Econometric Analysis of Regional Systems: Explorations in Model Building and Policy Analysis provides information pertinent to the use of regional econometric models for forecasting and policy analysis. This book presents macroeconomic forecasting for metropolitan regions. Organized into five chapters, this book begins with an overview of the problem of forecasting regional economic activity. This text then analyzes the principal types, economic base, input–output, and econometric of the regional economic models. Other chapters consider a large-scale econometric model for the Philadelphia region based on time series data to make forecasts for output, employment, prices, wages, income, economic activity, and other economic aggregates. This book discusses as well the types of forecasting models used in regional analysis. The final chapter deals with econometric techniques to bear on the problem of regional economic forecasting. This book is a valuable resource for economists, local policy makers, and government officials.

By explaining how, by how much, and why economics fluctuate during different stages of the business cycle, this work teaches students how to use, interpret and make macroeconomic forecasts while showing them the advantages and shortcomings of various forecasting methods. The book reviews the procedures used to construct econometric models and their general applications such as sensitivity studies and policy simulations with an emphasis on empirical evidence. It also examines the important role of macroeconomic data in economic fluctuations and forecasting, as well as the part played historically by business cycles in the US and the different theories that explain these cycles.

Regional economic models are the key to predicting the effects of transportation, economic development, energy, fiscal and environmental policies. Despite this, the principal regional economic policy analysis model used throughout the United States by government agencies, universities, and the private sector has not been presented in a book until now. The approach to building, understanding and using regional models presented in Regional Economic Models: A Systematic Approach to Forecasting and Policy Analysis is progressive. It begins with the simplest possible models and concludes with a full presentation of the leading model used by policy makers today. The full details are presented along with facilitating software, which is made available so that the reader can build a prototype model for any state or country and can perform policy simulations with full operational models for a sample area. Policy studies are discussed that have been carried out with the model, as well as the range of ways in which policies can be tested through policy simulations. The necessary background is developed for understanding the ways in which models can be used to improve the basis upon which policies are evaluated, as well as the sensitivity of the predicted effects to the model chosen for the analysis. The presentation is multifaceted and includes equations, diagrams and numerical examples. The professional literature is integrated with introductory materials to produce the first comprehensive book on regional modeling that extends from economic base models to modeling advances that are currently being published in economic journals.