Economic Development

The Federal Reserve: A Crucial Player in Informing Economic Development

Close collaboration in the workforce development field is the current trend, creating a more accessible system for businesses and job seekers alike. The Atlanta Fed's Stuart Andreason and Dee Baird of the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance discuss research findings on how the various players collaborate in an Economic Development podcast.

New research points to soft skills as an important indicator for success in the workplace. Jonathan Finkelstein, founder and CEO of Credly, and Laura Lippman, senior fellow at Child Trends, discuss digital badging as a way to document these currently amorphous workplace skills in this Economic Development podcast.

High school graduation rates can have a broad effect on an area's economic vitality. How can communities implement programs to help students graduate while also providing work skills? Mike Beatty, of Great Promise Partnership, and Mike Wiggins, formerly of Southwire Company, discuss an exemplary model in an Economic Development podcast.

How can sector-based workforce development strategies address the needs of both employers and job seekers? Maureen Conway of the Aspen Institute and Fred Dedrick of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions discuss a recent book on the topic in an Economic Development podcast.

How can local economic development strategies evolve to address demographic changes, technological innovation, and increasing global competitiveness? Dan Gundersen, a former senior commerce official, and Rick Weddle, president of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, discuss the topic in an Economic Development podcast.

One outcome of the recent recession is that rural poverty rates are the highest since the mid-1980s. Mil Duncan, founding director of the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute, discusses the issues facing the rural poor in an Economic Development podcast.

One outcome of the recent recession is that rural poverty rates are the highest since the mid-1980s. Mil Duncan, founding director of the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute, discusses the issues facing the rural poor in an Economic Development podcast.

Microbusinesses are a proven job-creation vehicle and promote economic growth. An Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) report suggests their size and impact has implications for local economic development. Kim Alleyne, at AEO, provides highlights from the report in this Economic Development podcast.

The Working Cities Challenge seeks to spur collaborative leadership in Massachusetts's smaller cities and help improve low-income residents' quality of life. Prabal Chakrabarti, at the Boston Fed, and Jessica Andors, at Lawrence Community Works, discuss the initiative in an Economic Development podcast.

How can economic development practitioners best measure and track their strategies' outcomes? Tim Chase, of the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition, and Swati Ghosh, of the International Economic Development Council, discuss their research findings in an Economic Development podcast.

How effective are economic development strategies that seek to grow local entrepreneurship and small businesses? Todd Johnson at Gallup and Dell Gines at the Kansas City Fed explore the successes and challenges associated with this approach in an Economic Development podcast.

State workforce development agencies are crucial in deploying federal funding related to job training and placement. In this Economic Development podcast, Rich Hobbie of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies and Burt Barnow of George Washington University explore how these agencies are evolving as funding streams change.

Can business models be designed to support low-income populations by providing jobs, necessary training, and other support services? In an Economic Development podcast, Carla Javits and Jason Trimiew at the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund discuss their proposal for viable businesses that also include a workforce development component.

What are the economic development implications of immigration, and how can communities leverage immigrants as key workforce assets? Denny Coleman of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership and Michael Iacovazzi-Pau of Greater Louisville Inc. discuss findings from a recent IEDC report in an Economic Development podcast.

What are the challenges facing small business after the Great Recession? Ty Barksdale of Sutton Bank and Jake Rouch of Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership describe demands of the current workplace, including that workers be adaptable, collaborative, agile, and entrepreneurial, in an Economic Development podcast.

Microenterprise development initiatives can help to create and grow businesses and, in many cases, much needed jobs. Elaine Edgcomb and Tamra Thetford at the Aspen Institute discuss their proposal for encouraging microenterprise investment as a job creation strategy in an Economic Development podcast.

Attracting and retaining workers is vital to the success of employers and communities. Carl Van Horn of Rutgers University's Heldrich Center for Workforce Development discusses the center's research on U.S. workers' perspectives on employment conditions and the future of the workplace in a new Economic Development podcast.

Large-scale economic development strategies can help facilitate job opportunities for low-income and minority populations. In this Economic Development podcast, Victor Rubin and Sarah Treuhaft at PolicyLink discuss their proposal that infuses economic inclusion into these strategies as part of the "Big Ideas for Job Creation" project.

Some economic development efforts have expanded beyond traditional strategies to address a more comprehensive set of issues, including neighborhood revitalization. In a new Economic Development podcast, Shirley Franklin, CEO of Purpose Built Communities and former Atlanta mayor, discusses an approach that encompasses many stakeholders and yields beneficial community results.

Regional collaboration can be an effective approach in responding to labor demands of local employers. In this Economic Development podcast, Laura Chandler of the Southwest Alabama Workforce Development Council and Sam Covert of the Mobile Area Educational Foundation discuss how robust coordination among local workforce development players leads to more successful management of industry partnerships.

Disinvested areas of cities must often combine community and economic development efforts to achieve the goals of both. In this Economic Development podcast, Rick Sauer and Lynn Martin Haskin of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations discuss how local institutions can support economic development at the neighborhood level.

How can the workforce development system better respond to people with disabilities? Kathy Krepcio, of Rutgers' Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, and Michael Morris, of National Disability Institute, discuss innovative programs and policies designed to ensure this sector is poised to meet employers' labor needs.

There is value for both the employee and employer in enhancing the skill sets of lower-wage workers. Mark Popovich of the Hitachi Foundation and Jenny Benz of the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research discuss findings of a recent study on this topic and implications for policy and practice.

