Demographic Deception
How mesofacts, or facts that change slowly, influence what we think about urban policy and talent migration.
Germany’s Demographic Bust
The population is shrinking and German companies need talent, but the country has always had a strained relationship with immigrants.
Madison’s Portland Problem
"There’s a persistent rap that Madison simply lacks an entrepreneurial spirit, with many locals content with a laid-back life spent enjoying their neighborhoods, lakes, bike paths, and craft beers."
People Develop, Not Places
Measuring the development of patches of Earth seems ridiculous. But that's exactly what we do. How might things differ if we measured income per natural instead of income per resident?
American Decline
People have been trying, for decades, to convince us that our country is in relative decline from an exceptional peak, that we must be on the road to ruin.
The Heart of Demographic Doom
Nearly a century ago, during the Great Migration, less-educated individuals were the ones who left home in search of better lives. The opposite is true today, with the educated more mobile than ever before, leaving some places in a spiral of decline.
The Magic of Cities
Just what is it about big cities—New York, Boston, Houston, Los Angeles—that leads to greater innovation and productivity?
Boston Is Dying
Don't believe a word of the brain drain hysteria. Boston is one of only two talent production industry clusters anywhere in the United States.
Diversity Cult
Ethnic and racial diversity locked up in poor neighborhoods on Chicago's South Side does little good for the regional economy. So why do many blindly associate ethnic diversity with economic development?
In Praise of Michigan Brain Drain
Talent retention is not a key driver of economic vitality. If it were, Chicago and New York City would be in a world of trouble. But that doesn't stop many from resorting to the tired brain drain refrain.