ABOUT POLICYHUB
Since its founding in 1909, the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia has been an independent organization that believes high-quality, nonpartisan, and objective intelligence about the region’s most important challenges and opportunities is a crucial driver of equitable prosperity in Greater Philadelphia. The PolicyHub initiative generates insights that align with the organization’s role as a regional “think and do” tank that focuses on inclusive growth, equitable opportunities, and shared prosperity.
PolicyHub is building three main components:
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A web-based public-access data repository that aggregates regional economic data in user-friendly and intuitive ways.
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A regular policy newsletter, Leading Indicators, that publishes original insights derived from the data repository.
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A real-time policy analysis service providing city officials, civic leaders, and the public with nonpartisan research.
Our Principles
PolicyHub is guided by the same principles that have guided the Economy League since 1909: objectivity, transparency, and independence:
Objectivity
PolicyHub produces research insights using only accepted research methodologies driven by unbiased research questions, built on data from reputable sources (e.g. government offices, the U.S. Census Bureau, national research organizations, etc.), comparative cases, or outlined best practices from previous research.
Transparency
As a public charity supported by a cross-sector Board of Directors, the Economy League works solely in the public interest for the shared prosperity of the Philadelphia metropolitan region. PolicyHub makes all data, analyses, and results publicly available.
Impartiality
Like the Economy League more broadly, PolicyHub does not engage in advocacy; its analyses follow the facts and represent the views of the Economy League alone. There is a firewall between the interests of members of the Board and the research agenda of the organization. PolicyHub research aims to ascertain the costs and benefits of legislative or administrative proposals, with the sole object of advancing the shared prosperity of the Greater Philadelphia region.
Our Leadership
The PolicyHub initiative is guided by an expert Advisory Committee composed of a cross-sector of leaders who provide insight and guidance on ongoing projects. This committee is chaired by Lara Rhame, Chief US Economist for FS Investments.
LEADING INDICATORS STORIES
Leading Indicators is PolicyHub's regular newsletter of curated data and policy stories - headlined with our own original Leading Indicator data brief. These data briefs provide context on local topics of interest.
Regional Direction
Inflation in Greater Philadelphia – Part 1: De-Mystifying Local Inflation
As Greater Philadelphia’s economy slowly emerges from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation has become a growing concern. The pandemic-induced economic lockdowns caused major supply chain disruptions across the globe that will have a long-term impact on the price of goods and services.... Read More
Regional Direction
Declining Homeownership in Philadelphia
Philadelphia has long been touted as an affordable big city [1]. As shown in figure 1, it has the highest owner-occupancy rate among its peer Northeast cities, at 53.0 percent. FIGURE 1 SOURCE: Data were obtained from five-year estimates of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community... Read More
Regional Direction
Restaurant Revitalization Funds in Philadelphia
As part of the American Rescue Plan Act in March 2021, the U.S. Congress allocated $28.6 billion to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to aid food or drink establishments that had lost revenues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program provides funds for establishments where “the... Read More
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