What's New - July 2002

Site of the Month: State Science & Technology Indicators

July's site of the month is the Commerce Department's State Science and Technology Indicators, Second Edition.  This study, commissioned by the Technology Administration, provides a very comprehensive set of state-level indicators of technology-based economic growth, ranging from research & development to educational attainment, science-related education programs, venture capital investment, numbers of high tech companies, and household computer and Internet penetration rates.  The data are organized both by subject area and by state, so you can easily look at state rankings for any particular indicator, or see an entire state's indicators at a glance.  Downloading this Adobe Acrobat file (about 6.8 megs) will save your surfing around to a range of different sites to find this information:
http://www.ta.doc.gov/reports/TechPolicy/StatesIndicators2.pdf

Metropolitan Biotechnology Development

More than three-quarters of the nation’s states and large cities are actively pursuing biotechnology as part of their economic development strategies.  Who’s ahead in this race and what chance do those further back in the pack have to develop a biotech cluster?  Signs of Life, a new report published by the Brookings Institution, provides detailed information on the extent of biotech research and development, private investment, new firm formation and other indicators of industry activity.  (Full disclosure:  the report is authored by EconData.Net co-editor Joe Cortright).  Key conclusions:  the biotechnology industry is highly concentrated in just nine metropolitan areas nationally, and while research is becoming more widespread, all of the important measures of commercialization are becoming more concentrated in just five leading metropolitan areas—powerful evidence of the business advantages of clusters.  This report is a useful resource for anyone interested in benchmarking the development of their local biotechnology industry against other areas.  You’ll find it at:
http://www.brook.edu/es/urban/publications/biotech.htm

New Links Added

This month we look at housing, providing links to data sources on home prices, housing markets, and construction costs.

Domania
Home Price Check
Sale prices of individual homes, 1987-latest year.
http://domania.homestore.com/homepricecheck/index.jsp

Freddie Mac
Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index
Index of single-family home price change, 1975-latest quarter, by metro area, state, and Census Bureau multi-state division.
http://www.freddiemac.com/finance/cmhpi/

PMI Mortgage Insurance, Inc.
Risk of Housing Price Decline
Index assessing probability of housing price decline, for 274 metro areas, published quarterly. Report provides narrative for larger cities.
http://www.pmigroup.com/mortgage_bankers/eret.html

Homeownership Alliance
Housing Contribution to Gross Metro Product
Share of real gross product accounted for by housing, 1996-2002, for 54 metro areas. (Prepared by Economy.com, June 2002)
http://www.homeownershipalliance.com/media/press/zandi_study.pdf

Economic Impacts of Housing Markets
Analysis of the impact of the increase in housing values on wealth, 1990-2001, for 50 metro areas. (See map; March 2002)
http://www.homeownershipalliance.com/default.htm

National Association of Home Builders
Housing Opportunity Index
Quarterly report ranking metro areas in terms of percent of homes sold that a family earning the metro median income could afford to purchase.
http://www.nahb.com/facts/economics/housingopindex.html

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Low-Income Housing
Periodic reports on low-income housing needs and policy, with data for states.
http://www.cbpp.org/pubs/housing.htm

RealEstateJournal, Wall Street Journal
Construction Cost Calculator
Tool for estimating likely range of construction costs in specific metro areas, by type and size of project.
http://realestatejournal.com/partners/constructioncosts/

CyberStates 2002

The American Electronics Association (AEA) has produced the latest edition of its annual “Cyberstates” report, quantifying the extent of the information and communications technology industry in the 50 states.  You'll find data (for 2001) on total numbers of high tech workers, change in high tech employment since 1995, average annual wages, venture capital investment, exports, and research and development spending.  A summary of state data is available on the site; a printed version of the Cyberstates 2002 report is available for purchase for $95.  Start at the clickable map of US states:
 http://www.aeanet.org/Publications/IDMK_cyberstates2002_press_releases.asp

Corporate Headquarters Trends

An important totem of economic success in many communities is the number of corporate headquarters.  Corporate downsizing, restructuring and mergers are rearranging the economic landscape in many communities, especially in finance, utilities and retail.  High profile moves, like Boeing’s relocation from Seattle to Chicago, are one bit of news sure to make the headlines.  But where are the corporate headquarters?  A new study by the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank economists Thomas Klier and William Testa examines the distribution of corporate headquarters across the nation.  Using the Compustat database of more than 1,800 firms with at least 2,500 employees worldwide (rather than the more frequently mentioned Fortune 500), the study shows the number of headquarters in each large metropolitan area and the change in the number of headquarters firms in the last decade.  The article is available through the Chicago Fed (look for the metropolitan area data in Table 2):
www.chicagofed.org/publications/economicperspectives/2002/2qepart2.pdf

Let Us Know . . .

. . . whether you find EconData.Net useful in your work.  If you get a benefit from this site--tell us so we can pass the word on to our sponsors, (those good folks whose financial support enables us to provide you with the services of EconData.Net at no charge).  Particularly in these times, our sponsors have many competing demands for their limited resources, and telling them how EconData.Net helps people quickly find the data they need, will help secure their continued support.  We know from our site traffic and newsletter readership that we have thousands of loyal and frequent users, but a good word from you will go a long way to keep this service up and running (and bring you the latest and best) in regional economic data.  If you use EconData.Net, drop us a line and tell us so we can pass the word on to our sponsors.  Send your email to:  comments@econdata.net