skip to content

Connecticut Economic Analysis - November 2011               

Outperforming the Nation: Can It Be Sustained?         

Economics in the News - October 2011

Manufacturing Growth
and the Future of American Economy
October 2011 - Manufacturing isn’t dying, it’s changing. And it isn't taking place on your father's manufacturing floor. Instead of operating a machine press, today’s manufacturing worker needs a variety of new skills to engage in high-tech processes in industries from aerospace to biotech. These activities create good jobs, drive innovation, and make an economy globally competitive. Other nations have robust pro-manufacturing policies, and perhaps it’s time for the U.S. to catch up.

Read the Third Way article.

     November 18, 2011:    CCEA continues to expect our 2011 national growth rate will register as 1.85%. In comparison, Connecticut will enjoy the relatively robust growth of 2.64% for 2011, sufficient to raise total Connecticut employment by 6,000 in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with the last quarter of 2010.

After beating the national rate in 2011, CCEA sees CT Real Gross Domestic Product (CTRGDP) slowing over the next eight quarters, returning to the historical pattern of lagging America’s national rate. Specifically, for 2012, CCEA anticipates national RGDP growth year-over-year (YoY) for 2012 of 2.6%, while Connecticut’s YoY growth (in the base case) dwindles to 0.7%.

Factoring state-wide initiatives into this picture, CCEA is optimistic that recruiting for (1) the emerging Biosciences Connecticut, (2) expansion at UConn’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, and (3) creation of the Jackson Laboratories' Farmington campus, can boost CTRGDP from the base case, particularly for 2013.

Read the Full November Outlook


See prevous reports in this Connecticut Quarterly Forecasts series.


Featured Reports

The Economic Impact of State Parks, Forests and Natural Resources under the Management of Department of Environmental Protection posted December 2011

This report to the state's DEEP details how outdoor activities on state lands have an economic impact of more than $1 billion a year, from expenditures by residents and visitors on a variety of outdoor activities including camping, boating, fishing and hunting. The study highlights that for every dollar the state spends on the state park system, it receives an estimated $38 in economic activity.

The Economic Impact of the Redevelopment of the Hartford Civic Center November 2011

Based on a 10-year horizon, this CCEA study finds that the redevelopment plan will increase employment by 1202-1449 annually, on average. Real Gross State Product, a measure of total economic activity, will be $45.3 to $58.4 million higher on average. Net State Revenues will be $7.4 to $8.4 million higher per year. This represents a net present value of $58.3 to $66.6 million net state revenues over a 10–year horizon.

Driving Smart Growth: Electric Vehicle Adoption and Off-Peak Electricity Rates August 2011

This study examines the benefits that can emerge specifically in Connecticu during a shift from fossil-fueled to electricity-charged vehicles, with attention to their adoption's affect on electricity rates and transmission lines, and EV potential to reduce green house gases (GHGs).
This study further demonstrates the value of a transiton to variable electric rates, to enable drivers to use smart-recharge mechanisms under off-peak rates, in preference to maintaining the current flat rates.

Assessing the Economic Impact of the AOK Family Child Care Licensing Program July 2011

Perhaps the most pivotal finding from CCEA's economic impact study of the All Our Kin (AOK) Child Care Licensing Program is that the aggregate impact of the AOK Program is achieved at a quite modest cost. CCEA estimates that every $1 of AOK program expense results in $15 to $20 of macro-economic benefit. Survey data from this program's graduates shows that most experience higher incomes than before entering the Program and earn, on average, 10% higher wages than the New Haven area’s industry mean.

The Economic Impact of Bioscience Connecticut - May 30, 2011