PCRD

Marshall Plan for the Midwest?

Richard Longworth laments the Midwest's inability to work together on a regional basis and suggests the incentive for doing so may be a Midwest Marshall Plan   http://www.stlbeacon.org/in_the_news/modern_marshall_plan_for_midwest

Green Economy - See for Yourself!

This morning on the way to work and listening to PBS, I learned of a new website that allows visitors to input their assumptions about the likelihood of various future energy policies being implemented and then calculates the resulting effect on the Gross Domestic Product and economic growth in the US.  This neat little trick is the product of a "meta-analysis" synthesizing the 27 leading economic models by Robert Repetto of Yale University who writes that the synthesis "... reveals what the crucial assumptions are and how changing those assumptions affects the predicted economic costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by specific percentages below the business-as-usual path by 2030. Surprisingly, only a handful of key assumptions account for most of the differences among model predictions of the economic costs of reducing emissions."

Check the results of your own assumptions at http://www.climate.yale.edu/seeforyourself/ - and See For Yourself!

The Geography of Buzz

Posted by Christine Nolan

Richard Florida’s theories about the importance of the “creative class” are getting some further exploration from a new study by planners and spatial analysts at Columbia University in New York city and the University of Southern California in LA.  The new study, called “The Geography of Buzz” mapped the density of a range of cultural events in Manhattan and LA for a period of one year using GIS technology, and came up with clusters of hot spots in fashion, art, film, theater, television and music.  The study is described by a recent article in the New York Times and you can read it here.

The article contains links to the downloadable study report *get it directly here), as well as maps of the centers of creative activity in each city.  It’s worth taking the time to have a quick look at some of the reader comments, too.

 

In Dire Straits……

Posted by Indraneel Kumar

Brookings Institution’s fellow Andrew Reamer makes a case for an efficient, accurate, and timely economic statistical system in USA. For lack of adequate funding, major economic statistical agencies are eliminating the data series, reducing the survey coverage, or cutting back on details and accuracy.

For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) no longer collects job information for 65 smaller metropolitan areas, which include metros in Indiana. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will no longer publish the metro and county estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and earnings by detailed industries.

Anyone working in the field of economic development will agree how valuable the information on value added (Gross Regional Product) is by industries at a regional or county level. That is one way to know how much the industry is contributing to the regional and local economy. Given the current economic conditions, the benefits of accurate and up-to-date economic data to policy analysts and decision makers are manifold. The article provides few recommendations for the economic statistical system. Read more here.

The Woes and Potential of the Midwest

Richard C. Longworth has written a book titled: Caught in the Middle: America's Heartland in the Age of Globalism. This sobering and provocative book paints a fairly break picture of the Midwest. Salvation, according to Longworth, will require several things to happen, including (a) the creation of a regional identity and (b) embracing regional cooperation. The latter will require Midwesterners and their leaders to stop thinking so much in terms of state boundaries, and other artificial jurisdictional boundaries.  He points to the success of "the South" during the past 30 years or so; and the role played by the Southern Growth Policies Board as the type of entity that would make sense for the Midwest. 

A Greying Workforce - How does your Region stack up?

A recently released special report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that between 1977 and 2007, the number of workers aged 65 and over in the workforce has increased by 101%.  By contrast, the overall size of the workforce (all workers aged 16 and over) increased by only 59%.  Additionally, BLS researchers say that this increase in "greying" of the workforce is not due to aging of the Baby Boom generation, as the first Boomers began reaching the age of 65 only in 2007.  This means that the trend will continue and increase even more in the years to come.

BLS says that "the total labor force is projected to increase by 8.5 percent during the period 2006-2016, but when analyzed by age categories, very different trends emerge. The number of workers in the youngest group, age 16-24, is projected to decline during the period while the number of workers age 25-54 will rise only slightly. In sharp contrast, workers age 55-64 are expected to climb by 36.5 percent. But the most dramatic growth is projected for the two oldest groups. The number of workers between the ages of 65 and 74 and those aged 75 and up are predicted to soar by more than 80 percent."

The implications of this study are many, including that counties, regions and businesses need to get policies in place to accomodate older workers - and will need to compete hard to retain and recruit younger workers.  Read more of this study here.

Building sustainable local economies

At a 30,000 foot level, economic development is about managing three flows of money. "Good Money" flows into the economy from businesses that trade outside. These are businesses, which account for usually about 30% of the employment in an economy, generate higher incomes. Traditionally, economic developers have focused on recruiting these businesses.

Economic development is also about increasing the velocity of "Neutral Money" that circulates within the economy. When economists talk about a multiplier effect, they are referring to the circulation of Neutral Money within the economy.

Finally, economic development involves "plugging leaks". That means reducing the flow of money (we can call this "bad Money") from the economy.

Increasingly, communities are taking a more balanced, integrated approach of economic development that includes all three flows. (After all, there are no bright lines segregating these flows.)

Here's an example. Check out the web site of the Farmer-Chef Connection, a business-to-business network that promotes the development of "local living economies".

You can read more here about how this type of network works.

The Farmer-Chef Connection is one of a broad number of networks that are forming around the country to support sustainable local economies.

Recently, I was at the Lowe Foundation for a retreat, where I met Leanne Krueger-Braneky of the Sustainable Business Network in Philadelphia.  She introduced me to the work of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, where her organization is a leading network.

To learn more about the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, visit their website.

Performance Report: Indiana's Workforce and Education Attainment

A recent report on Indiana's workforce states: "Quite simply, the number of working-age adults in Indiana who have not completed high school, speak little or no English, and are in families that earn less than a living wage is way too high." County-by-county maps illustrate this problem and the variation across Indiana in educational attainment and earnings. More information is available here.

Indiana's Mid-Sized Firms: The Key to Our Future

Mid-sized firms, defined as having $5M-$20M in annual sales comprise a mere 3% of Indiana's businesses. However, they generate between 30% of the jobs and more than 40% of the sales. For more information on these types of firms and the role they will play in the future of Indiana's economy go here.

Economic Development Administration

Posted by Terri Lester

The U. S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA) recently released their Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Report which addresses the performance goals and measures for the various EDA program investments made during that time frame.  The document is available here.