High Road Strategy Center

High Road Publications

Below is a list of our reports related to the high road, in descending order by year published. Explore other topics here and all High Road Strategy Center reports here.

  • Hudson, G., J. Rogers, and P. Thompson. Eyes on the Prize: Program Architecture of Emerald Cities. COWS, 2008.

    This memo offers suggestions on program architecture for a national effort to build “emerald” cities, shorthand for high-road cities committed to greening their economies in equitable and democratically accountable ways.

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  • ,. Focusing on Adult Basic Education - Bridges to Career Pathways in Southeastern Wisconsin. COWS, 2008.

    Education and skills will be the cornerstone of competitiveness for Wisconsin.  Leaders throughout the state and its southeastern region, known as the Milwaukee 7 (M7),  are working in new ways to build the skills of the workforce and to ensure that regional employers have the employee and skill base they need.  Research laid out in this report, conducted over the summer of 2008, is intended to help strengthen these efforts by providing more information on a key population in need of skills—adult basic education (ABE) students—and offering some insights on student perceptions of their own skills, the labor market, and the training they need to move ahead.  Further, the report provides more detailed information on the broader population of low-wage working adults in the M7 region. The conclusion offers some policy suggestions that would help enhance the advancement prospects of regional ABE students.

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  • Dresser, L., and J. Rogers. State of Working Wisconsin 2008. COWS, 2008.

    The State of Working Wisconsin 2008, a biennial report on how the state and its workers are faring. Documents include Full Report and Summary.

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  • , C. Key Middle-Skill Opportunities in Wisconsin. COWS, 2008.

    Developed by COWS for Regional Industry Skills Education (RISE) Partnership, Key Middle-Skill Opportunities in Wisconsin provides a detailed look at projected job opportunities and wages in well-paying occupations that typically do not require a 4-year college degree.

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  • Rogers, J., and J. Cohen. “How’re We Doing: Reflecting on Moral Progress in America”. The Good Society, Vol. 17, no. 1, 2008, pp. 13-19.
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  • Rogers, J., and D. Luria. “Manufacturing, Regional Prosperity, and Public Policy”. Retooling for Growth: Building a 21st Century Economy in America’s Older Industrial Areas, Brookings Institution Press, 2008, pp. 249-74.
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  • Freeman, R. B., and J. Rogers. “The Promise of Progressive Federalism”. Remaking America: Democracy and Public Policy in an Age of Inequality, Russell Sage Foundation, 2007, pp. 205-27.

    There is much in federalism that should excite anyone seeking the variety, experimentation, and learning that states can bring to finding solutions to national problems. Progressive federalism seeks to harness this potential state contribution to our national democracy without retreating from civil rights and a national affirmative state.

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  • , C. Black Wisconsinites and Economic Opportunity. COWS, 2007.

    Many economic indicators—from poverty to incarceration—show dismal outcomes for Wisconsin’s African Americans.  The vitality of our economy, the prosperity of our state, and the health and well-being of all our communities are seriously threatened by the racial disparity that plagues Wisconsin.

    This COWS Spotlight Issue provides background data and indicators showing pervasive black/white inequality in the state.

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  • Rogers, J., L. Dresser, M. Vidal, and H. Wial. “‘Full-Utilization Learning Lean’ In Component Manufacturing: A New Industrial Model for Mature Regions, and Labor’s Stake in Its Success”. Number WP-2006-03, Sloan Industry Studies Working Papers, 2006.
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  • Rogers, J. Cities: The Vital Core. Vol. 280, The Nation, 2005, pp. 20-22.
    From The Nation, June 20, 2005.
    Cities are the most productive and most sustainable centers of the US economy, the most vital and generous centers of our culture and, potentially, the most democratic and forward-looking of our many units of government. They have been neglected in terms of their impact on the economy (the metropolitan area constitutes about 80% of the US population), in their power to pioneer equality (the metro core is where different races coincide, where upper and middle classes live, where most research and education institution are located, where new commerce and innovation begins), in that their sheer size and weight make metro regions a point of leverage in the national economy (here begins “high road” policies).
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