Metropolitan Economy Initiative
Globalization, technological change, and institutional and policy changes at the national and international levels have profoundly altered the economic prospects for U.S. metropolitan areas. Metropolitan business, government, and community leaders know that they need to change their own policies if their regions are to prosper. But they lack accessible, policy-relevant research that would help them decide what to do. The Metropolitan Economy Initiative is designed to fill this gap.
The Metropolitan Economy Initiative produces practical research and analysis that:
- Defines criteria for success in metropolitan economic development and determines what drives success.
- Helps metropolitan leaders understand their own regional economies (strengths, weaknesses, priorities, paths to success).
In addition, the Metropolitan Economy Initiative advances an empirically grounded menu of policy options and strategies that:
- Helps metropolitan leaders develop policies tailored to their region's assets, circumstances, and goals.
- Recommends federal and state policies that build on our knowledge of what drives metropolitan economic prosperity.
- Evaluates specific economic development policies that are commonly used or proposed (e.g. locational incentives, support for biotechnology).
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In this Series
2009
June 2009
This report shows how three metropolitan areas—Portland (OR), Kansas City, and Boise—became centers of high technology industry without the presence of a major university and offers important information for policymakers and practitioners interested in technology-based economic development outside of well-established high tech centers.
June 10, 2009
Despite the economic downturn, middle-wage jobs—good paying occupations for less educated workers—remain a prominent feature of the labor market in metropolitan areas nationwide. Though the rankings have surely changed during the current slump, the authors of this Metropolitan Economy Initiative report analyze the sectors and metro areas providing the most middle-wage jobs as a tool for better understanding of metropolitan job markets.
March 04, 2009
Putting the U.S. auto industry on the high road to recovery will require more than a quick financial fix. Susan Helper and Howard Wial urge automakers and the government to address the underlying impediments to their long-term viability.
2008
December 10, 2008
Harry Holzer examines the likely effects of “living wage” ordinances on employment outcomes, according to economic theory; as well as evidence on their actual effects.
December 10, 2008
A Metropolitan Economy Initiative examination of the impact of policies to expand health care and higher finds that such a strategy would raise the earnings of metropolitan residents by roughly the same amount as conventional business tax incentives.
June 1, 2008
This book brings policymakers, practitioners, and scholars up to speed on the state of knowledge on various aspects of urban and regional policy.
2007
December 31, 2007
An analysis of workers and jobs in the central cities and lower- and higher-income suburbs of the largest 150 metropolitan areas finds that growing concentrations of residents and jobs in higher-income suburbs indicate that local labor market policy should better maximize access to good jobs and skill-building opportunities for all workers throughout metropolitan regions.
September 2007
A new report examines the link between income inequality and new housing construction in various metropolitan areas. Using data from the Census and Neighborhood Change Database on 215 metropolitan areas, the analysis compares trends between economically distressed metropolitan areas (those that experienced little or no population or economic growth) and non-distressed metropolitan areas.
February 2007
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2006
July 2006
This report presents the manufacturing employment and production in seven Great Lakes states and their metropolitan areas from 1995 through 2005.