Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Economic Currents: The State Of The State Economy, Alan Clayton-Matthews
Economic Currents: The State Of The State Economy, Alan Clayton-Matthews
Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series
The rising trade deficit that originated in the Pacific Rim Tiger economies in the summer of 1997 and then spread to Japan is now inundating the Massachusetts economy. For months we felt its benefits: lower import prices due to the relatively strong dollar; lower raw materials prices, thanks to the drop in worldwide demand; and lower interest rates because of the flight to quality U.S. securities. Now the flip side has become evident. East Asian purchases of American goods have plummeted; they are simply too expensive for these countries to afford. The strong dollar is causing American-made goods to be …
Endnotes: New Current And Leading Indexes For Massachusetts, Alan Clayton-Matthews
Endnotes: New Current And Leading Indexes For Massachusetts, Alan Clayton-Matthews
Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series
Appearing in this issue of Benchmarks is a new current index and a new leading index for the state of Massachusetts. The current index is composed of four state-level economic indicators that move concurrently with the commonwealth's economy: establishment employment, the unemployment rate, withholding taxes, and sales taxes. The index is normalized at 100 in July 1987. Its average trend growth over 1978–96 is set to equal the trend growth of real gross state product. The current index indicates whether the economy is expanding or contracting and at what rate it is doing so. It provides a more comprehensive and …
Economic Currents: The State Of The State Economy, Alan Clayton-Matthews
Economic Currents: The State Of The State Economy, Alan Clayton-Matthews
Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series
As economists continue to explain why growth will slow and inflation will reemerge, the Massachusetts jobs engine accelerates, generating jobs and income at an increasing rate even as inflation continues to subside. The state’s expansion has now surpassed the “Miracle Years” in length, and there is no evidence to suggest that it will end soon. In spite of this, a slowing is inevitable; the region is running out of skilled workers and cannot support this rate of growth indefinitely. The pool of available workers now appears concentrated among less-skilled workers with low levels of educational attainment. These workers could support …
Economic Currents: The State Of The State Economy, Alan Clayton-Matthews
Economic Currents: The State Of The State Economy, Alan Clayton-Matthews
Public Policy and Public Affairs Faculty Publication Series
The Massachusetts economy continues to perform well, with high growth and low inflation. The question is, how long can this continue? In this issue we review the state's current economic performance. We also look at the financial crisis in Asia and the volatility in the stock market, which add some uncertainty to the outlook.