Reports & Publications for Economic & Public Policy Research
Reports & Publications for Economic & Public Policy Research.
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Feb 2025
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Sep 20242024 Massachusetts Competitiveness Index Report is designed to put forward a framework to assess how Massachusetts stacks up compared to other states, key economic and geographic competitors, and itself.
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May 2024Identifying opportunities to leverage regional industry and better engage underutilized and underrepresented workers
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Oct 2023First post-pandemic analysis of the UMass statewide economic contribution indicates the impact is driven by the purchase of goods and services by the University, and its students, staff, and faculty. Donahue Institute Report also notes major impacts not included in this calculation, including workforce development, R&D innovation, and contributions of alumni.
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Jun 2023This report was prepared by the UMass Donahue Institute and the information in text, tables, charts and graphs are the most recently available information as of March 16, 2023.
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Oct 2022The report examines geographic distribution of small business lending around Massachusetts, lending by municipality, lending by industry lender activity.
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Aug 2022This report was prepared by the UMass Donahue Institute and the information in text, tables, charts and graphs are the most recently available information as of August 17, 2022.
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Jun 2022More Black and Latinx homebuyers in Massachusetts received home purchase mortgages in 2020 than at any time in the last thirty years but the percentage of loans for those same borrowers remain well below their respective share of the population.
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Jun 2022Business activity at WMDC-developed areas is estimated to support a total of $2.2 billion in economic output and 8,438 jobs around Massachusetts annually.
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Mar 2021Examining issues of housing production, affordability, and accessibility across the Pioneer Valley
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Nov 2020The construction also created or supported an average of 2,505 jobs per year.
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May 2020Scanning the best available data sources to analyze how our communities have changed since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.
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May 2020The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Feb 2020The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Dec 2019Under the federal Fair Housing Act and the state’s anti-discrimination laws, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is required to proactively advance the goals of affirmatively furthering fair housing choice in the state.
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Dec 2019The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Aug 2019The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Feb 2019The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Dec 2018The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Jul 2018The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Jun 2018The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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May 2018The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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May 2018Among other findings, the study concludes that no significant decline in lottery revenue is attributable to Plainridge Park Casino.
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Feb 2018The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Dec 2017The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Oct 2017The purpose of the current Operating Report is to estimate the full economic impact of the first year of operations of the Plainridge Park Casino (PPC) on the Massachusetts economy.
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Aug 2017The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Jun 2017Low productivity growth, rising healthcare costs, and demographics put pressure on Massachusetts households and state tax receipts
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Jun 2017Produced for the New England Foundation for the Arts By the Economic and Public Policy Research Group of the UMass Donahue Institute
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May 2017
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May 2017
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Apr 2017
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Mar 2017Concerns about long range growth center around available labor supply and uncertainty in Federal immigration policy
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Mar 2017The Institute provided economic analysis for the Mass Technology Learning Collaborative report
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Dec 2016The Winter issue of MassBenchmarks examines current conditions in the Massachusetts economy and features an in-depth study of working households' housing needs in Metro Boston; an analysis of strategic investment in the Commonwealth's Gateway Cities; and an assessment of state and local capital spending in New England.
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Nov 2016The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Oct 2016Massachusetts real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in the third quarter of 2016 according to the MassBenchmarks Current Economic Index.
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Oct 2016Leading regional economists recommend more state tax revenue and greater investment in education and infrastructure.
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Sep 2016Click title for the report's key findings. The Institute's client MassDevelopment manages the 4000-plus acre property. This is the fourth such report the Institute has provided MassDevelopment about Devens.
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Aug 2016The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Aug 2016Massachusetts real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.0 percent in the second quarter of 2016. In contrast, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, national real gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 1.2 percent during the same period.
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Jun 2016The Spring issue of MassBenchmarks examines current conditions in the Massachusetts economy and features a special focus on the medical device industry and a look at the economic contributions of the foriegn-born population in Worcester.
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Jun 2016This report performs an objective analysis to quantify the economic contributions of the University of Massachusetts system and its campuses on the Commonwealth's economy.
