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Research@Economy
Neighborhood/City of Boston Boston Municipal Research Bureau, Mounting Personnel Costs Threaten Boston’s Competitive Edge, Outdated Laws And Practices Restrict Local Response In Challenging Fiscal Times (10/05): Personnel costs are a large and growing part of the city budget, but outdated laws and practices restrict management’s ability to keep costs under control. The current situation threatens Boston's reputation as a competitive place to live, work and invest. Boston Redevelopment Authority, Downtown Crossing: Vital Heart of Downtown Boston (pdf) (7/05): a report on the transportation needs, population, historic sites, retail, hotels, arts and culture, new leadership and plans for the future of this central part of Boston. Women’s Union, Dudley Families First: A Framework for Economic Self-Sufficiency (3/05): economic self-sufficiency in the Dudley neighborhood of Boston, where 63% of families fall below the self-sufficiency standard. Harvard University’s Civil Rights Project, Racial Equity and Opportunity In Metro Boston Job Markets(12/04): Boston’s increasing workforce diversity, ongoing disparities in unemployment and educational attainment, and policy implications. Issue Summary. Boston Redevelopment Authority The Boston Economy: Turning the Corner 2004 (9/04): improvement in the City’s economy, following the economic downturn of 2001-2003 that mirrored the national recession. Boston Redevelopment Authority, Leadership Through Innovation The History of Boston’s Economy 1970-2000 (4/03): the history and development of the city’s key industries, including finance, insurance and real estate, health and education, manufacturing, tourism and real estate. From the 2002 Boston Indicators Report Archive: Johns Hopkins reports on low-income families in Boston Metro Boston/Massachusetts/New England Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, The State of Working Massachusetts 2006: As the Economy Moves Forward, Wages Fall Back (9/06): Reports that employment levels have not recovered to pre-recession numbers and median wages have fallen since 2003.
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, The Growing Gap: Income Inequality in Massachusetts (1/06): describes the growth of income inequality in Massachusetts over approximately the last 20 years, discusses the social, economic, and political consequences of inequality, and examines the impact of public policies on income distribution. Concludes that the gap between upper- and lower-income families has grown more in Massachusetts than in 47 of the 50 states.
Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, 2005 Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy (12/05): an analysis of the pace of innovation in Massachusetts measuring change and progress on nine key economic sectors and selected indicators. This year’s report concludes with a call to industrial and academic leaders to join with policymakers in developing a long-term plan for sustainable economic vitality.
Massachusetts Community and Banking Council, Patterns of Small Business Lending in Greater Boston, 1998-2004 (11/05): an analysis of loans to small businesses in Boston and the Boston MSA finds racial and ethnic disparities in rates of lending.
Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, Facts at a Glance: Business Taxes in Massachusetts (pdf) (11/05): summarizes key findings from two recent studies, one by Robert Tannenwald, Assistant Vice President and Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and another by the consulting firm Ernst & Young, that demonstrate that the total tax burden on businesses is lower in Massachusetts than in the overwhelming majority of states.
Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Municipal Finance Task Force, Local Communities At Risk: Revisiting the Fiscal Partnership Between the Commonwealth and Cities and Towns (pdf) (9/05): provides a comprehensive analysis of municipal revenues, municipal expenditures, and state local aid over a 25-year period and makes a series of recommendations to stabilize municipal finances. Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Sustaining Greater Boston's Life Science Leadership (pdf) (6/05): an overview of critical issues to strengthen and sustain Greater Boston’s lead in bioinformatics and life-science research, including recommendations about visas and foreign workforce recruitment, public higher education, worker training, the permitting process, and housing. Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, 2005 Leading Industries Report (3/05): focuses on the five industries that contribute half of all employment in Greater Boston: Financial Services, Health Care and Life Sciences, High Technology, Higher Education and Consulting, and the Visitor Industry. Appleseed Inc, Engines of Economic Growth: The Economic Impact of Boston’s Eight Research Universities on the Metropolitan Boston Area (3/03): in 2000 alone, Greater Boston’s eight research universities provided a $7.4 billion boost to the regional economy. Center for Women’s Business Research, Women-Owned Businesses in Boston, MA-NH, 2004: A Fact Sheet (2004): estimates of number of women-owned businesses, sales and employment figures, as well as comparative rankings with other metropolitan areas - the 98,106 privately-held, majority women-owned firms in Boston, MA-NH employ 104,999 people and generate more than $12 billion in sales. MassINC, The Changing Face of Massachusetts (6/05): the role of immigrants in the state's economy, including data on population and labor force growth, language skills, educational attainment, employment, citizenship and poverty - the share of immigrants in the Massachusetts workforce has doubled since 1980, reaching 17% in 2004. Executive Summary. Database of immigration data by city and town. Alliance for the Commonwealth, 2004 Massachusetts Export Competitiveness Indicator (4/05): more than three-quarters of the state’s exports come from 5 industry sectors: electric machinery, instruments, industrial machinery/computers, pharmaceutical products and organic chemicals, each of which recorded over a billion dollars in international sales in 2004. MassINC, The Massachusetts Nonprofit Sector: an Economic Profile (3/05).Women’s Union, Research and Innovation Brief: New Directions in Workforce Development (1/05): analyzes the Massachusetts jobs best poised to help women achieve self-sufficiency, including labor market and wage data, education and skills requirements and training needs. Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, Real Cuts - Real People - Real Pain: The Effects of the Fiscal Crisis on Women and Girls in Massachusetts (12/04): an in-depth analysis of how state budget cuts since 2001 have affected key programs that serve women. Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, 2004 Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy (11/04): tracks nine "innovation economy" sectors, assessing changes in employment, income, technology development, business development, talent and research – while innovation indicators are strong, the nine sectors suffered 4% job loss between 2002 and 2003. Press release. Executive summary. Mass Insight, Choosing to Lead: The Race for National R&D Leadership and New Economy Jobs (7/04): a Technology Road Map for Massachusetts, outlining the vulnerability of the state’s economic position, the need for strategic university-industry alliances, an analysis of core technology areas, and benchmarking of competitor states. New England Council, Sustainable Prosperity: An Agenda for New England (6/05): identifies opportunities and challenges facing New England as it competes for jobs, people and prosperity. Comparisons with North Carolina, Atlanta and Washington DC, and analysis of key economic levers: infrastructure and structural costs, education, regional networks and collaboration, “brand,” and demographics and immigration. Press Release. Study by Boston Municipal Research Bureau proposes competitive service delivery. Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation releases annual "Municipal Financial Data." Ceres, Corporate Governance and Climate Change: Making the Connection (3/06): an assessment of how 20 of the world's biggest corporate emitters of greenhouse gases are factoring climate change into their business strategies and governance practices. American City Business Journals, America’s best small biz markets (1/06): a study of American cities ranks Boston 20th out of 50 cities as a favorable location for small businesses. National Academies, Rising Above The Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future (1/06): The National Academies were charged by Congress with identifying the top 10 actions that federal policymakers can take to enhance science and technology to make the U.S. more competitive. They find that improving K-12 science and mathematics education should be the country's top priority. Beacon Hill Institute, State Competitiveness Report 2005 (12/05): an annual report on economic competitiveness between states, which finds that Massachusetts leads the nation for the second year in a row on the measures that are tracked. Global Insight, The Impact of Offshore IT Software and Services Outsourcing on the U.S. Economy and the IT Industry (10/05): concludes that IT outsourcing, while displacing some IT workers, actually benefits the U.S. economy and increases the number of U.S. jobs. It estimates that U.S. spending on global sourcing in the software and information technology industry will reach $18.4 billion in 2006, a 21 percent increase over 2005 and nearly double the 2003 level. The National Bureau of Economic Research, Does Globalization of the Scientific/Engineering Workforce Threaten US Economic Leadership? (Purchase on the NBER website) (7/05): a report on the declining US share of science and engineering graduates, the job market for young workers, global competition, diminished high-tech competitive advantage, and suggestions for new labor market and R&D policies to address these challenges. Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, State of the Inner City Economies (6/04): inner city facts, CEO confidence, economic performance, people, and potential income growth drivers for the nation’s 100 largest inner cities. Visit the research section of ICIC’s website for this interactive database.
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