News & Insights

The thinking behind the work

Essays from our Present Value blog, news from the firm, and our analysts in the press.

Present Value·Political Posts

Mapping the Results of the 2017 Primary Election

ESI Director Jonathan Tannen simulated his predictions for the outcomes of the 2017 Philadelphia Primary Election in Present Value last week. Now the…

Present Value·Political Posts

Simulating the Court of Common Pleas Election

The 2017 Philadelphia Primary election is May 16th. In prior posts, we’ve looked into the dynamics of an often-overlooked race: judges for…

Present Value·Economic Development and Sector Strategy

Employment in Construction: Where are the Skilled Workers?

Over the past several years the number of employers, who have indicated that they were having trouble filling positions for skilled construction…

Present Value·Food Systems

An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Basically everyone knows that I love apples. But anyone who really knows me knows my absolute favorite type of apple. While I…

Present Value·Geospatial Analyses (GIS)

Step By Step: A Guide on How ESI Uses CARTO

The two first posts in our Step-by-Step series demonstrated how ESI uses R for data manipulation and graphing and ESRI to map the economics and demographics of…

Present Value·Economic Development and Sector Strategy

Yes They Can: How Philadelphia Trade Unions Can Become Major Job Creators

In the past decade, Philadelphia’s population has continued to grow, reversing over 50 years of decline from 1955–2005. The population growth has…

Present Value·Geospatial Analyses (GIS)

Mapping Banking Data

Demonstrating the Banking Industry's Affects on Communities ESI Senior Vice President Lee Huang's op-ed, How Neighborhoods Could Lose if Trump Succeeds in Rolling…

Present Value·Infrastructure Economics

Philadelphia Housing Index: The El’s Impact on Neighborhood Premium

You may have noticed, we think a lot about the value of public transportation around here. So we paid extra attention when…

Present Value·Geospatial Analyses (GIS)

Step By Step: A Guide to How ESI Uses ESRI

The first edition of the Step-by-Step series demonstrated how ESI uses R for data manipulation and graphing. This step in the series will show you one…

Present Value·Infrastructure Economics

Ridesharing Makes It More Important than Ever to Support Public Transit

The burgeoning ridesharing industry has led some to argue that ridesharing is a more efficient market solution to urban travel than public…

Present Value·Political Posts

The Dimensions of Philadelphia’s Democratic Primaries

Elections can be challenging to model. Philadelphia, in a Democratic primary, has 66 wards, over 100 candidates, and thousands of issues. And wards,…

Present Value·Public Policy and Fiscal Analysis

The Economy Under Trump: What to Expect?

ESI Principal and President Richard Voith recently gave a presentation for Manko Gold Katcher & Fox, an Environment and Energy Law Practice, outlining the…

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