The Winter 2017 edition of Communities and Banking is now available.

Click here to access the issue. 

Communities & Banking magazine, published by the Bank’s Regional & Community Outreach team, aims to be the central forum for the sharing of information about low and moderate-income issues in New England. 

See below for articles featured in this issue:

1. Combining Earnings with Public Supports: Cliff Effects in Massachusetts by Randy Albelda and Michael Carr, University of Massachusetts Boston | Safety-net benefits decrease as recipients’ income increases, but the result can be an overall drop in resources—sometimes so sharp that it feels like falling off a cliff.
   
   
2. How Banks Can Support Workforce Development by Edison Reyes, Federal Reserve Bank of New York | When financial institutions partner with workforce development programs, the beneficiaries include job seekers, businesses, and the entire community.
   
   
3. Income Inequality and the Decision to Drop Out of High School by Melissa S. Kearney and Phillip B. Levine | When inequality is high, does being at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder push students to work harder to climb the rungs, or do some just give up hope?
   
   
4. Lessons Learned in the First Year of the Invest in College Success Pilot by Sarah Savage, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston | A pilot offering an incentivized savings program, financial education, and advising on paying for college takes stock of student uptake and retention rates after the first year.
   
   
5. Cliff Effects and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Children’s HealthWatch | The harm to families, children, and society as a whole when SNAP benefits are reduced or eliminated too suddenly is multifaceted and far ranging.
   
   
6. Viewpoint: The Next Chapter of Education Reform: Building a New Human Capital Engine by Paul Reville, Harvard Graduate School of Education | The Harvard Graduate School of Education and mayors of six U.S. cities are collaborating to build a better system of education for the 21st century.
   
   
7. Mapping New England: Credit Card Delinquency Rates by Amy Higgins, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston | At the state level, Vermont and Rhode Island have the lowest and highest delinquency rates, respectively, in the region, while four separate counties, all in Maine, reported the highest delinquency rates at that level.


8. Making the Case for Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs) by Anthony Poore, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston | Policymakers are more likely to support CSAs when they understand the political and economic benefits attached to doing so.
   
   
9. Revaluing Black America by Bithiah Carter and Ange-Marie Hancock, New England Blacks in Philanthropy | An undervaluing of people, communities, and assets results in underestimation of black giving. This undervaluation has roots in racism and con¬tributes to the persistence of the wealth gap between whites and blacks.
   
   
10. Immigrants: An Important Part of Maine’s Economic Development Strategy by Carla Dickstein, John Dorrer, Elizabeth Love, and Tae Chong | Immigrants represent a small fraction of Maine’s population, but they are vital to the state’s economic future. A cross-sector group is finding ways to attract and integrate newcomers.
    
    
11. Race, Ethnicity, and Jobs in Rhode Island by Douglas Hall, Economic Progress Institute | Rhode Island’s minority workers were hit harder by the Great Recession than their white counterparts and historically have experienced higher rates of unemployment and lower median wages.