News
Happy Holidays: Bloustein School Closed 12/25/2025-1/5/2026
From all of us at the Bloustein School, we wish you and yours a very happy holiday season and a happy new year! As a reminder, Rutgers University and the Bloustein School are CLOSED beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 24, 2025 and will not reopen until...
Restrepo-Mieth Analyzes Colombia’s Municipal Water Affordability Programs
Analysis of data from 25 municipalities in Colombia using Qualitative Comparative Analysis shows that three factors are closely related to program adoption and implementation: public utility ownership, program design flexibility that allows municipalities to accommodate their spending capacity, and geographical proximity to early adopters.
Heldrich Center: Updated Multi-State Postsecondary Report Released
A new report for the New Jersey Statewide Data System, written by Ann Obadan, Ph.D., Research Project Manager at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, and Amarachi Chuka-Maduji, former Research Project Assistant at the Heldrich Center and currently at the Delaware Department of Labor, provides an overview of how states and scholars conceptualize the care economy.
Cantor, Yedidia Identify Strategies to Provide Health Care to Homeless
A study by Joel Cantor and Michael Yedidia published in The Milbank Quarterly found that partnerships between housing and health care organizations significantly improve services for people experiencing homelessness by making better use of limited resources. Through interviews with administrators and frontline providers in eight New Jersey programs, researchers identified strategies such as co-locating services, maintaining strong inter-organizational communication, and tailoring care to client needs.
“Work Trends RU” Podcast with Beth Simone Noveck, Ph.D.
Listen to the latest episode of the Heldrich Center’s Work Trends RU podcast, featuring featuring Aaron Fichtner, Ph.D., President of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges. Dr. Fichtner discusses the role New Jersey’s 18 community colleges play in expanding access to higher education, developing a skilled workforce, and meeting the evolving needs of students, employers, and local communities.
Prof. Andrews Interviewed About New Jersey’s Propane Emergency
“[It] can lead to frozen pipes, can lead to sick kids, it could lead to a whole variety of problems,” Prof. Andrews said.
He said that the whole situation underscores how problematic the use of propane can be.
Why your mom’s weekly trip to Boscov’s may be saving N.J.’s struggling malls
For young people at the time, malls weren’t just retail spaces but social hubs. Baby boomers treated mall trips as scheduled weekend activities, using malls to discover new styles, browse new merchandise and hang out with friends, according to James W. Hughes, a Rutgers University economist and professor.
Pfeiffer Ranks on List for Local Political Influence (Daily Targum)
“At the end of the day, (the) government has to make decisions. Some people are going to like it. Some people aren’t. It’s the nature of the beast,” Pfeiffer said.
NJSPL Report: Investor Acquisition of Residential Properties
Corporate ownership of single-family homes and other small residential properties has drawn growing concern from housing advocates and policymakers in New Jersey and nationally. Between 2012 and 2022, corporate ownership of 1–4-unit residential properties more than doubled in the Garden State.
Could layoffs in NJ preview a recession for 2026?
“Things have been tepid for quite a while,” he said, “but this notion that we may be coming toward a recession? We’re looking at sort of middle of next year — at least a recession as you might want to define it at the state level, where we start to see significant job declines.” said Will Irving.
Dean Shapiro: Another Blow to Regulatory Benefit-Cost Analysis
Stuart Shapiro argues that the Trump Administration’s new OIRA memo accelerates deregulation by sidelining rigorous benefit-cost analysis and elevating presidential preferences over economic evidence. He concludes that formally directing agencies to ignore analysis in key situations may signal the end of a decades-long norm that regulatory decisions should be grounded in objective economic evaluation.
Pfeiffer Op-Ed: Governor-elect, we’ve done this before
Dear Gov.-Elect Sherrill: Congratulations! You are now in the public management business. Having spent many years working in New Jersey’s public management arena, I would like to share some key concepts for you, incoming chief of operations Kelly Doucette, and the rest of your team to consider.