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May 2016Economic indicators for the Commonwealth are generally positive, including employment, unemployment, and output.
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May 2016The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Apr 2016Unemployment rate now below pre-recession low; Moderate growth expected in Q2 and Q3
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Feb 2016The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Feb 2016Deferred public investments in infrastructure and education are taking their toll.
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Jan 2016Massachusetts economy slows but continues to outpace the nation in 4th quarter of fiscal year.
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Dec 2015The defense industry is a major contributor to the economy of New England.
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Dec 2015The fall issue of MassBenchmarks examines current conditions in the Massachusetts economy and features a special focus on transportation issues in the Commonwealth.
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Nov 2015For UMass Lowell, the Institute developed a detailed report demonstrating the economic effects of the University on the Lowell region.
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Nov 2015The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Oct 2015The journal of the Massachusetts economy published by the UMass Donahue Institute in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
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Sep 2015Slowing global economy, "troubling imbalances" are major issues of concern to leading regional economists
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Aug 2015State economy expands robustly in the second quarter of fiscal year 2015. Strong job and spending growth cause for optimism while international threats remain
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Jul 2015The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Jul 2015As the second quarter comes to a close, the Massachusetts economy looks to be in good condition although there are a number of issues that merit concern.
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May 2015This issue examines current conditions in the Massachusetts economy and features articles covering the state's technology sector and a special focus on initiatives to boost the Commonwealth's small- to mid-sized cities.
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May 2015The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Mar 2015While February's severe snowstorms may have temporarily slowed the Massachusetts economy, they do not appear to have derailed the healthy expansion that the Commonwealth has been experiencing in recent quarters. However, it is clear that selected sectors of the economy have been hurt by the storms, particularly in those cases where economic activity has been permanently lost rather than postponed.
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Feb 2015The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Dec 2014On December 29, 2014, the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VY) will no longer operate as an energy production facility.
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Nov 2014By and large, Massachusetts is on track for moderate economic growth over the next two quarters. Alongside that, however, is a dampening of the state’s export performance and continuing economic struggles beyond the Metro Boston region, notably in some of the state’s Gateway Cities.
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Oct 2014The State Data Center at the Institute produces and publishes a comprehensive economic overview, the Due Diligence document. This is a quarterly report prepared under contract for the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s Department of Debt Management.
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Oct 2014In collaboration with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the UMass Donahue Institute examined the extent to which the Boston Metro area experiences “brain drain,” a migration of young college-educated individuals out of the city due to lack of economic opportunities, as well as the rate at which it retains its college graduates.
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Oct 2014Both Massachusetts and the nation are on track to experience solid growth for the balance of 2014 and through the first quarter of 2015.
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Jun 2014As the second quarter comes to a close, the Massachusetts economy looks to be in good condition although there are a number of issues that merit concern.
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May 2014This report performs an objective analysis to quantify the economic contributions of the University of Massachusetts system and its campuses on the Commonwealth's economy.
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Mar 2014This issue of MassBenchmarks explores population shifts in Massachusetts and their future implications for the Bay State's economy.
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Dec 2013Federal fiscal policies are slowing the Massachusetts economy.
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Dec 2013The Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance (ANF), MassDevelopment, and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center at the request of the Sequestration Task Force contracted the UMass Donahue Institute (UMDI) to complete a first-in-the-nation study of the near-term economic effects that sequestration cuts occurring in the federal fiscal years 2013 and 2014 have had on the Massachusetts economy.
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Oct 2013The Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corporation (PERC) commissioned the UMass Donahue Institute to study the advanced manufacturing industry in the Berkshires, examining the history, workforce and existing businesses in the Berkshire region of Massachusetts to determine prospects for growth.
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Sep 2013For the Metro South Chamber of Commerce, the UMass Donahue Institute evaluated current conditions and redevelopment opportunities at a long vacant large 31 acre site near downtown Brockton.
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Jun 2013MassDevelopment commissioned the UMass Donahue Institute to update a report examining the employment and economic impacts of the commercial (non-military) businesses located in Devens, Massachusetts.