Many cities support entrepreneurs as a way to create jobs, increase investment, and restore vitality, especially in the urban core. In this Economic Development podcast, Ray Leach from JumpStart and Joe Marinucci of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance discuss how communities can create a thriving entrepreneur base through innovative approaches to support services and by reimagining partnerships among local organizations.

How can employers be effective partners in improving the local workforce ecosystem? Peter Cappelli, professor and director of the Wharton School's Center for Human Resources, discusses how firms can provide on-the-job training for skills needed within their organizations.

What are the current trends in female entrepreneurship? Alicia Robb, senior research fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, discusses recent data on women-owned firms and the challenges and opportunities in expanding this sector.

Christopher King, director of the Ray Marshall Center at the University of Texas's LBJ School of Public Affairs, discusses how the country's shift to a knowledge-based economy has brought the fields of economic development and workforce development closer over the past 10 years.

How can workforce development programs achieve the greatest impacts with limited budgets? Elizabeth Weigensberg, senior researcher at Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, discusses her recent research on the most successful workforce development program components and provides recommendations for how existing programs can be more effective.

Maureen Conway of the Aspen Institute discusses the results of the Institute's Courses to Employment project, which analyzed how community colleges and nonprofits worked together to help low-income adults succeed in the classroom and labor market.

Stephan Goetz, director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, discusses his recent research on the growing impact of self-employment as an economic development strategy. He also describes the types of local programs and policies that can support this sector.

How can a city create an attractive business climate and leverage its unique assets to gain and retain jobs? The Greater Houston Partnership's Craig Richard discusses an approach that has worked in his city to propel significant job growth despite the weak national recovery.

Many cities have experienced the contraction of a once-dominant industry. The Richmond Fed's Kim Zeuli examines two North Carolina cities—Concord and Eden—that lost their textile employment base and learned to adapt to changing conditions.

Workforce development issues require collaboration across sectors and geography. Damian Thorman, national program director at the John L. and James S. Knight Foundation, discusses the importance of public, private, and philanthropic partnerships in addressing local and regional workforce challenges.

Small minority businesses typically pay higher interest rates and receive smaller loans than nonminority-owned firms of similar age and size. Tim Bates, professor of economics at Wayne State University, explores ideas to increase access to capital so minority companies can create jobs and expand.

Philip Harvey, professor of law and economics at Rutgers University, discusses how his proposed direct job creation program would create temporary public-sector jobs, and in the process, help reduce unemployment.

Bob Friedman of the Corporation for Enterprise Development discusses how federal tax preparation assistance for new businesses and the self-employed could facilitate job creation.

Satya Rhodes-Conway and James Irwin, senior associates at the Center on Wisconsin Strategy, discuss how retrofitting public and institutional buildings spurs job creation in the real estate sector while reducing building operating costs.

Instead of sending waste to landfills, a municipal approach that prioritizes the reuse, recycling, and remanufacture of materials can provide a range of new jobs. Georgia Tech's Nancey Green Leigh discusses how to create jobs from the waste diversion process.

Economic development practitioners can foster strategic collaboration among regional concentrations of firms and industries to support job growth and investment in their communities. John Fernandez, the U.S. assistant secretary of commerce for economic development, discusses how to develop and maximize the effectiveness of regional economic development strategies.

The health care sector has been an important source of new jobs in this economy. Dr. Ricardo Azziz, president of Georgia Health Sciences University, discusses the importance of the sector to the economic well-being of communities and how its growth can help catalyze economic development.

Social Networks' Role in Rebuilding Communities

CDFIs (community development financial institutions) are playing a growing and evolving role in job creation across the country. Donna Gambrell, director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's CDFI Fund, discusses CDFIs and how they contribute to economic development in this second half of a two-part podcast.

Donna Gambrell, director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's CDFI Fund, describes how community development financial institutions differ from other financial institutions and discusses their impact on low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities in this first half of a two-part podcast.

Job creation and retention are top priorities for most communities across the nation and around the world. Jeff Finkle, president and CEO of the world's largest economic development membership organization, discusses how successful economic developers adapt to current issues, including the economic downturn, regionalism, and globalization.

Economic development organizations must develop and execute job creation programs in today's difficult economy, even as their budgets are reduced. Denny Coleman, president and CEO of the St. Louis County Economic Council, discusses how local organizations can still add to the quantity and quality of local jobs.

Jay Moon, president and CEO of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, discusses the increasingly technical and specialized skills needed to support advanced manufacturing. These skills, he says, are creating a greater focus on working with business, industry, and educational partners to develop a better skilled workforce.

Microenterprises, which employ about 20 percent of the U.S. private-sector workforce, have been especially important since the recent recession. Connie Evans, president and CEO of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, discusses how economic developers can grow local jobs by supporting microenterprises.

Newly available data provide fresh insights into employment in the small business sector. Brian Headd, economist in the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, explores the changing relationship of small business to jobs.

Today, more companies consider the health of the local workforce when deciding where to locate or expand a business. Dr. Rhonda Medows, chief medical officer and executive vice president for UnitedHealth Group's public sector programs, discusses job trends and how economic developers can improve their communities' competitive advantage by improving the health of the workforce.

Chronic illnesses, including diabetes and high blood pressure, contribute to worker absenteeism, decreased productivity, and increased insurance costs to employers. Greater focus is being placed on preventive health care, including a closer look at children's health. Dr. Jay Berkelhamer, past president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, discusses trends in child health and their implications for workforce development.