Economic Inclusion Roundtable: Moving Cleveland Above the Trend: Benchmarking Regional Performance

Friday, September 25, 2020

About this Event

A new study by Levin’s Center for Economic Development, Moving Cleveland Above the Trend: Benchmarking Regional Performance, examines mid-sized regional economies that have done well in building an innovative and talent-driven economy, to provide a framework of how the Greater Cleveland region can incorporate similar policies to propel its communities forward.

In total, 135 metropolitan areas, with populations spanning 352,823 to 3.9 million, were examined. The report analyzed variables associated with their regional growth, such as educational attainment, business composition, regional assets, and quality of life; and identified five specific factors that are influencing these economies: (1) Innovation and Talent; (2) Entrepreneurship in High-Cost Areas; (3) New Residential Centers; (4) Retirement Destinations; and (5) Polarization. 

Identifying “outperforming” metros gave a glimpse into regions that exceeded the average performance of other metros through regional assets, innovation, or public policy. Outperforming means that a region had better economic results than those that have similar characteristics, such as level of education, high-tech occupations, and many others. An interesting trend among the outperformers was that their local assets included one of the following in particular: a research university, a federal research hub (including military bases and federal installations), a state government (state capitol), or large anchor companies driving growth. While each city has a combination of regional assets, some of these can be changed with policy and some cannot. Although Cleveland has made significant progress toward building an innovation and technology industry within its economy, it is not yet a tech hub attracting people across the US and the world. The report highlights the regions with similar local assets and strong public policies, with the goal of informing policy in Greater Cleveland that harnesses economic growth.

Our Economic Inclusion Roundtable, recorded on September 25, 2020, offers an exposition of the findings of the report, while examining questions related to public policy implementation, strategies for moving Northeast Ohio’s economic performance above the trend, and the role of inclusion as it contributes to successes in policy and growth.

Panelists

• Dr. Roland V. Anglin, Dean and Professor, Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs 
• Dr. Karen Chapple, Professor and Chair of City and Regional Planning, Carmel P. Friesen Chair in Urban Studies, University of California, Berkeley 
• Dr. Iryna V. Lendel, Research Associate Professor and Director, Center for Economic Development, Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs 
• Molly Schnoke, Project Manager, Center for Community Planning and Development, Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs 
   

Research

Moving Cleveland Above the Trend: Benchmarking Regional Performance:
Presentation | Report
 

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Economic Inclusion Roundtable Series

Levin's Economic Inclusion Roundtable (EIR) series is part of a 2-year-long effort funded by the Gund Foundation, aimed at monitoring regional economic performance to advance inclusive growth throughout Northeast Ohio. The EIR seeks to establish a set of civic principles and policies that promote economic opportunity for marginalized communities based on ethnic origin, race, and limited access to assets. EIR brings together diverse political and economic voices to use data and established research to derive a guiding set of principles and policies that promote economic inclusion in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.

This series is also supported by the US Economic Development Administration and is sponsored by the Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Dean's Diversity Council.

Did you miss one of our Economic Inclusion Roundtables? View past events from this series below. 

• Is There Opportunity in Opportunity Zones? – September 8, 2020 | About  | Video 
• Voices from the Field - November 15, 2019 | About | Video 
• Who’s in the Driver Seat? Inclusion and NEO Economic Drivers - April 4, 2019 | Agenda | Report