Aspen Institute Publications
Aspen Institute publications are listed below. Many are available for purchase through Google Checkout, a secure system for handling credit card transaction online. For assistance with ordering publications, please contact our Publications office by email or by phone at (410) 820.5433. Please note: Orders are shipped two times a week from our warehouse in Queenstown, MD, on the Eastern Shore.
Policy Brief: Whats Good for Women is Good for the Planet
Giving women and girls access to contraception offers a precious co-benefit: a substantial reduction in carbon emissions. The logic is simple: when women have the power to plan their families, populations grow more slowly, as do greenhouse gas emissions.
Funder Guide 16: Microenterprise Programs and Job Creation
Summarizes recent research results indicating the success of microenterprises in creating jobs that provide income for owner and employees alike. It also suggests ways funders might support programs in their services that assist entrepreneurs to succeed and grow their businesses. (4 pages)
Aspen IFS's Testimony at the Department of Labor and Department of the Treasury's Public Hearing on Lifetime Income
Pamela Perun, Policy Director of the Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security, testified before the Department of Labor and Department of the Treasury on the topic of fiduciary safe harbors for the selection of lifetime income issuers and products. Perun’s testimony was one of approximately 45 that were delivered at the two-day public hearing. The Agencies urged panelists to recommend measures to improve the adoption of lifetime income options, helping more Americans to enjoy financial security throughout retirement.
Voices from the Field III: Lessons and Challenges from Two Decades of Community Change Efforts
This volume examines the accomplishments of community change efforts over the past two decades and identifies priority issues around which policy, practice, and learning agendas should be organized going forward.
Champions and "Champion-ness": Measuring Efforts to Create Champions for Policy Change
Creating “policy champions” who can bring about changes in public policy is central to many advocacy projects. But what exactly is a champion for policy change? How can we assess progress in identifying, informing, supporting, or engaging them? This brief describes our process and preliminary experiences. It also highlights challenges we have encountered. We offer these early findings in hopes that colleagues in the emerging advocacy evaluation field will take up some of these challenges and help us all better understand the role of champions in advancing social change.
Construction Pre-Apprenticeship Programs: Interviews with Field Leaders
This publication shares research from interviews with leaders from 25 promising and innovative pre-apprenticeship programs from across the country. The interviews revealed factors that impact how programs are designed and how they might better be utilized as part of a broader workforce development strategy for the construction sector. The publication reviews program leaders’ perspectives on factors influencing the design of their programs, opportunities and challenges associated with financing the work, the merits of incorporating green elements into curricula, and other issues. WSI also makes several recommendations designed to promote workforce development policies that better support and assist these programs as they seek to develop a strong pipeline of employees for the construction industry. Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the report is part of a project investigating how pre-apprenticeship programs are used to train low-income and disadvantaged adults for careers in construction.
Money for Good: The US Market for Impact Investments and Charitable Gifts from Individuals Summary Findings
This research document is a result of an ANDE-funded Capacity Development Fund grant.
Back to Basics: A Savings Approach to Homeownership
Homeownership is a core American value. It epitomizes the American Dream and the opportunity to build better lives for our children. Home equity, as a financial asset, can be a springboard to the acquisition of other important assets like a college education, a small business, and a secure retirement. The Aspen Institute Initiative on Financial Security (Aspen IFS) proposes transforming U.S. housing policy through a dedicated down payment savings vehicle with government incentives available to low- and middle-income Americans. In its previous report, Savings for Life, Aspen IFS recommended Home Accounts as a way to prepare more Americans to become homeowners. This brief details how Home Accounts are a pragmatic vehicle to give low- and middle-income Americans a safer and more secure path to homeownership.
Catalyzing Support for Small Growing Businesses in Developing Countries: Mapping the Policies of International Development Donors & Investors
This report depicts the landscape of development organizations that fund and support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries: 1) multilateral development banks, 2) bilateral government donor agencies, and 3) development finance institutions (DFIs). The report is a new contribution to both the development community, as well as the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE). Advocacy and policy work is a strategic priority for ANDE, and the report's findings will enable the Network to understand the international development community and to be more strategic in its approach as it seeks to influence and shape the international development SME agenda. Download the full report.
Health Worker Global Policy Advisory Council Meeting/Inter-Regional Dialogue- Madrid, Spain May, 9-11 2010
The Madrid meeting primarily looked into the national and regional strategies on dealing with the health working migration crisis.
