MTSU Economist Believes Things Will Get Worse Locally Before They Turn Up

From Daily News Journal (02/24/08): Interview with BERC director David Penn

Career College Research Highlighted

The Link (Winter 2008) article "Taking Charge: Career College Helps New Generation Steer Careers" quotes BERC associate director Murat Arik: “Given the fact that private for-profit career colleges are racially more diverse, have more nontraditional students, and have programs reflecting demands in labor markets, the economic impact of these colleges on Tennessee’s economy goes well beyond the $330 million economic impact of their operations.”
(Arik's study: The Role of Career Colleges in Tennessee)

Economic Research on Obesity

A new publication highlighting MTSU research, Focus on Excellence, includes an article (page 9 of pdf) on the work of Dr. Charles Baum:

• Baum ... recently completed a two-year study, funded by the USDA, that links the Federal Food Stamp Program to obesity.... One theory is that the Food Stamp Program ... provides food with no corresponding cost of physical labor. It could be due to a lack of education on nutrition or even irregular eating habits.
• Baum ... worked on an unfunded project that suggested a correlation between cigarette taxes and obesity (when cigarette taxes go up, more people quit smoking, which tends to make them gain weight).
• Baum and a colleague, Dr. William Ford, found that there is a “pound penalty” for obese people in the work force.... Over the first two decades of their careers, people who are obese make less money than their similarly qualified nonobese coworkers.
• Baum is currently examining a group that should gain weight—expectant mothers. Low-income women typically do not gain enough weight, which often results in low birth-weight babies or babies with other health problems relating to malnourishment.

MIT Economists Help Their Profession Get Its Groove Back

From the International Herald Tribune (02/19/08)

Current Economic Indicators

For the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro MSA (.xls, 1/29/08)

Tennessee Housing Market Brief

For fourth quarter 2007 (pdf download): second in a series of quarterly reports on the housing market in Tennessee supported by a Tennessee Housing Development Agency grant.

* Note: As of this date (February 15), fourth-quarter data for home sales (National Association of Realtors), personal income (Bureau of Economic Analysis), and past-due mortgages (Mortgage Bankers Association) are not available. This report will be updated as these figures become available.

Job Growth Shows Signs of Slowdown

From the Daily News Journal (2/12/08), "'Job growth isn't keeping up with growth in the number of folks looking for work,' said David Penn, an economist at Middle Tennessee State University."

Global Commerce Online

Global Commerce ("Tennessee Medical Exports: What the Doctor Ordered?") is online. According to editor Steven Livingston, Tennessee's total medical exports have doubled in three years, "making this undoubtedly one of the state's most dynamic export sectors." Livingston writes: "At $5.472 billion, Tennessee now ranks 16th among the states in exports, down two notches from last year.... The state's overall numbers disguised the very good export growth many of Tennessee's smaller industries are seeing."