Regional Economics Commons^™

Comstock Township Housing Plan, Emily Petz, Val Klomparens, Gerrit Anderson, Lee Adams

Reports

No abstract provided.

Little Bighorn Days 2026, Hardin, Montana, Emma Keinath-Lopez

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This study was conducted for Little Bighorn Days to provide insight into the characteristics of attendees of the 2026 Little Bighorn Days event hosted in Hardin, Montana. Seventy attendees of the event completed the survey. Results show that the majority of respondents were Montana residents, with 66% residing in Montana and 85% of Montana respondents residing in Big Horn County. Respondents from outside Big Horn County spent an average of five nights in Montana and reported a total spending of $24,994.00, with the highest expenditures occurring in hotel/motel/bed and breakfasts, restaurants/bars, retail goods/services, and gasoline/diesel. Overall, attendees reported high levels …

River City Roots Festival 2026, Missoula, Montana, Emma Keinath-Lopez

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This study was conducted to provide insight into the characteristics, spending patterns, and satisfaction levels of attendees at the 2026 River City Roots Festival in Missoula, Montana. A total of 251 attendees completed the survey. Approximately 85% of respondents were Montana residents, including 72% who resided in Missoula County. Among respondents from outside Missoula County, 74% spent at least one night away from home. Visitors spent an average of 3.9 nights in Montana and 2.9 nights in Missoula. Fifty-six respondent groups from outside of Missoula County provided expenditure information, reporting an estimated $44,397.38 in total visitor spending in Missoula. The …

Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast, Volume 29, Number 3, Thomas M. Fullerton, Steven L. Fullerton

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

From Innovation To Impact: Evaluation Of The Shape Accelerator Cohort, Iryna V. Lendel, Chloe Wieber

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

The Solutions Hub for an Alternative Packaging Ecosystem (SHAPE), a Michigan-Ohio partnership operated by the Michigan State University Research Foundation as part of a National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engine, co-funded a special cohort of the NextCycle Accelerator focused on sustainable packaging and circular economy ventures. This report evaluates how the accelerator contributed to firm-level advancement and ecosystem-level change, drawing on program data and interviews with participating companies, program facilitators, stakeholders, and SHAPE management.  Participants most consistently credited coaching, network connections, and the Pitch Showcase with meaningfully impacting their business trajectory, gaining market traction, advancing technology readiness, and gaining access …

Montana Resident Report: Impact Of Air Quality And Wildfire Smoke On Travel And Outdoor Recreation In Montana, Q2 2026, Carter Bermingham, Megan Schultz, Melissa Weddell

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This study was designed to better understand how residents respond to wildfire smoke in their community, and the associated impacts it has on their travel and outdoor recreation behavior (if any at all). The Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR) conducts resident studies quarterly to better understand current topics across the state. In a year marked by a lack of winter snowpack and warm spring temperatures, 2026 was an ideal time to broach the topic of wildfire smoke in Montana.

Respondents were asked whether they check current smoke conditions before leaving for a trip and at what level of …

Benefits And Costs For Chattanooga Residents Of Incorporating Training Into Economic Development Strategies, Timothy J. Bartik, Iryna V. Lendel, Sevrin Williams

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

This report evaluates the benefit-cost tradeoffs of adding a workforce training component to Chattanooga's economic development incentive packages, using the Bartik Benefit-Cost Model of Business Incentives. Focusing on hypothetical projects across seven industries, the analysis compares the present value of training costs against resulting gains in residents' per capita income over a 20-year horizon. Findings show that training, layered onto existing PILOT-based tax incentives, delivers benefits more than 25 times its costs—driven by training's greater cost-effectiveness in inducing business location decisions and its stronger tendency to direct new jobs toward local residents. While training is not self-financing from a city …

Religious Tourism And Local Development In Rural Areas: Analysis Of The Social And Economic Impact Of Holy Week Celebrations In Osuna, Spain, Elena Garcia-De-Soto-Camacho, Miguel A. Garcia-Gordillo Dr., Antonio Montaño-Valle, Carlos Chavarría-Ortiz, Rosa María Vaca-Acosta

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This study explores the role of religious tourism in promoting rural development through the case of Holy Week in Osuna, Spain. By applying a quantitative methodology with fieldwork conducted during the 2022 celebration, the research analyses the social and economic impacts derived from the influx of visitors. The study segments tourists based on their motivations, demographic profiles, levels of satisfaction, spending behaviour, and future intentions. Through cluster analysis, three distinct visitor profiles were identified, reflecting varying degrees of religious and cultural interest. The findings confirm that Holy Week tourism generates significant economic benefits for the locality through direct, indirect, and …

From Disaster To Resilience: Developing Smart Settlements In The Himalayas, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepal’s catastrophic 26 August 2026 Bhote Koshi–Trishuli flood should be understood not only as a humanitarian tragedy but also as a potentially major turning point in updating national settlement and reconstruction policy. Engineers and scientists have described the floods as a glacier–bedrock collapse that triggered an ice-rock avalanche and debris flow. As per the live updates on September 7, 2026, the total death toll was 1,355, and 4,996 people were missing (The Hindu, 2026). Indian and Nepali rescuers worked urgently to locate and rescue people buried under hydropower tunnels, buildings, mud, and landslide debris.

