ESI Blog: Present Value
Present Value was created as a platform for sharing ideas, discussing our interests, and improving connections with our community. Each post reflects the perspectives of ESI staff on topics that shape economics, planning, and public policy.
States and localities across the country often face a difficult conundrum – a growing need for housing and limited subsidy sources to meet that need. Local governments often must consider ways to fund new housing units without a broad tax increase that could adversely impact residents and businesses. Given this dynamic, value capture policies – […]
The intersection of innovation and arts and culture is a hot topic today, but it isn’t a new idea. In the 15th century, the Medici family’s patronage brought painters, sculptors, and early scientists into the same social orbit in Florence, a collision of disciplines that historian’s credit with helping spark the Renaissance. In the mid-20th […]
Unlocking Capital Dollars for Building Enhancements and Infrastructure Improvements Across the country, commercial buildings account for one-fifth of the nation’s primary energy consumption. This high usage demands creative solutions as building operations and structural maintenance stretch the budgets of property owners and financing partners while also being costly to communities and their residents in terms […]
Universities as a Producer of Value In most regions that have one, a research university ranks among the largest economic engines around. It is a major employer and landowner, and its impacts typically run into billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs. The University of Pennsylvania accounts for $30.4 billion in economic activity […]
In the coming weeks, Philadelphia will host the FIFA World Cup, MLB All-Star Game, and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the formal adoption of the Declaration of Independence. For the city that hosted the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and the Centennial Exposition, all this activity might seem like a birthright. But from the perspective […]
When two universities merge, the press release typically celebrates a new chapter, a stronger institution, and a brighter future. What it rarely mentions is the empty quad left behind: the dorms, dining halls, libraries, athletic fields; often hundreds of acres that no longer needs to function as a center for learning. What happens next is […]
In recent years, colleges and universities have been facing pushback against the funding they receive for research endeavors, and more broadly, the societal benefits of higher education institutions. In 2025, over $3.2 billion in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding was stripped from universities across the country, affecting both public and private institutions. At a […]
You can’t tell the story of Philadelphia’s modern economy without mentioning its higher education institutions. Just like I can’t explain my own professional trajectory without invoking the role of the University of Pennsylvania in bringing me to town in the first place some 35 years ago and then helping create the conditions where I could […]
At ESI, some of our recent work has focused on quantifying the economic and fiscal value of open space, trails, and outdoor amenities. From return-on-environment analyses to trail impact studies, we are increasingly seeing outdoor recreation move from a “nice to have” amenity to a central pillar of economic competitiveness. As Pennsylvania and other states […]
Who doesn’t love spending a sunny Saturday at their neighborhood park? We all know and love our local parks as places to go for recreation and mindfulness, but as critical community assets, they can also be leveraged to spur community development. In this sense, parks serve as dual-purpose infrastructure, functioning not just as places for […]