This is a study of the major economic attributes and economic impacts of Iowa’s insurance industry. In all, the state’s competitive position nationally in the insurance industry has improved strongly over the past decade. At the same time, the industry has become an increasingly important...

This is an applied research and technical assistance project for the Iowa Lakes region that consists of Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, and Palo Alto County. The objective of the research is to help the region to identify its industrial and occupational strengths, to clarify its potential...

This report provides a spatial representation of hospital geography in Iowa and of the decisions of patients to patronize hospitals. It begins with a brief analysis of hospital proximity and hospital proximity’s relationship to population distributions and existing hospital capacity.  This is...

As the Midwest gears up to rapidly add new ethanol manufacturing plants, the existing regional economy must accommodate these changes. There are issues for decision makers regarding existing agricultural activities, transportation and storage, regional economic impacts, and the likelihood of...

Agriculture plays a prominent role in Iowa's economy. There are a variety of standard measures that are commonly used to describe agriculture. Agriculture's contribution to the gross state product (GSP) is one measure, as are the number of jobs in agriculture, the amount and kind of earnings...

A large expansion in shopping capacity was introduced at the Jordon Creek Town Center area of West Des Moines in late 2004. As that project developed, concerns were voiced about the impact of the development on the overall retail and service health of the region: the supposition was that gains...

This research is designed to produce benchmark statistics for regional economic development strategies and policies. By identifying 35 functional economic regions in Iowa, and further detailing their respective economic strengths, weaknesses, similarities, and dissimilarities, the opportunity...

The geographic concentration of the state’s minority population within a relatively small number of diverse neighborhoods suggests an additional important dimension for analysis and begs an important question: How do these racially and ethnically diverse neighborhoods differ from less diverse...

This is an analysis of home mortgage loan application data for 2006, as reported under requirements of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). We included only those applications where both the race and ethnicity of the applicant were reported by the financial institution in this study. For...

The pace and patterns of growth in Iowa's economy have produced distinct groups of winners and losers during the past decade. Drastic differences are evident in both the geographic location and industrial mix of employment growth. As we begin a new decade, it is useful to review recent changes...