MarketShare Newsletter

2010

Retaining and Attracting Young, Creative Talent in Cincinnati

How do cities attract creative talent? Many thought leaders have written on the subject, and what we know today is that cities need to be socially diverse, accessible, “cool”, environmentally friendly, walkable and should offer a wide range of arts and entertainment activities to attract young creative people. While these insights were developed during more robust economics times, they are not completely invalid today. People’s location choices may have slightly changed after the downturn, especially creative individuals’.

What do workforce indicators say about Cincinnati?

Does the Cincinnati region fit in with Ohio’s image?

Recently, the Economics Center’s research team tackled the question of how Cincinnati’s workforce compares to Ohio’s image. Often, perceptions of Ohio are dominated by its association with the Rust Belt and its history of agriculture. While “Ohio” is often thought of as being strongly influenced by the three “C”s – Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus – these three areas are much different from each other and from Ohio as a whole. So how does Cincinnati distinguish itself from Ohio? What are the characteristics of the region’s workforce? How is Cincinnati progressing compared to Ohio as a whole? To answer these questions the Center’s team looked at workforce trends in the region.

Public Schools and Communities they Serve

The issue of school funding is a prominent issue in our region. Why?

The issue of school funding in our region has become prominent in the news as the Little Miami School District pursued its fourth consecutive failing levy in a little over a year, and numerous other districts are also considering levies. The issue highlights the complex relationship between public schools and the communities they serve and raises important questions about public school funding, equity and outcomes. According to the Ohio Department of Taxation, local communities provide nearly half of all statewide school funding, primarily from property taxes. Certainly, this implies that communities with lower real estate values will have a smaller tax base with which to fund their public schools.

2009

Casino Report: The Power of Objectivity

Both proponents and opponents of the Casino debate utilized the same research report

Rarely does an analysis by the Economics Center receive the level of attention given to our recent report on the economic and fiscal impacts of the proposed Ohio casinos.

The Economics Center committed to preparing a careful, empirical analysis of the anticipated statewide and community-level impacts of building and operating the four casinos, following established procedures. Staff members spent over 300 hours collecting data, evaluating research, preparing and checking calculations, and writing up the results of the analysis.

Local Workforce Skills and Economic Growth

A balanced approach to economic growth includes creating low-skilled jobs.

In researching the economic and fiscal impacts of the proposed Ohio casinos, the Economics Center examined the composition of the local workforce by education level. This research revealed that almost 45 percent of the working-age population of the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Area has a high school diploma or less. Economic development discussions often center on bringing high earning jobs to the area to spur growth, but nearly half of the existing population segment would likely lack the necessary skills to take advantage of these jobs.