Environmental Economics

Your daily ray of sunshine from your least favorite blogger

This is making the local news (America's fastest growing small towns):

To determine which smaller cities are growing fastest, we used census data to calculate the population growth rate between 2007 and 2010 for every Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) with fewer than 100,000 people. These statistical areas are geographic entities defined by the U.S. government that usually encompass a core municipality and its suburbs. The truly smallest towns in America were excluded from our ranking, as micropolitan areas must have populations of at least 10,000. And though the data from 2007 and 2010 is not ideally comparable—the 2007 populations are official estimates based on the 2000 Census, while the 2010 numbers are actual counts—it still provides a good snapshot of how these areas have grown.

Retirees also contributed to the rapid growth of two other places on our list: Boone, N.C., and Heber, Utah, both popular leisure destinations, coming in at No. 4 and 5. ...

The population of Boone, a ski area nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, rose 14.7% to 51,079. It has a median income of $31,967 and a below-the-national-average unemployment rate of 7.2%, and it was recently named one of the 10 best places to retire by U.S. News & World Report. In addition, it’s home to Appalachian State University.

“Boone is a university town, but more than most university towns, it is dominated by the university,” says Todd Cherry, director of the Center for Economic Research and Policy Analysis at Appalachian State. “Indeed, enrollment exceeds the town’s population. Between 2007 and 2010, university enrollment increased by nearly 2,000 students, and [university] employment increased by about 200 people. That’s a primary factor in Boone’s recent growth.”

Grump: At the 15% rate Boone's population will double to 88,000 in about 20 years. That will be great, maybe my mortgage won't be underwater by the time I retire. And with 88,000 people there will be no where else to build and I'll be able to sell my house. Then I'll need one of these great small town lists to identify a place to retire to and join the thousands who also plan on ruining it. 

Southern Economic Association: AERE Call for Papers

Via the latest issue of the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy (link added):

The 2012 annual meeting of the SEA will be held at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, November 16–18, 2012. Authors wishing to have a paper considered for the AERE sessions should send a .pdf file by e-mail to John Whitehead, Appalachian State University: [email protected] (with “AERE SEA” in the subject line of the e-mail). Deadline to submit is March 1, 2012. See the AERE web page for detailed instructions.

Small craft breweries as tourist destinations?

Instead of working on what I just told Tim I'd be working on, I'll post this:

Gov. Bev Perdue signed a bill into law Thursday that could help two large craft breweries to open operations in western North Carolina. The legislation -- House Bill 796 -- won nearly unanimous support among lawmakers.

Perdue issued this statement: "My top priority is creating jobs, and this bill will fuel the expansion of an industry that has already put down roots in North Carolina," Gov. Perdue said. "North Carolina’s top-ranked business climate helps us attract new businesses and help existing ones grow and thrive."

"The legislation will allow all breweries to offer tastings and sell their products on site, a change aimed at drawing new breweries – and new jobs – into North Carolina. In recent years, the state has seen a sharp growth in small craft breweries, and the new law will help attract new operations interested in opening breweries that also serve as tourist destinations." For more on the bill read here.

via projects.newsobserver.com

Imagine the size of that multiplier!

From the link:

The legislation now before Gov. Bev Perdue is aimed at attracting Sierra Nevada and New Belgium, two well-known midsize breweries, to western North Carolina. But brewers hope it further ferments the state's reputation as a beer capital.

Hmmm, Torpedo IPA in western NC ... imagine the size of that multiplier!

Until now, state law reserved the beer garden niche to breweries that produced less than 25,000 barrels a year, using the cap as a way to help regulate alcohol sales. All of the state's approximately 50 small craft breweries fit under the ceiling in the existing law.

State Rep. Tim Moffitt, an Asheville Republican, said the change would help attract the Colorado-based New Belgium and the California-based Sierra Nevada to open East Coast production facilities, potentially creating about 275 jobs and more than $200 million in capital investments.

New Belgium is looking to open a facility in Asheville and Sierra Nevada is eyeing property in Hendersonville, officials said.