The Stephen S. Fuller Institute for Research on the Washington Region’s Economic Future at the Schar School of Policy and Government recently released a report examining the region’s declining competitive position relative to its peers since 2010. The slower economic growth that has resulted from reductions in federal spending over the past six years has generated concomitant reductions in many of the region’s rankings based on other economic measures. Understanding the interdependencies between slow economic growth, the income mix of new jobs, personal income change, the high cost-of-living and housing affordability, declining population growth rates and net domestic outmigration, and economic competitiveness will make it easier to formulate and implement solutions to reverse these trends by building on the region’s considerable asset base.
Given the lengthening duration of these unfavorable economic trends and the continuing loss of position compared to the nation’s major metropolitan area economies, it should be apparent that the Washington region’s structural economic problems are not self-correcting. Rather, they will require targeted intervention by local business and public sector leaders to reverse the region’s underperformance and declining attractiveness to business investment and domestic migration. The Washington region has the fundamental assets to achieve its economic potentials. The question remains whether it has the will to undertake the strategic intervention required to redirect the region’s economic path going forward.
About the Stephen S. Fuller Institute
The Stephen S. Fuller Institute at the Schar School of Policy and Government is the premier source for information and analysis of Greater Washington’s regional economy. Through consistent monitoring of regional issues and the economy, the institute is able to identify critical conditions and trends impacting the future vitality of the Washington region’s economy. Regularly communicating these findings and producing timely research on short- and long-term regional policy options ensure local business and government leaders are equipped with the data needed to make informed decisions regarding the region’s future.
Read the full report on the Washington region’s declining economic brand.