REMI Quarterly Brief:
Q2 2021
“Progress and Prosperity: Guiding Policy through Uncharted Waters”
We cordially invite you to join us for the 36th Annual REMI Users’ Conference that will take place from Wednesday, October 20th through Friday, October 22nd, 2021 in St. Pete Beach, Florida! We encourage you to take advantage of the discounted block of rooms at this year’s venue, the Sirata Beach Resort before conference registration ends on September 20. For more information about registration, room reservations, guest speaker opportunities and deadlines, please feel free to contact Dee.Scott@remi.com or visit our conference event page by using the button below.
We hope to see you all in Florida soon!
REMI-DEI Model:
Assessing the Economic Implications of DEI Analysis
REMI-DEI is the premier modeling solution for evaluating the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) impacts of projects and policies across a variety of topic areas. As a premium software tool for economic impact analysis, REMI-DEI can assess the core issues of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and practices to pave a way towards more informed policymaking.
Federal, state and metropolitan agencies increasingly require diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) analysis of government policies and programs. As the nation reckons with the economic and demographic impacts of social policy, the tools for economic impact analysis must also address these core issues of diversity, equity and inclusion to pave a way towards more informed policymaking.
REMI-DEI allows analysts to evaluate the DEI impacts of projects and policies across a variety of topic areas and understand the varying economic effects across demographic groups.
Decision-makers and policy leaders employ REMI-DEI to understand the relationship between
public policies in their industry and the varying economic effects across demographic factors including:
– Jobs by Race/Gender
– Regional Disparities by County
– Labor Force by Race/Gender
– Jobs by Education Level
– Income by Quintile
– Inflation Impact by Income
Please click here for a demonstration that illustrates how analysts can evaluate the
DEI implications of public policies using REMI’s economic modeling software.
REMI-DEI Presentation Series
Transportation and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Universities’ Economic and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Impacts
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Workforce Development
Tax Policy and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Evaluating Social Equity through Economic Modeling
A new focus has emerged in economics and public policy as governments at all levels have started incorporating measures intended to enhance social equity into their planning procedures. Increased access to affordable housing and the reallocation of resources are just some examples of the aspects that are now being considered during the legislative cycle in order to potentially address the deficiencies created by previous domestic policies.
The concern surrounding social inclusion has made its way to the federal government with yesterday’s announcement of the first step of the American Jobs Plan by President Joe Biden. This initial portion of the president’s legislative initiative targets infrastructure improvements across the board, but the second half is expected to be proposed later this month and will aim to fund educational and social programs related to housing, workforce development, racial equity, and more. The New York Times published an article that outlined the various provisions of this infrastructure bill and quantified how many sections of our transportation network stand to be repaired or replaced while alluding to some of the anticipated elements that could be included in the plan’s second step.
At the local level, the COVID-19 pandemic afforded the Town of Breckenridge, CO the ability to reevaluate how they plan their tourism activities and future events so that they can become even more inclusive and influential for the surrounding community. The Summit Daily news outlet recently covered the use of a town-wide survey to better assess the overall effectiveness of prior events, as well as the potential implementation of requirements for prospective functions to meet certain equity and sustainability standards before receiving approval.
Meanwhile, some legislators remain hesitant when considering the new push for social equity, updated climate policy, and inclusive economics. Reuters released an article that detailed Republican Senator Pat Toomey’s apprehension toward the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s research into climate change, income equality, and other social topic areas. Sen. Toomey penned a letter asking for information about the Fed’s examinations, which he believes are detracting from what he sees as their primary analytical concerns and facilitating a social agenda.
In February, REMI was joined by Colby Lancelin, Principal Planning Coordinator for the Atlanta Regional Commission, for a guest webinar presentation that explored the long-term economic and demographic changes that were generated by the outbreak of COVID-19. “Pandemic and the Economy: Crisis Diverted?” demonstrates how to use the REMI model when evaluating various potential scenarios, evaluating the corresponding outcomes, and assessing how current and future policies might impact regional populations.
Pictured: Quarterly State Coronavirus Case Fatality Response (CFR) for 2020q1-2022 from “Pandemic and the Economy: Crisis Diverted?”
You can access this full article and corresponding sources here. For your convenience, the full presentation and webinar recording can be viewed on our website by clicking here.
Client Spotlight: Jeff Hardcastle, Nevada State Demographer
Jeff Hardcastle is the Nevada State Demographer at the Nevada Department of Taxation. As such, Jeff produces annual population estimates; population projections; and age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin estimates and projections. He represents the State of Nevada to the Federal-State Cooperative Program for Population Estimates (FSCPE).
He has served as the Chair of its Steering Committee since 2012. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences Panel on Addressing Priority Technical Issues for the Next Decade of the American Community Survey. He has participated in the NAS Workshop on Rationalizing Rural Area Classifications and the Workshop on 2020 Census Data Products: Data Needs and Privacy Considerations. He is a member of the Date Products Review Group organized by the Population Reference Bureau for the Census Bureau.
At REMI’s Annual Users’ Conference, Jeff presented “Preparing Nevada’s 2020 Projections: A look at the REMI Model and COVID-19 and a World Gone a Little Crazy”. Throughout the presentation, Jeff focuses on the complications of COVID-19 and tourism and how it affected his efforts for forecasting Nevada Projections. In addition, he discusses how effective the REMI Model is when studying Nevada’s projections. You can learn more about Jeff’s Presentation by clicking here.
Pictured: Comparison of 2039 Projected Population for Four Different Nevada Scenarios taken from “Preparing Nevada’s 2020 Projections”
Most recently, Jeff has announced his retirement. After years of being a loyal REMI client, we wish Jeff the best of luck in retirement!
Staff Spotlight: Wei Kang, Regional Economist
Regional Economist, Wei Kang holds a Ph.D. and an MA in Economics from Middle Tennessee State University, and a BA in Finance from Beijing Language and Culture University. Dr. Kang has worked for REMI since 2011 as a member of the research and development team. She has provided extensive effort on the model development of the PI+ model and new REMI model products. In addition, Dr. Kang is responsible for annual data inputs, as well as running the model building system. Dr. Kang has provided estimation and forecasting for national models.
Prior to her work with REMI, Dr. Kang worked as a research assistant at the Business and Economic Research Center, MTSU. Her research has focused on regional economics, energy economics, and applied econometrics. She has conducted a variety of studies on economic impacts, regional economic heterogeneity, regional economic recovery, and energy price volatility using advanced econometric methodologies. Her work has been published in academic journals, including the Review of Regional Studies and Journal of Economics and Finance.
What’s Next at REMI?
D.C. Luncheon
REMI will be hosting our monthly luncheon on Thursday, September 30, 2021, from 11am to 1pm (ET) at Metro Center, 700 12th Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington D.C. 20005. We look forward to offering this event free of charge; however, we do ask that you register in advance.
More information about registration to come.
Investing in American Transit
REMI will be hosting “Investing in American Transit,” our upcoming webinar on Tuesday, August 10th from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (ET). During this discussion, we will explore the economic implications of this the INVEST in America Act using the REMI economic model.
The Effects of Labor Force Changes: Employment and Retirement Post-pandemic
REMI will be hosting “The Effects of Labor Force Changes: Employment and Retirement Post-pandemic,” our upcoming webinar presentation on Thursday, August 19th from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (ET). During this discussion, we will explore the methodologies underlying the demographic portion of the REMI model and describe how multiple factors influence each region’s labor force differently.