According to the latest estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Michigan economy grew by 1.9% in 2014 when compared with 2013 to an inflation-adjusted level of $417.3 billion. The sectors that realized the biggest gains on a percentage basis were private-service-related industries, including professional and business services, which saw the biggest real dollar increase of $2.... Read More
In a recent blog, I shared my observations about Pittsburgh's efforts to revitalize its urban core. Then, I analyzed the extent to which Pittsburgh's turnaround can serve as a model for Detroit as its city leaders and stakeholders look to revitalize the city's urban core. While Detroit has begun to replicate the efforts of other cities, such as showcasing the city's riverfront with the Detroi... Read More
For Detroit or any Rust Belt city looking to revitalize its urban core, Pittsburgh is often brought up as a model to follow. Before World War II, Pittsburgh was well known for the black clouds of soot that often hovered over its downtown area. (Given its industrial legacy, it has been dubbed “the Steel City.” ) But more recently, it has been deemed America’s most livable city six times by thr... Read More
The Michigan economy has surged since the end of the Great Recession (in 2009). Until recently, rising exports had been part of this story. However, Michigan’s exports abroad have fallen off significantly of late even as its economy continues to grow. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Michigan and Relative Michigan Economic Indexes, Michigan’s economy grew at a rate faste... Read More
U.S. consumers are reported to be spending an ever increasing amount of their personal income on health care each year. According to Personal Consumption Expenditures data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), consumers spent close to $2.0 trillion on health care in the United States in 2014. Based on this, spending in 2014 on health care was equal to 11.5% of total gross domestic produ... Read More
On February 19, 2015, the Detroit Association of Business Economists met at the Detroit Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to hear Chicago Fed senior economist and economic advisor William Strauss discuss the U.S. and Midwest economy. It has now been over seven years since the U.S. plunged into its worst recession in decades and there has been some debate recently as to how well the ec... Read More
STEM is an acronym that stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. It is associated with education and is often mentioned in tandem with policymakers’ desire to increase the number of graduates in STEM-related occupations and fields. In recent years, the campaign to increase the number of STEM graduates has become more aggressive—even the White House has shown deep interest in... Read More
On January 22, 2015, the Detroit Association of Business Economists (DABE) held its annual Automotive Outlook Symposium at the Detroit Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The event was attended by approximately 50 guests, including DABE members together with other local business leaders, academics, and media representatives. I was among the speakers, as was Peter Sweatman, director of ... Read More
A recently released home price index1 suggests that the trend of climbing Michigan home prices continues. According to the latest FHFA Home Price Index (HPI) release looking at updated home transactions through the third quarter of 2014, home prices continued to grow at a faster rate in Michigan than in the U.S. and Seventh District2. Chart 1: Year-over-year Percentage Chan... Read More
Michigan's contribution to the economic wellbeing of the Seventh District increased in July to 0.11, its highest level since March 2013, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Midwest Economic Index. However, positive contributions from services, manufacturing, and the consumer continue to be offset by slow growth in the construction sector. A reading above zero indicates that Michiga... Read More
