Dr. John E. Stapleford

Delaware's Decade of Poor Productivity is unlikely to change... no productivity gains equals no wage gains   By  Dr. John Stapleford Center for Economic Policy and Analysis Over a decade, Delaware has performed poorly on labor productivity and output per employee. The differences in labor productivity explains the differences in the state's business cycles and the persistence of the state's income inequality. With falling labor productivity and output per employee, it comes as no surprise...

The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that the south is rising again in Delaware. Due to more restrictive land use regulations in New Castle County (NCC) and the migration of retirees into Sussex County, the past 20 years has seen NCC’s share of the state’s population fall from 67% to 60% as Sussex’s share rose from 17% to 22%. These population changes have shifted the locus of economic action in the state.   There are important qualifications to the economic revival...

Retail trade in northern Delaware seems to be in a funk. Between 2007 and 2014 total inflation-adjusted retail sales in New Castle County decreased 11%. Retail trade employment is down by over 7% and the total number of retail trade establishments has dropped by almost 11%.   What explains this?     First, households are still retrenching from the four decade consumer debt binge that culminated in 2008. The ratio of household debt to wage and salary income has dropped from 2.34 to about 1.75....