THE CURRENT ISSUE'S HIGHLIGHTS

The Future of Work and the Reskilling Revolution: What Role Will Higher Education Play?
Scott Latham
Higher education must take the lead in preparing students—our future workforce—to adapt and thrive in a workplace that embraces disruptive technologies, including robotics, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. To that end, higher education must adapt the content and delivery of its curriculum and credentialing to meet industry’s evolving skill requirements, as well as provide the basis for lifelong learning for traditional and non-traditional students.

Revisiting the Regional Economic Geography of Massachusetts
Elise Rapoza
Regions are geographic areas demarcated to support analysis, planning, and public policy. Until recently, the analytical techniques available to define regional boundaries were very limited, but new data sets and computational methods can yield improved delineation of regional boundaries.

Economic Currents: Is Massachusetts’ Economy Losing its Steam?
Robert Nakosteen and Branner Stewart
A slowdown is underway, highlighted by the latest MassBenchmarks Current Economic Index, which reported an estimated slowing in gross state product (GSP) in 2019. Departing from a long-standing pattern, the state has recently experienced slower GSP growth than the nation. Massachusetts, in fact, may have hit a binding constraint of slower labor force growth.

Notes from the Board
Despite the recent slowdown, the performance of the Massachusetts economy remains solid. The rising tide is raising more boats, but global risks and labor supply constraints are weighing on the economic outlook.