"Eds & meds"

Universities and hospitals ("eds" and "meds") are "potential drivers of economic development in metropolitan areas," according to a recent report from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. The report examines four impacts of expanding eds and meds that would raise earnings of metropolitan residents:

• Expanding eds and meds brings in new income to a metropolitan area
• Expanding eds raises metropolitan residents’ earnings by improving their skills
• Expanding university research spurs metropolitan economic development
• Expanding meds is likely to encourage other employers in a metropolitan area to pay higher wages

Included in the report are two tables listing the top 30 metropolitan areas for higher education and for medical care.

The Local Economic Impact of "Eds & Meds": How Policies to Expand Universities and Hospitals Affect Metropolitan Economies (pdf, 32pp/1.14MB), Dec. 10, 2008