The Tax Foundation released its latest rankings of state tax burdens today (ABJ report here). Let the silliness begin. Taxes play a role in corporate and household location decisions, but they get way too much credit. Here’s how the Tax …
While downtown living may be out of reach for most Austin residents, it’s a bargain compared to some of the most expensive neighborhoods in other U.S. cities. According to Zillow.com, downtown Austin is currently the most expensive neighborhood in the …
I’ve been reading Daniel Kahneman’s latest book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, and wondering about connections to the way we view the economy and our places in it. For example, my wife has lived in Austin since 1994 and I occasionally …
An open letter to Brigid Shea (and other aspiring city council members): Dear Ms. Shea, I applaud you for focusing your mayoral campaign on affordability. The Austin American-Statesman is right to push you and Mayor Leffingwell for specifics on how …
It’s no secret that I stand firmly behind the public sector’s role in accelerating growth of regional economies. Otherwise, I would not have done this, I would not be teaching this, and I definitely wouldn’t have spent the last 12 …
“We hired Brian as a consultant on an asset mapping and comprehensive economic development strategy project for Hidalgo County. He has provided valuable and insightful advice and guided us on both the asset mapping and CEDS processes. As he refers to himself as “a nerd,” he is an expert in finding and analyzing data. He has the ability to look at a lot of data and “see the forest through the trees.” He is a professional, an excellent presenter, and has been easy to work with. He has come through for us every step of the way in our project. I highly recommend Brian and look forward to working with him on other projects.”
Michael Uhrbrock
The University of Texas-Pan American
Brian Kelsey is an Austin-based economic development consultant and former senior policy advisor at the U.S. Economic Development Administration in Washington, DC. Civic Analytics is his blog about data-driven analysis for understanding community and economic trends. Views expressed here are his own.
