UD updates 'How Delaware Compares' project, unveils new interactive website
12:06 p.m., April 28, 2011--How attractive is Delaware as a
location for doing business? What challenges will the First State face
in the decades ahead? Answers to these and many other questions can be
found by using the tools found in the latest edition of "How Delaware
Compares," an extensive inventory of key quality-of-life and economic
indicators, the University of Delaware and the Delaware Public Policy
Institute (DPPI) announced on Wednesday, April 27.
All of the data and indicators are now embodied in an interactive website, How Delaware Compares, launched today.
The new website improves on a model initiated years ago by taking
the data a step further, said John Taylor, executive director of the
DPPI. The project is enriched by the expertise of UD faculty, who have
offered insight and context from their respective fields to supplement
the Delaware-focused data.
Edward Ratledge, director of the Center for Applied Demography and Survey Research (CADSR) at UD, prefaced the unveiling of the new site with a presentation on Delawares economic and demographic trends.
It is important to trace what weve been through the last few
decades to see how the Delaware economy has taken shape and to
understand what the future might look like, said Ratledge.
Playfully giving those who might be allergic to numbers the
opportunity to leave, Ratledge took the audience on a fast-paced history
through charts and graphs on everything from home sales and past-due
mortgages to unemployment rates and personal income per capita in
Delaware.
Following Ratledges presentation, William Latham and Kenneth Lewis, directors of UDs Center for Applied Business and Economic Research (CABER), talked about exploring long-run development issues for the state of Delaware using How Delaware Compares.
They began with a tour of the site and explained to audience members the benefits of the new Multistate Charts tool.
You can now see Delawares rank on indicators ranging from
agriculture and environment to taxes and transportation, and compare it
with those of up to 19 other states at a time, said Latham, who is also
a professor of economics in the Universitys Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics.
You can also compare Delaware to the top or bottom states or to the
states that rank closest to it, added Lewis, also a professor of
economics and Chaplin Tyler Professor of Business.
According to Latham and Lewis, the data, which cover more than 17
major categories and over 400 sub-categories, can be used to identify
Delawares many assets as well as the reasons why the state can be an
attractive location for doing business and how it may become even more
attractive in the future.
This tool enables us to ask questions like, what makes people and
businesses decide to move to Delaware, said Latham, pointing out the
First States rankings on housing costs, commuting times, labor unions
and more.
In true educational form, the tool also identifies areas where
Delaware faces serious challenges and where the states standing can be
improved.
Today weve shown you just a few examples of what the new How
Delaware Compares can do, said Latham. We encourage you to visit the
website, download the tool and create customized reports for your own
analysis to help you recognize the challenges and opportunities facing
our state.
How Delaware Compares is a collaboration between the University of
Delaware and the DPPI of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce and is
managed by UDs Institute for Public Administration and CABER. The website was made possible by a grant from AstraZeneca.
Article by Kathryn A. Marrone
Photo courtesy Delaware State Chamber of Commerce
Originally published by UDaily.
