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The Fall 2023 issue of the MassBenchmarks Journal, examining current conditions in the Massachusetts economy and highlighting significant policy challenges facing our state, is now available to read online. 

MassBenchmarks, an initiative of the UMass Amherst Donahue Institute and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, mobilizes economic experts within the UMass system and other public and private research institutions around the state to produce and distribute relevant assessments of the Massachusetts economy through reports, commentary and analysis.

Among the highlights of the latest issue is a comprehensive report on climate-change hazards, resilience strategies and barriers based on a survey on coastal resilience in Massachusetts municipalities written by UMass Amherst’s Marta Vicarelli, assistant professor of economics and public policy, Rob DeConto, provost professor of geosciences and director of the School of Earth and Sustainability, and Darci Connor Maresca, assistant director of the School of Earth and Sustainability. The report, “Climate Resilience in Coastal Massachusetts: A Survey of Municipal Challenges, Plans, and Needs,” is a product of the Northeast Center for Coastal Resilience, a collaboration across the UMass system and based at UMass Amherst with over 60 faculty and researchers and 50 regional partners.

The issue also includes a look at the state of the state economy by Mark Melnik, director of economic and public policy research at the Donahue Institute, an article examining the workforce development challenges facing the Commonwealth – while presenting new strategies to overcome labor shortages – and a piece highlighting post-pandemic challenges related to migration, in particular, an increase in domestic out-migration.

For more information about MassBenchmarks or to view the complete issue online, visit the Donahue Institute website.