Jeff Romine, a regional economist specializing in economic and demographic estimates and long-term growth forecasts for Colorado, has joined the University of Colorado at Boulder's Leeds School of Business as a researcher.
Romine is working as a research economist at the Leeds School's Business Research Division and comes to the school from the Denver Regional Council of Governments, where he was responsible for all socioeconomic estimations and forecasts for the Denver region.
"Jeff will add depth and breadth to our forecasting and public policy analysis capabilities, particularly in the areas of socioeconomic and transportation modeling," said Rich Wobbekind, director of the Business Research Division at the Leeds School of Business.
Romine spent seven years with the council and, among other projects, worked to develop a new long-range forecast for the Denver economic region. He also devised ways to improve the presentation of this information to public officials, business executives and the general public.
He will continue to work on similar projects at CU-Boulder and plans to tackle other issues as well.
"I'd like to help develop a more complete understanding of regional growth," Romine said. "In particular, I want to focus on the locational aspects of new growth. One thing we don't know about this growth is the order of how it happens. Do firms move to the edge of developed areas and families follow? Or is it the other way around?"
By trying to answer these questions, Romine hopes to advance the understanding of business location behavior in regional development modeling.
He also wants to help increase the Business Research Division's success in providing helpful economic information to Colorado business leaders and the public.
"I would say 80 percent of job growth comes from expanding businesses," Romine said. "So it's very important for business leaders in Colorado to have access to as much information about Colorado's economy and workforce as possible, and that the information is easy to understand and use in making economic and business decisions."
The Leeds School of Business' Business Research Division provides business, economic and market research with the goal of contributing to the efficient use of Colorado's resources. It is best known for its annual Colorado Business Economic Outlook forum. Held each December, the comprehensive state economic outlook features trends and forecasts for the following year and is prepared by business, government and industry professionals.