The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the finalized 2012 annual average unemployment data for metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), cities and counties on Friday April 19, 2013. These data commonly serve as the basis for high unemployment area calculations to determine … Read More
Author Archives: Paul
Texas Job Recovery by Industry
Download a PDF version. December 2011 marked an important milestone for the Texas economy in its recovery from the Great Recession. Total employment in December finally surpassed peak employment achieved in August 2008 prior to the recession. Approximately 427,600 jobs … Read More
Making Wise Decisions on Economic Development Decisions
Impact DataSource helps economic development organizations, cities and other governments make wise decisions on incentives. We recommend communities conduct an economic and fiscal impact analysis to estimate the value of the proposed project and base the incentive amount on the … Read More
Choosing a Discount Rate
Our clients often ask for guidance in choosing a discount rate for present value calculations. This post presents some background on present value and considerations to bear in mind when choosing a discount rate. A fiscal impact analysis will identify … Read More
Economic Development Incentive Decisions
Learn more about the use of local economic development incentives through our Local Economic Development Training Course. Although critics may view the use of economic development incentives as corporate welfare, local governments can improve the social welfare by supporting private … Read More
Step 1: Should an incentive be offered to this firm?
It goes without saying that incentives should only be offered to businesses that would not otherwise locate in the in absence of the incentive. Understanding the difficulties of this requirement we present additional criteria that economic development organizations (EDOs) use … Read More
Step 2: What is the appropriate value of the incentive?
Step 2: What is the appropriate value of the incentive? Once an economic development organization has determined that the business or project is worthy of an incentive offer, the organization must determine the appropriate value of the incentive. An appropriate … Read More