News
The Political Machine Won’t Decide NJ’s Next Governor
“The political machines adapt. They’re about surviving. If this is all very effective for them, they will do the same thing again,” Rubin said. “If it doesn’t work, if their preferred candidates don’t win, I fully expect them to change the rules again to make it even easier for them to control the outcome.”
Tariff Uncertainty and its Impact on Economic Forecasting
R/ECON’s next economic forecast is slated for release in mid-summer, followed by another forecast in the fall. As we track the latest state data and national outlook, we have been closely following the news on tariffs, the Fed’s potential actions, and associated fluctuations in the financial markets.
Heldrich Center: Using Data to Help Bolster Workforce Initiatives
The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development provides research expertise and analysis to organizations, including the Fed, to help improve education, training, and workforce development programs that affect employers and employees. By Jennie Blizzard, Fed...
NJSPL Announces 2025 Summer Interns
The New Jersey State Policy Lab is excited to announce that the fourth annual summer internship program has begun at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Six students have been selected to participate in this year’s program, which will encompass ten...
She reviewed a Tampa restaurant on Yelp. Then came a lawsuit.
The legal battle illustrates the fragile relationship between chefs and restaurant owners and the people they serve. In December 2023, Irene Eng sat down for dinner at Hales Blackbrick, a popular spot off Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa specializing in "seasonal New...
“Work Trends RU” Podcast with First Lady Tammy Murphy
In the latest episode of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development's new podcast series, "Work Trends RU," Tammy Murphy, First Lady of New Jersey, discusses her leadership in maternal and infant health in New Jersey, the impacts of the Nurture NJ and Family...
NJSPL: Chatbot for NJ SNAP Services
Built on OpenAI’s API and leveraging the Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) model, the chatbot bridges the gap between users and SNAP resources by delivering answers in English and Spanish (among other languages).
Some Studies Challenge Long-Held Views on Rent Control
As rents soar across California and housing affordability slips further out of reach for millions, an intensifying debate over rent control is being fueled by a growing stack of academic research. For decades, real estate interests and conservative economists have...
TECH UPDATES: “Hey AI, Write a Report on Innovation in Local Government”
A gamechanger for local governments, tasking an AI chatbot with research and writing projects saves you time and trouble, at least for the first draft.
Bloustein School announces faculty promotions
Promotions reflect the high standards of teaching and research for which the Bloustein School is known.
MPI Grad Students Present MOMCare with AI
This paper presents MOMCare, a chatbot designed to support mothers navigating the challenges of PPD. MOMCare has a retrieval-augmented architecture with an end-to-end pipeline from data preprocessing to response generation. It employs hybrid classification, a dual embedding system, a dual verification guardrail, and a medical domain-specific reranking mechanism to generate empathetic and relevant PPD responses.
Samuel Researches Gambling Harm Reduction in Online Spaces
Our exploratory analyses suggest that this reddit forum provides important information on how users communicate motivations to gamble, interpretations of gambling experiences, and define potential harms related to gambling online as well as how to avoid or remedy those harms.