RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Andrew Reamer, October 30, 2009, Economy.com
In a guest commentary for Economy.com’s Dismal Scientist, Andrew Reamer argues that while prospects for the federal economic statistical system are much improved compared to two years ago, the budget deficit will lead to pressures to reduce statistical agency spending. These pressures are much more likely to be alleviated if data users speak loudly about the substantial return the nation receives on relatively small investments in economic statistics. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro, October 22, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Some say there’s little that can be done to promote metro areas’ status in U.S. federalism but actually there’s a ton that can and should be done. Mark Muro outlines remedies for the absence of middle-tier (metro or regional) government in the context of the U.S. federalism debate. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Katz, September 23, 2009, Humphrey Center, University of Minnesota
At the Regional Policy Conference at the University of Minnesota, Bruce Katz discussed the importance of competitiveness, sustainable growth and metropolitan governance in the current difficult economic and fiscal environment in the state of Minnesota and across the country. These forces compel the U.S. to rethink how we grow and demand a new approach to metropolitan governance that is multi-jurisdictional, multi-dimensional, accountable and transparent. Read More
VIDEO
Alan Berube, September 15, 2009
Alan Berube, research director of Brookings’ Metropolitan Policy program, says the second MetroMonitor shows an uneven recovery, that economic gains in some regions of the country have been offset by an increase of financial instability in others.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
September 14, 2009, The Brookings Institution
The second in a series of interactive quarterly reports, the MetroMonitor ranks the nation’s 100 largest metro areas—which generate three quarters of U.S. output—on key indicators of economic performance. This edition of the monitor reveals that, amid signs at the national level that job and income losses are slowing, metropolitan economies continued to perform at highly variable rates through June 2009. While several metro areas may have reached a turning point, there are many others that still have not touched bottom, as well as a few that have almost fully recovered. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro and Robert E. Lang, September 08, 2009, University of Nevada Las Vegas
In speeches delivered at the Las Vegas roll-out of the Brookings Mountain West Initiative Mark Muro and nonresident senior fellow Robert Lang argue that Las Vegas presents an exaggerated version of America’s economic quandary. Muro declares that Las Vegas presents, in extreme form, some of the fundamental questions facing the whole country as it faces a major economic “reset” while Lang contends it can still emerge as America’s next true world city. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro and Sarah Rahman, August 26, 2009, The Brookings Institution
To accelerate the arrival of regional high speed rail, a collaboration of Bay Area leaders proposes to use ARRA funds on the track and station upgrades that are both necessary for high speed rail but also enhance the safety, capacity, and performance of existing train operations. Brookings experts examine the proposals. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro and Sarah Rahman, August 26, 2009, The Brookings Institution
To modernize the communications infrastructure in Southeastern Massachusetts, a regional public-private partnership is pursuing ARRA funds to install hundreds of miles of fiber optic cable and create a shared, multi-purpose regional data center. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro and Sarah Rahman, August 26, 2009, The Brookings Institution
California is piloting a regionally-based, public-private partnership-driven, green jobs training program for at-risk youth that leverages ARRA funds with local resources to bring together new collaborations of employers, community colleges, and workforce organizations. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro and Sarah Rahman, August 25, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Six suburban jurisdictions around Washington DC came together under the leadership of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments to submit a joint NSP2 application that combines a region-scale loan fund with local-level flexibility in delivering homebuyer assistance and redeveloping select foreclosed properties for affordable rental housing. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Andrew Reamer, August 19, 2009, International Statistical Institute conference Durban, South Africa
At the biennial International Statistics Institute conference in Durban, South Africa, Andrew Reamer said that the federal economic statistical system has been too narrowly focused on meeting the data needs of macroeconomic policymakers, to the detriment of other data users, particularly those at the regional level. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro and Sarah Rahman, July 23, 2009, The Brookings Institution
A Bay Area economic development nonprofit selected among hundreds of proposals to craft a single ARRA implementation strategy that creates jobs in the short-term and lays the foundation for economic growth and competitiveness in the long-term. Read More
VIDEO
Audrey Singer, July 22, 2009
As part of a new “Brookings Immigration Series,” Audrey Singer describes the new geography of immigration in the United States. She discusses how many more states and municipalities have a stake in the passage of federal immigration reform.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Elizabeth Kneebone and Emily Garr, July 22, 2009, The Brookings Institution
In a new analysis, Elizabeth Kneebone and Emily Garr measure recent changes in unemployment and the demand for safety net services, providing a first look at the impact of the current recession on the cities and suburbs of the country’s major metro areas. Their report reveals that, more so than the last recession, suburbs—particularly newer, lower-density exurbs—are feeling the negative effects of this downturn alongside cities. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Mark Muro and Sarah Rahman, July 22, 2009, The Brookings Institution
A regional nonprofit plans on using ARRA funds to boost its current retrofit and weatherization activities in the short-term while promoting greater regional cooperation and expanded services in the long-term. Read More