Under the auspices of the Urban and Regional Analysis (URA) Program, scholars study economic, social, and demographic trends and their policy consequences. Scholars from different disciplines collaborate on research topics of common interest ranging from regional analysis to national and global studies.

Externally-funded URA projects have examined topics related to changes in urban economic and social structure, regional economic development and competitiveness, population dynamics, income distribution, occupational structure, and industrial mix. Current research initiatives address issues concerning regional policy in the context of structural change, the impact of welfare reform, industrial competitiveness, workforce development, income distribution, and racial and gender equity. Findings from these studies have been disseminated through scholarly publications, research reports, and conference presentations.

Regional Economic Modeling: To provide a continuing basis of support for such activities, resources have been directed towards regional economic modeling and improving the access of scholars and the community-at-large to a variety of data resources. This investment now permits ready access to a very substantial data base and a large-scale econometric model capable of forecasting regional economic activity and producing policy simulations. These established resources add significantly to the quality of analysis available for use in the formulation of regional policy and promote academic research that will enhance our understanding of changes at the regional level and their policy consequences in the national and global contexts.