View Research by Author - Rachel Brash

Rachel Brash, a research associate, specializes in community and economic development, as well as juvenile justice and community safety. She is currently working on research for the Treasury Department on the alternative financial sector, including a study of tax-time credit options. Recently, she contributed to research for the Postal Regulatory Commission into metrics for assessing the social value of mail service and post offices. Ms. Brash has also helped conduct a performance evaluation of U.S. Small Business Administration. Other past research includes a national evaluation of Reclaiming Futures, a ten-city program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to improve the delivery of substance abuse and other services to youth involved in the juvenile justice system.

Before joining the Urban Institute, Ms. Brash was senior policy associate and director of community programming for the Mayor's Office on Criminal Justice and an investigator with New York City's Civilian Complaint Review Board, where she investigated alleged police misconduct. She received a master's degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University and was the recipient of the 2004 Abell Foundation Award in Urban Policy for "Youth Violence Prevention and Reduction: Strategies for a Safer Baltimore."

RBrash@urban.org

Publications

Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) and Checks (RACs) are controversial financial products used by one in seven tax filers. This report presents findings on many of the most important individual and geographical characteristics influencing RAL/RAC use, as well as, insights about product use from tax preparers, RAL/RAC lenders, RAL/RAC tax form software developers, low-cost RAL lenders, and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program sites. The results suggest that factors such as lack of interest income, geographic location, EITC receipt, filing as a head-of-household, income, and living in a poor neighborhood, each independently contributes strongly to RAL/RAC use.

This report documents state restrictions of five small-dollar products: auto title loans, pawnshop loans, payday loans, refund anticipation loans, and rent-to-own agreements between 2005 and 2009, in all states and the District of Columbia. Researchers find that over half of states prohibit auto title loans while a much smaller number of states prohibit payday loans. Nearly all states cap prices on at least one of the five products and the majority of states cap interest rates for pawnshops and payday lenders. Fewer than half of states impose disclosure requirements or price caps on rent-to-own agreements.

The objective of this study, commissioned by the Postal Regulatory Commission, was to identify the array of benefits provided by the United States Postal Service—through its mail service and post offices—that contribute to the social value of the post. We provide a framework that categorizes benefits, beneficiaries, and measures. We also identify possible metrics and methods for estimating the value of these benefits. Research in community and economic development supports the concept of post offices as community assets and of the value of social connectedness and civic engagement, two social benefits frequently associated with postal services. This study provides an organizing scheme for detailed analysis and quantification in the future.

This report addresses two questions about outcomes for firms receiving assistance through SBA's 7(a), CDC 504, or SBIC programs between 1999 and 2001: 1) what happens to sales, employment, and survival before and after firms receive SBA financing; and 2) what explains the changes observed in sales or employment after firms receive SBA financing? Descriptive analyses found that prior to financing and each year thereafter, average sales increased over time, as did average employment. Multivariate analyses found that firm age, industry, and region of the country were significantly related to percent change in sales and employment for all three programs.

This study assessed (1) whether duplication of SBA's 7(a), 504, MicroLoan, and SBIC programs exists at federal, state, and local levels; 2) if duplication occurs between SBA's two largest programs—7(a) and 504; and, 3) the nature of such overlaps. The study found some overlap exists between SBA's 7(a) and 504 programs, and a small degree of duplication exists between SBA programs and similar programs run by other federal agencies. More potential duplication exists at state and local levels, where general-purpose loan and loan guarantee programs are more likely to resemble SBA's 7(a) program, than its other programs.

This report synthesizes the findings, conclusions, and policy recommendations derived from six reports generated by our evaluation of SBA's 7(a) Loan Guaranty, CDC 504 Loan, MicroLoan, and SBIC programs. The various studies were conducted to address three key research questions of particular interest to SBA and its constituents: 1) Does SBA assistance help the firms that receive it? 2) To what extent does SBA assistance serve its market? 3) Do SBA programs duplicate or overlap with other public sector programs?

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