On the last Friday of each month, the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute’s research team shares a curated list of books, research papers, podcasts, and more that are helping to shape our understanding of the economic wellbeing of the Granite State and beyond.

Here are our picks for February 2025:

📄 Reach and Utility of the New Hampshire Child Care Scholarship Program – The Carsey School of Public Policy

“Around 55,000 New Hampshire children under age 13 are estimated to be eligible for the recently expanded New Hampshire Child Care Scholarship Program (CCSP)…In fall 2024, 4,348 children were enrolled in the CCSP, about 7 to 8 percent of those who are eligible, although this number has been steadily rising.”

📄 Why New England’s Labor Force Participation Has Been Recovering So Slowly since the COVID-19 Pandemic – Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

“Given the role of population aging, policies might seek to promote flexible work options enabling older people to stay in the workforce longer if they desire…Policies might also aim to reinforce the labor force attachment of women, minorities, and foreign-born individuals, as these groups have strengthened the region’s participation recovery…Deterring domestic out-migration from New England will require addressing pervasive cost-of-living concerns. Finally, supporting further public and private investment in education and workforce training will be critical, as the region’s skilled workforce has long been recognized as key to its economic vitality.”

📄 Low-Income Workers Experience—By Far—the Most Earnings and Work Hours Instability – The Brookings Institution

“More than half of low-income households who reported that their income is volatile also reported an irregular schedule, compared to a quarter of those with stable income who also reported having irregular schedules.”

📄 How Much Will ACA Premium Payments Rise if Enhanced Subsidies Expire? – Kaiser Family Foundation

“If the enhanced subsidies expire, monthly premium payments for the vast majority of Marketplace enrollees will increase sharply starting January 1, 2026. Among subsidized enrollees living in states that use Healthcare.gov, premium payments would have been an average of 93% higher in 2024 without the enhanced tax credits. If these enhanced subsidies expire, the Congressional Budget Office projects that there will be an average of 3.8 million more uninsured people each year.”

📄 Extending TCJA Provisions Would Modestly Boost The Economy, But Not Enough To Offset The Cost – Tax Policy Center

“…[E]xtending the tax cuts disproportionally benefits high-income households…Lower-income households…owe little to no federal income tax, so they would not benefit from the TCJA extensions until receiving tax refunds in 2027 (through refundable tax credits)….[T]he Federal Reserve would likely maintain higher interest rates to prevent the economy from overheating after this infusion of cash. Higher rates make borrowing more expensive for businesses and households, discouraging investment and spending. These effects would dampen [economic] growth after the extension in our model.

💡 Have you read something that should be on our radar? Share it with us at info@nhfpi.org—we’d love to hear from you!