Local governments often spend thousands (if not millions) of dollars on research. In many instances, cities hire traditional analysts from diverse backgrounds to perform accounting, budgeting, and financial policy analysis— and still, they often need to hire consulting firms to conduct research. The field of economics teaches a data-driven approach to problem-solving that can be lacking in other disciplines. Examples of municipal governments with “in-house economists” suggest that their skills and training enhance a city’s proficiency in analyzing policy and reduce its dependence on consulting firms

• Publication date: October 2023
• Authors: Deep Debnath, Matthew Lue, Alex Tabb, and Mark Mack