Pulse on the Economy

Would it surprise you to learn that many economists are very interested in the effectiveness of education? A look back in history will give us the reason.

Nearly 50 years ago, economist Edward Dennison began his research on what made the greatest impact on economic growth. Not surprisingly, he found that increasing the amounts of land, labor and capital used would increase production. He also found that improvements in the quality and productivity of these resources led to even greater growth.

As I was looking for a way to beat this weekend’s heat, I found myself, along with many others, around the Kenwood Towne Centre. It’s difficult to travel through that area and not notice the hulking mass of rusted metal that is the struggling, and much publicized, Bear Creek property Kenwood Towne Place. It stands as something of an unintentional monument to the property value boom and bust that defines the recession.

By David Holthaus • dholthaus@enquirer.com

The 2012 World Choir Games, to be held in Cincinnati, will have an estimated economic impact of $73.5 million, according to a University of Cincinnati report released Thursday.

The impact includes direct spending of $36 million by the operators and organizers of the event, participants who will stay at hotels downtown and elsewhere, and by spectators. Indirect spending accounts for the rest of the estimated impact.

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Does it feel to you as if the economy is finally in recovery? In some respects it is, but many Americans are not feeling that way at all. In spite of an increase in the overall level of production, most Americans remain wary. They don't seem to have confidence that this trend will continue.

This is the time of year when many people look forward to their vacations and family entertainment. The arts and entertainment industries are gearing up to present an array of appealing choices. Across the nation, regions will compete to attract tourists and their spending. These tourists represent an infusion of new money into an economy and usually provide a welcome boost to the region. Over the years, the UC Economics Center has measured the economic impact of many of the Cincinnati’s regional entertainment and art venues and, for this column, we have updated some of our findings.

A few weeks ago I met with Craig Vogel, the Associate Dean of Research and Innovation at UC’s College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning (DAAP). He is also President of the Live Well Collaborative. This organization, located at UC, uses interdisciplinary problem solving and collaboration between corporations and universities to research and develop products for the over 50 age group.

Now that some of the worst economic news seems to be over, it is instructive to look at how Cincinnati did over the past few years. Our Economics Center looked at indicators critical to the well-being of a region. We selected eight metro areas for comparison: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Minneapolis, Columbus, Indianapolis, Detroit, Memphis and Salt Lake City. We also compared the Cincinnati metropolitan area to the nation as a whole.