Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

State Economic Development Information Systems, Sheila A. Martin

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

The expanded role of state governments in economic development has increased their need for a wide variety of economic, demographic, and marketing information. Many state governments have responded to these needs by developing systems to deliver economic and related information to state and local economic development offices, businesses, and the general public. This paper reports the results of a survey of economic development officials designed to disclose information about how extensive automated system development is, as well as to learn about system structure and operating characteristics, the quality and quantity of the data distributed, and any particular system strengths and …

Profiling Rural America: A Guide To Data Sources And Analytical Techniques, Sheila A. Martin, Richard Mchugh

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

Evaluating the economic conditions of local economies is an important input to the decisions of policymakers, firms, and individuals. General impressions of the condition of national or state economies obtained from aggregate data often mask important subs tate differences in economic performance.

State economic profiles are useful tools for presenting the dynamics of substate economic change. Because their economic conditions and environments can be very different, rural and urban areas are often compared in such profiles.

This report describes the major components of a complete economic profile, with special emphasis on rural-urban comparisons. A catalog of data sources and a …

Measuring Dynamic Patterns In The Structure Of Substate Economies, Richard Mchugh, Ronald Cooper, Sheila A. Martin, Daniel Otto, Stanley R. Johnson

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

The objective of this study was to explore a new method of analyzing the performance of substate economies. A major limitation of conventional analyses of economic diversity and growth is the reliance on static measures of economic structure. Such measures do not capture the patterns of growth dynamics or structural change the region may be experiencing.

This paper discusses a new measure of dynamic economic diversity and explores its relationship to economic performance. The measure is a statistical index that reflects the degree to which employment in a county's industries move together over time. The more the industries' employment levels …

Traditional And Nontraditional Data As Indicators Of Economic Activity In Rural Communities, Richard Mchugh, Ronald Cooper, Sheila A. Martin, Daniel Otto, Stanley R. Johnson

Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies Publications

The objective of this study was twofold: (1) to identify nontraditional sources of data that can be used to monitor economic activity in rural areas, and (2) to test the relationship between such data and trends in traditional measures, such as income and employment.

The need for alternative sources of data arises primarily out of the inconsistent quality and availability of traditional economic data at the subs tate level. New sources of data can help reduce this metro-rural data gap and provide a fuller picture of the diverse experience and structure of subs tate economies.

Two sources of nontraditional data …