economy is doing OK,” said Rutgers University economist James Hughes....
EDA, Rutgers unveil skeptical tax credit report
Are economic incentives and tax credits actually helping New Jersey? A state report by the Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy said “it’s too soon to tell if the tax deals are helping New Jersey’s economy.” But the report also suggested...
Have Office Parks Become Obsolete?
The same demographic trends threatening New Jersey’s malls have left the state with dozens of abandoned office parks—sometimes referred to as “gray fields”—and countless vacancies in suburban office buildings. Lately, however, technology has changed the workplace...
Can New Jersey’s Dying Malls Be Saved?
It’s widely believed that online shopping poses the greatest threat to New Jersey’s malls. Retail forecaster Forrester predicts that Web sales will constitute 11 percent of total U.S. retail this year, up from 8 percent in 2013. That doesn’t seem like a huge chunk, so...
Bayonne student petition leads to traffic lights on Avenue C and 12th Street
Marcella Traina was 13 years old when she first encountered a problem with the 12th Street and Avenue C intersection. As she crossed the street, she had to run away from a passing car, just barely escaping injury. Ever since that moment, Traina, a junior public policy...
Philadelphians feel squeezed as US economy seems to hum. That's a poverty problem
Nine years into recession recovery, the upper 1 percent is thriving, while workers' chances to see increased wages are waning, experts say. Unions are eroding in influence, as globalization and technology (checkout computers at Target instead of cashiers) are keeping...
Why wage growth isn't keeping pace with a tightening labor market
Bill Rodgers, Rutgers University professor and economist, and Joe Watkins, Republican strategist, discuss why wages haven't grown much amid a tight labor market and what the strong June jobs reports says about the U.S. economy. CNBC, July 6, 2018