This report explores how governments use technology, what drives technology adoption, and how technologies affect public sector workers and the delivery of public services. Transparency and accountability have lagged behind rapid technology adoption, and public workers can play a critical role in ensuring that technology improves and protects the public good.
Category: Publications
Evaluating the Impact of Proposed Changes to Oakland’s Gross Receipts Tax
As local economies continue to recover from the pandemic downturn, policymakers are focused on how best to use public policy tools to support resilient and equitable economies. Like many cities, Oakland is examining how its business tax structure aligns with the city’s goals and needs. The City Council is considering a proposal to restructure the…
Rebuilding the Public Sector for Economic Recovery and Resilience
Paper for Groundwork Collaborative: full version here. Executive Summary As the country crests the most devastating wave yet of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing optimism that the new administration will act quickly to stem the economic crisis: both by deploying the federal government’s leadership to control the pandemic itself and by using the federal…
California can’t afford to repeat the Great Recession
California’s 2021-22 budget will have an enormous impact on the nature of California’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor’s 2021-22 budget proposal would restore some critical funding for public health and education, but it will not be sufficient to get California’s economy and low-income Californians back on track. To avoid a prolonged economic downturn,…
October update: Public sector impacts of COVID-19
Update of my July data brief on the public sector impacts of COVID-19, with October data