The Massachusetts Miracle: High Technology and Economic Revitalization

Just 15 years ago, soaring unemployment, staggering state budget overruns, and tough competition from beyond its borders had driven Massachusetts' aging economy to its knees. Today, the state's robust high-tech based economy and its record low unemployment have focused worldwide attention on what has been called a "miraculous" economic revival. The Massachusetts Miracle takes a closer look at this dramatic turnaround as it actually happened, presenting a collection of highly readable, nonscholarly analyses, opinion pieces, and policy statements written by local economists and policymakers over the last decade and a half. In the process, it reveals the inherent difficulties associated with regional economic analysis and planning. Among the critical questions addressed in the book: How much of the recovery occurred as the result of specific programs and policy decisions? What were the prevailing views of economists and policymakers on what the state's problems were and what the solutions might be? What were the reasons for the region's ultimate success? And, can the "miracle" be duplicated elsewhere? Arranged chronologically, the chapters document the various key events, policies, and insights that shaped the region's economic development. Each contribution is placed in context by a brief introduction, and an overview weaves the various threads together into a coherent picture of how the "Massachusetts Miracle" evolved. David R. Lampe is Assistant Director of MIT's Industrial Liaison Program.