We have written frequently (most recently here and here) about Pittsburgh as Exhibit A for how so-called Rust Belt regions can return to prosperity. The basic recipe: make the transition from a factory-driven to a knowledge-driven economy largely by retaining…
Michigan Future Schools (MFS), a seven-year long initiative of Michigan Future, Inc., to fund and grow high schools in Detroit that are committed to high school graduation (read more here) wound down its work last summer. We’ve spent time this…
Our latest report identified a clear path to prosperity for states and metropolitan area in an economy shaped by globalization and technology. The only exceptions to the pattern are those few who have been benefiting from high energy prices (like…
Had an opportunity to talk with the Ann Arbor City Council about the economic future of the city. (For an excellent summary of the session see this MLive article.) My remarks and the conversation was mainly about retaining and attracting…
One of the questions I'm now asked most frequently is "how is Michigan doing compared to other states in retaining and attracting recent college graduates?" Good question and encouraging that it is being asked more frequently. Folks seem to be…
Below is the 2011 employment rate (employment to population ratio) data for 25-64 years olds –– the prime working years –– for Michigan's three largest metropolitan areas: the nine county Detroit region (including Ann Arbor and Flint), the seven county…
As bad as the Michigan economy was from 2001-2010, the nine county Detroit regional economy was worse. As the epicenter of the domestic auto industry, the region suffered most from the near collapse of the Detroit Three. Employment and Wages…
Our work at Michigan Future is focused on recreating Michigan as a high prosperity state. A place, once again, with a broad middle class. It is a status we enjoyed for most of the 20th Century, but now have lost.…
In our 2006 A New Agenda for a New Michigan we wrote: For many Michiganians, vibrant central cities are part of the past. No longer relevant or just something you visit in unique places like Manhattan, Toronto or Chicago. Think again!…
One of the questions I get most often during my presentations is "what about the cost of living?". Aren't most of the high prosperity big metros in the country – where the knowledge economy is increasingly centered – places with…