Category Archives: Economics

There’s no free kicks

Posted on June 28, 2018 by JGA

City-owned land should maximize resident happiness. The City of Austin’s Hancock Golf Course, located in central Austin. Image courtesy of Brandon Tucker. 

Posted in Development, Economics, Fiscal | Comments Off on There’s no free kicks

What Nobody Proved About Austin

Posted on February 8, 2013 by JGA

This piece in the Texas Monthly has been making the social media circles.  It argues that – surprise! – Austin might be the state’s most segregated city. It’s so Slate-y in its counter-intuitive hypothesis, that I could just not resist … Continue reading →

Posted in Development, Economics, Housing | 4 Comments

One take on improving Austin affordability

Posted on October 31, 2012 by JGA

Brigid Shea’s recent Statesman editorial implies that Austin’s affordability issues are substantially driven by municipal taxes and rates.  The author bemoans that: “In the coming year, Austin residents will see an average $150 increase on their water and electric bills … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Austin Affordability: What Matters?

Posted on May 15, 2012 by JGA

The discussion around Austin’s ‘affordability’ was perhaps the most interesting policy theme from the recent municipal election. Unfortunately, the discussion seemed to focus on economic development subsidies.  These subsidies – while they might contribute to reducing Austin’s affordability in some … Continue reading →

Posted in Development, Economics, Transportation | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Some suggestions for the Statesman on their Austin Economy series

Posted on October 17, 2011 by JGA

The Statesman’s review of the Austin economic climate is a much-needed profile and (to some extent) evaluation of the city’s economy. There are four areas where the Statesman’s coverage could improve. 1. Don’t forget about sub-group income levels. Not everybody … Continue reading →

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Austin’s democracy deficit hurts local median income

Posted on January 3, 2011 by JGA

Wells Dunbar’s tumblr post of demographic data from the City’s African-American Quality of Life Initiative reminded me that there’s a local democracy deficit concerning municipal policies that might help boost median income. I visualize the family median income data below.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Development, Economics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Save to Win Austin?

Posted on February 9, 2010 by JGA

Nudgeblog highlights the remarkably effective Save to Win! effort by community-focused financial service institutions in Michigan and makes a suggestion: With banks acting like lotteries, maybe it’s time for lotteries to act like banks. For people who can’t give up … Continue reading →

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We all want incentives

Posted on February 1, 2010 by JGA

From the Statesman: It’s worth repeating that incentives that spend taxpayers’ dollars to attract companies to Austin are not always warranted or justified and should be granted or denied on a case-by-case basis. And whenever incentives are granted, there must … Continue reading →

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Actually, Pretty Bad Poverty News for Austin

Posted on September 29, 2009 by JGA

Yesterday, we looked at the Austin Metropolitan Statistical Area’s inching up on median household incomes.  Today, the Statesman drills down on Austin-only data and finds a more mixed bag.  Most of the changes seem to be in the margin of … Continue reading →

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Taking Credit for Austin MSA Median Income Growth (Part I)

Posted on September 28, 2009 by JGA

The good folks over at CAPCOG’s Data Points blog give us the good news: Austin MSA median household income is up. However, as I argued in the past, we have to put this in the context of our substantial amount … Continue reading →

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