Urban across the Country

Urban’s researchers partner with state and local leaders to provide the evidence, tools, and support they need to improve lives and strengthen communities. This work includes strategic advising to translate research into action, program evaluations to measure effectiveness, and research and data analysis to inform decisionmaking. Our experts develop custom data tools and modeling to support equitable resource allocation and lead community-engaged research and convenings to ensure policies reflect local priorities.

Use this page to explore Urban’s work. Search by region to see examples of our research, and filter by evidence and products to narrow results by topic or type of work.

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State and community data tools
Explore our work by state
Testimony The Potential Impacts of Devolution on State Government Programs and Finances
Devolution is a mixed blessing for states. The positive side of the ledger the increased flexibility in using funds that may accompany block grants has been widely discussed, although it is impossible to be certain about how states will take advantage of that flexibility. Less attention has been
Research Report Medical Savings Accounts
This report reviews some recent literature about medical savings accounts (MSAs), but its focus is on how MSAs might work in practice, how they interact with other insurance and reforms, and issues that are of particular relevance for state policies on MSAs. The report explores the merits and
Research Report The Simple Arithmetic of Flat Taxes
Senior Fellow Eugene Steuerle explains that while tax reform might entail useful simplification of the tax code and the removal of many special tax breaks, it also appeals to many because of the low rate contained in a number of flat tax proposals. The size of the tax rate, however, has only a
Research Report Searching for Savings in Medicare
This paper raises a number of concerns about various options and offers a number of examples of ways to slow the growth of Medicare spending.
Research Report Health Insurance Market Reforms
This report clarifies the meaning of the terms used in the insurance reform debate and reviews the current state of the health insurance market. The report defines packages of reforms that can improve the market without aggravating selection problems. These packages are listed in ascending order of