UN News reported on September 3, …

Fiscal Decentralization, Local Government Size, And Regional Economic Growth: Evidence From Indonesia, Faizul Mubarok, Hasta Dwi Pradana, Etty Puji Lestari

Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking

This study investigates the dynamic relationship between fiscal decentralization, local government size, and regional economic growth in Indonesia. Integrating fiscal federalism theory with the Armey curve framework, the study examines whether decentralization reshapes the scale of subnational governments and how this influences growth outcomes. Using balanced panel data from 26 Indonesian provinces over the period 1995–2020, the analysis employs dynamic panel estimators based on the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) to address endogeneity, persistence, and unobserved heterogeneity. The results reveal a nuanced relationship between fiscal decentralization and government size. Greater revenue autonomy is associated with a contraction in government size …

Borderplex Business Barometer, Volume 10, Number 9, Thomas M. Fullerton, Steven L. Fullerton

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

2026 Annual Report – Celebrating 40 Years Of Research Excellence, Melissa Weddell

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This report marks the 40th anniversary of the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research (ITRR) at the University of Montana, founded in 1987 as the research arm of the state's tourism and recreation industries and funded through a small share of the Lodging Facility Use Tax.

It covers the 2025 travel year, when 13.2 million nonresident visitors spent $5.6 billion in Montana, supporting 52,610 jobs and $360 million in state and local tax revenue. Featured studies cover the state's museums and paleontological sites, its $1.27 billion outfitting and guiding industry, and tourism's growing role in Eastern Montana's rural economies. Additional …

Fintech Enables Regional Economic Growth And Coordinated Development, Xirong Huang, Jichang Dong, Xiuting Li, Zhi Dong

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Based on multi-source big data, this study analyzes the current situation and internal logic of fintech enabling regional economic growth and coordinated development in the new development stage, from the aspects of stimulating R&D, promoting talent dividend process, and amplifying regional spillover effect, in view of the current challenges facing China’s regional coordinated development. Then, it analyzes the challenges and problems in fintech-enabled regional coordinated development, including the significant regional fintech gap, obstacles in the effectiveness of fintech in underdeveloped regions, the lack of fintech talents, and the fintech regulation and information protection system need to be improved. Finally, corresponding …

The Introduction Of High-Speed Rail And Its Impact On Mode Choice The Case Of Morocco’S Al Boraq, Michael Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

Morocco's Al Boraq, Africa's first high-speed rail line, reshaped mode choice along the Casablanca-Tangier corridor. Drawing on ONCF ridership data, 234 rider surveys, and nine months of fieldwork, this ex-post assessment finds accelerated passenger growth, substantial induced demand, and mode shift from automobiles, informing Global South HSR development.

Borderplex Business Barometer, Volume 10, Number 8, Thomas M. Fullerton, Steven L. Fullerton

Border Region Modeling Project

No abstract provided.

What Drives Sovereign Sukuk Development? The Role Of Institutional Quality And Macroeconomic Conditions In Oic Countries, Rahmatina Awaliah Kasri, Aulia Utami

International Journal of Islamic Economics and Business Sustainability

Purpose – The study examines the relationship between institutional quality, macroeconomic conditions, and sovereign sukuk outstanding in eight member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) during 2014–2021.

Design/methodology/approach– The study employs panel data for Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye. Institutional quality is measured using government effectiveness, control of corruption, regulatory quality, and voice and accountability. Macroeconomic variables included are economic size, inflation, and oil rents. Fixed-effects panel regressions with robust standard errors are applied following model specification and diagnostic tests.

Findings – Economic size and voice and accountability are positively associated …

Human Capital, Regional Development, And Maqasid Sharia: An Input-Output Analysis Of Government Spending And Private Investment In Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Adibah Seila, Nurkholis Nurkholis Mr.

International Journal of Islamic Economics and Business Sustainability

Purpose – This study examines the sectoral linkages and multiplier effects of local government expenditure and private investment in education, health, and information and communication technology (ICT) – sectors central to human capital formation – in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), Indonesia, and interprets the findings through a Maqasid Sharia lens.

Design/methodology/approach – The 2016 input-output table for DIY (17 sectors) was updated to 2020–2029 using the RAS method. Backward and forward linkages and output, gross value added (GVA), income, and labor multipliers were estimated for all sectors. Four shock simulations (ICT, education, health, and a combined shock) were …

How Incentive Design Affects The Benefit-Cost Ratio Of Clean Energy Projects, Timothy J. Bartik

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Digital Government Maturity Dan Kapasitas Fiskal Dalam Penyerapan Anggaran Daerah Di Indonesia, Winda Chelsea Meisari, Siti Fatimah

Jurnal Administrasi Bisnis Terapan

This study examines the determinants of budget absorption within Indonesian provincial governments by assessing the impact of digital government maturity and regional fiscal capacity. Digital maturity is operationalized using the Electronic-Based Government System (SPBE) index, while fiscal capacity is proxied by the Natural Logarithm of Local Genuine Revenue (Ln_PAD). Adopting a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional design encompassing 38 provinces in 2024, the data were evaluated through multiple linear regression analysis. The empirical findings demonstrate that neither digital maturity (p-value = 0.966) nor fiscal capacity (p-value = 0.774) exhibits a statistically significant relationship with budget absorption, both partially and simultaneously …

Impacts Of Climate Hazards On Employment And Earnings By Hazard Type, Industry, Race, And Ethnicity, Dania V. Francis, Keren M. Horn

Sustainable Solutions Lab

We examine the relationship between climate-related disasters and subsequent county-level aggregate employment and earnings. We combine earnings and employment data from 2000 to 2023 with data on disasters to estimate local projection impulse response functions relating extreme disaster events to cumulative percent changes in employment and earnings. On average, disasters appear to reduce employment growth three to five years post disaster. There are small positive impacts on earnings. These results are largely driven by responses to hurricanes and tropical storms. Key rebuilding industries such as construction see short-term gains in employment that turn to losses in the longer-term that are …