Related UI Researchers

Publications on International Issues

The Urban Institute and National League of Cities developed this series of 10 guides for city and county elected officials, and their staffs, to help them obtain and use information about the results of their governments' services in helping their citizens. The Guides address such issues as: improving strategic planning; improving budgeting decisions; reviewing programs throughout the year; helping motivate their government's employees and contractors; and two-way communications with citizens on what citizens are getting for their money. Specific actions are suggested, and examples are provided.

This study, the first comprehensive look at IRS data on more than 26,000 environmental and conservation organizations – 8,000 of which had revenues of $25,000 or more – reveals a core of prominent national organizations and a larger, more rapidly growing universe of regional, local, and other specialized groups. Taken as a whole, the environmental movement expanded in number of organizations, members, and in total revenues almost every year since 1960. It focused less on advocacy than on projects and education, and was younger, more densely networked, and more dependent upon grants and contributions than was the nonprofit sector in general.

This paper examines developments in aggregate income and the labor market of the 28 countries from Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union (CEE-FSU) in the period from 1990 to 2006. Income, employment, unemployment and labor market support services are examined in tabulations and time series regressions. Comparisons are made with developments in major countries from other regions of the world.

Private health insurance can lead to interactive effects with the public health system. It is possible that care delivered under private insurance is not replacing public spending, but increasing total national spending on health care. And because comprehensive policies lower the out-of-pocket price for obtaining public services, this type of coverage may increase the use of those services, thereby increasing public spending. This study assesses the impact of private health insurance coverage on the use of health services in New Zealand, using 2002/2003 New Zealand Health Survey data.

Africa's cities purchase much more food domestically than the continent imports or exports; they represent economic hope if rural and peri-urban producers learn to meet their particular food demands, including more meat, dairy, and processed foods. Increased efficiency will come with more onsite processing, contract enforcement, and distribution centers. Best practices from South Africa include the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market and Thohoyandou Spar Supermarket requiring their agents to purchase a share of their fresh vegetables from small growers. Efforts to strengthen regulation and raise standards must remember that the urban poor depend on public markets, the informal sector and "inferior" products.