Two recent articles preview our upcoming annual progress report on Michigan’s transition to a knowledge-based economy. This is will be the fifth of these reports that Don Grimes and I have done on how well Michigan is doing compared to the country in terms of employment and particularly personal income. And which states are doing well, which aren’t and what are the common characteristics of those who are doing well. The new report covers the period from 2001-2010.
Detroit News columnist Daniel Howes in a column entitled Talent in big cities drives growth explores our findings that big metros anchored by vibrant central cities are where per capita income is the highest and, maybe most importantly, where private sector employment earnings per capita are also the highest. The main reason is that big metros are where both college educated adults and knowledge-based enterprises are concentrated. Howes writes that it is important and encouraging that the city of Detroit––despite all the headwinds––is moving in the right direction to becoming a talent magnet.
Governing did an overview of the upcoming report in an article entitled Analysis offers path to Michigan’s economic prosperity. The article includes an easy to use table––using our data––on how all 50 states rank in per capita income, private sector employment earnings per capita and the proportion of wages from high education attainment industries.
