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  • Unionization Substantially Raises Wages Of Pennsylvania Service-Sector Workers
    Press Release
    April 22, 2009 - 5:13pm

    HARRISBURG, PA—Pennsylvania workers, like workers across the nation, have seen their wages stagnate or grow slowly in recent decades. But a report released today shows that being in a union significantly boosts the wages of Pennsylvania workers employed in service industries.


    The report, released jointly by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) in Washington, D.C., and the Keystone Research Center (KRC) in Harrisburg, finds that unionization raises the wages of the average service-sector worker in Pennsylvania by nearly 9 percent.

  • New Pennsylvania Teacher Tests Won't Improve Teacher Performance, Keystone Research Center Finds
    Press Release
    January 22, 2009 - 3:16pm

    Harrisburg, January 22 -- Pennsylvania's new system of teacher tests won't improve teacher performance in the classroom, according to a new evaluation released today by the Keystone Research Center.

  • In Pennsylvania and the Nation, Teachers Still Make Less than Other College Grads
    Press Release
    March 7, 2008 - 11:34am

    Download EPI report

    As presidential candidates and other office-seekers pledge to improve public schools and reward public school teachers, a new study suggests that in both Pennsylvania and the nation, more pay hikes for public educators are sorely needed.

  • Pre-K Investment Yields Bonuses for Children, Families, Communities & Government Budgets
    Press Release
    May 2, 2007 - 11:26am

    By 2050, Universal Statewide Program Would Produce 12 Dollars in Benefits for Each Dollar Invested

    Harrisburg - If PA wants to build a strong economy, increase earnings, reduce crime, and balance budgets, a good place to start is with high quality pre-kindergarten for the state's children, according to a new study by the Economic Policy Institute that was released in Pennsylvania by Keystone Research Center.

  • THE QUALIFICATIONS OF PENNSYLVANA'S EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS HAVE DECLINED SHARPLY SINCE 1980s SAYS KEYSTONE RESEARCH CENTER
    Press Release
    September 15, 2005 - 11:56am

    Pennsylvania Issue Brief Part of Nationwide Release of Research Conducted by Pennsylvania-based Think Tank

    Link to Related KRC Articles on Education and Child Care

    Harrisburg – In the 1980s about 40 percent of teaching staff in Pennsylvania's center-based preschool programs outside the public schools had a four-year college degree. Today, according to a new study by the Keystone Research Center, the number is 27 percent.

  • Limiting Learning: How Caps on School Funding Erode the Quality of Education
    Briefing Paper
    May 1, 2004 - 11:14am

    The Pennsylvania legislature is considering a school finance proposal, exemplified by House Bill 113 of the 2003 legislative session, that would shift some school funding away from local property taxes and toward state funds and local income taxes. The proposal would give greater proportional benefits to homeowners with lower property values.


    A shift toward broader-based and less regressive tax funding of the public schools would be admirable, as would the progressive nature of the proposed property tax relief. However, the proposal has two harmful features:


  • New KRC Research Review Finds School Funding Limit Proposal Will Erode the Quality of Education
    Press Release
    March 11, 2004 - 10:58am

    Harrisburg -- Local school funding limits now being considered by the General Assembly would likely lower the quality of education in many Pennsylvania school districts.

    That's the conclusion of the Keystone Research Center's new review of research on how limits on increases in school taxes or funding have affected educational quality across the United States.

  • Edison Overstates Philadelphia School Savings From Outsourcing Maintenance and Operations Work, Keystone Research Center Finds
    Press Release
    March 19, 2002 - 3:36pm

    Harrisburg, March 19 -- A report by Edison Schools Inc. claiming that maintenance and operations costs in the Philadelphia School District are "exceptionally high" is based on a misleading comparison with a sample of much smaller school districts, according to a Keystone Research Center review.

    In an October 2001 report Edison suggested that there is a "significant savings opportunity" to be realized by outsourcing various services now performed by Philadelphia School District employees.

  • A Property Tax Rebate Program: Relief for Working Families, Underfunded School Districts, and Pennsylvania’s Environment
    Briefing Paper
    March 1, 2002 - 11:21am

    In the last decade, gaps in income and property wealth among Pennsylvania’s 501 school districts have yawned wider.


    With school financing depending heavily on local property taxes, affluent districts can fund schools generously. Districts with less property wealth however, struggle with high tax rates that still fail to raise adequate revenue for quality schools. This combination often prompts more residents to leave lower-income districts for greener pastures, further undercutting the local tax base and contributing to low-density, land-destroying growth patterns.

  • Fuzzy Math in Philadelphia: Edison Overstates Savings Possible Through Outsourcing School District Maintenance and Operations Work
    Briefing Paper
    March 1, 2002 - 11:19am

    Under contract to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Edison Schools Inc. (Edison) last fall prepared an 80-page assessment of the Philadelphia schools and outlined strategies for improving school performance financially and academically.


    One section of the Edison report estimated that cost savings of between 10 and 30 percent could be achieved by outsourcing school maintenance and operations. This category includes custodial work, groundskeeping, and maintaining and operating heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems.

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