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Aug 2012This economic contribution analysis found that Massachusetts’ six military bases support more than 46,000 jobs and contribute more than $14.2 billion to the Commonwealth’s economy annually.
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Jun 2012This preliminary report presents the findings of a study examining the economic impact that the defense industry has on the six states of the New England.
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Dec 2010This report provides a look at the scale and specific nature of the defense industry in Massachusetts.
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Sep 2010Since 1969, Chapter 40B of the Massachusetts General Law has provided a unique tool for the development of affordable housing.
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Mar 2009The Patrick Administration's secretary of housing and economic development today announced that the state will use a recently completed comprehensive housing market assessment report to help determine the best way to meet future housing needs and guide policies to effectively ensure long-term economic growth and prosperity.
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Sep 2008Growing Talent reports the research, findings and recommendations of the Life Sciences Talent Initiative, a comprehensive one-year study of talent needs in the Massachusetts life sciences industry and the capacity of the state’s higher education institutions and workforce training organizations to respond.
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Jul 2008More than 163,000 Mass households will struggle to pay heating oil bills in coming year Elderly homeowners to bear brunt of burden
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Apr 2008The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University commissioned a study to analyze the characteristics and economic impact of the veterinary medical industry in the six-state New England region.
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Jan 2008The City of Springfield engaged the UMass Donahue Institute to prepare an assessment of economic needs in Springfield’s low and moderate income neighborhoods.
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Nov 2007The defense sector, defined in this study as commercial activity generated by U.S. defense and homeland security contracts, military personnel payroll, and retiree benefits paid to state residents, is a key driver of the Massachusetts economy.
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May 2007Boston, MA - The burden on municipal budgets of mixed-income homeownership developments in Massachusetts may not be as great as is often assumed, according to a new study prepared by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute for Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA).
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Apr 2007The UMass Donahue Institute recently released the study, “Help Wanted 2: Recruiting and Retaining the Next Generation of Human Services Workers in Massachusetts,” commissioned by the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, Inc.
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Apr 2007The Economic and Public Policy Research Unit recently prepared a major industry study for the Massachusetts High Technology Council.
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Apr 2006The UMass Donahue Institute has released the study, “Help Wanted: The Future of the Human Services Workforce in Massachusetts” commissioned by The Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, Inc.
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Mar 2006In November 2005, the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute conducted its second annual housing poll in collaboration with the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA).
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May 2005The $4.8 billion marine science industry of New England is a formidable economic engine that has the potential to prosper through investments in homeland security, oceanographic and atmospheric warning systems, allied navies, and environmental monitoring, but the industry is in danger of running aground in the global competition for investment unless it can find more highly skilled workers and research support, according to a study released today by the UMass Donahue Institute.
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May 2004This report, surveying attitudes and expectations of small business owners in all six New England states, was designed to assess the economic outlook for small businesses operating in New England.
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Oct 2003A comprehensive study of the fiscal impact of new housing development in Massachusetts prepared for the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association.
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Aug 2002This study analyzes Massachusetts and its regional economic dynamics for the Massachusetts Department of Economic Development.
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Jun 2002This study describes the effects of two decades of boom and bust on workers and families, analyzing winners and losers in a new state economy.
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May 2001The medical device industry in Massachusetts is both an ongoing vital contributor and a stabilizing factor to the state's economy during the recent recession.
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Nov 2000This paper examines the food and lumber processing industries in Massachusetts over the last four decades as well as a general assessment of the total food marketing system in Massachusetts in 1997, the most recent year for which data was available.
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Oct 2000A report detailing the decline of the environmental industry in the 1990s.
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Sep 2000This report summarizes employment and earnings, and identifies important trends within various sectors of the Massachusetts Marine Economy, which includes commercial seafood industries, marine transportation, tourism and recreation, marine technology and education and coastal construction and real estate.
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Jun 1999This report provides a detailed analysis of the pharmaceutical industry in Massachusetts.
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Jun 1997A two-year study conducted for the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association.
