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Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) recently hosted a webinar with Sondra Collins, PhD, on the fiscal and economic impacts Medicaid expansion would have in Mississippi. With her team, Dr. Collins, senior economist at University Research Center in Mississippi, conducted an analysis of Medicaid expansion from 2022 to 2027. Before digging into the results of the study, it’s important to ask: why is this important? Healthcare spending in the United States comprised roughly 16.8 percent of GDP in 2019, and that number continues to trend upward. Medicaid alone comprises 28.7 percent of state budgets on average, so understanding the economic and fiscal impacts of any sort of change to Medicaid is important for understanding state ...

At IEDC’s 2022 Leadership Summit, Right to Start CEO Victor Hwang spoke about how to encourage entrepreneurship and increase startup growth in cities across the United States. He presented startling facts about U.S. startups, barriers entrepreneurs face, and actions to end the “startup slump”. Hwang pointed out several aspects of startups and entrepreneurship that policymakers often miss. For one, startups and young businesses are not just clustered in the tech sector, but can be found in nearly every business area. These businesses account for a large portion of U.S. net job growth and are major contributors to real GDP and wage growth. Hwang also emphasized that the number of U.S. startups has dropped significantly in ...

A recent IEDC webinar focused on understanding the current state of foreign direct investment (FDI) in North America as we come into the new year. The webinar was presented in partnership with Research FDI which provides strategy services to help regions attract FDI. Presenters first noted that in 2020 FDI saw a global decrease. However, projections for 2021 and 2022 show economic recovery and GDP rising which is a good sign for increased FDI. Because there are so many factors that can influence the economy—such as vaccination rate—it is important to look at things on a country-by-country basis. For example, investment outflow in 2020 decreased in Japan, did not change much in the United States, and increased in Sweden. ...

The U.S. economy will experience strong growth of at least 4 percent GDP in 2022 as consumer spending continues and the bottlenecks caused by pandemic shutdowns begin to unsnarl. The multiplier effects of massive federal infrastructure and other government expenditures rippling through the economy, as well as capital market participants unable to resist utilizing their large store of dry powder, will also contribute to robust economic growth. Construction, transportation, and professional and business services sectors are likely to experience the greatest employment gains. While the retail trade and leisure and hospitality sectors will continue to rebound, many jobs in these sectors will not return. Strong job growth and high wage ...

IEDC will kick off 2022 by focusing on strengthening our communities, attracting new industries, and advancing equitable economic growth. The Leadership Summit will concentrate on diversification—strengthening what we have by diversifying existing economic drivers, diversifying the regional economy and attracting new industries, and diversifying to advance equitable and inclusive growth for disadvantaged and underserved populations.

Greater Seattle has experienced unprecedented and continuous economic gains since the 1990s. Global companies like Microsoft have risen to prominence and further diversified the regional economy from a historical reliance on Boeing and aerospace. Legendary companies such as Alaska Airlines, Amazon, Costco, and Starbucks have also come to call Greater Seattle home. Before the pandemic, the region ranked number one in annual GDP growth among large U.S. metropolitan areas. The Brookings Institute referred to Greater Seattle as one of five superstar regions and a top innovation hub. But like many fast-growing economies, the economic headlines hid challenges across the region. Shortage of good jobs A 3 percent unemployment rate pre-Covid ...

September had the slowest U.S. job growth of the year, but there are signs of hope. Here is a breakdown of the good and the bad. Another disappointing month Nonfarm payroll employment grew by only 194,000 jobs after economists had predicted an increase of 500,000 jobs (250,000–700,000 range). Jobs lost -123,000: government (driven by public education job losses) -161,000: state and local government -19,000: private education 183,000 people left the labor force, causing the labor force participation rate to dip by 0.1 percent. Employment is 5 million jobs below its peak in February. GDP growth slowed to 1.3 percent in the third quarter compared to 6.7 percent in the second quarter. Signs of hope Jobs ...

The emergence of coronavirus has paralyzed China, with the extended closure of businesses expected to significantly curtail economic growth in the first quarter of 2020. The outbreak has brought China’s manufacturing industry to a halt, as travel restrictions sideline the nation’s workforce. Major manufacturers such as Boeing, Apple and Nike have closed factories until at least mid-February, reported the Washington Post. McDonald’s, Starbucks, KFC, Levi Strauss, H & M and Samsung have closed stores across China. And office workers have been told to stay home following the week-long Lunar New Year vacation, extending the low production experienced during the holidays. Analysts’ estimates of the impact of the virus on China’s first quarter GDP growth rate range from a drop of 0.2 percentage points to a loss of 1.9 percentage points.