BOSTON – The economic fate of Massachusetts remains out of the hands of Bay State lawmakers, according to the latest edition of MassBenchmarks, released Monday.
According to the report, which is published by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute, although Massachusetts’ knowledge-based economy is poised for moderate expansion, it faces “serious headwinds beyond its control,” including the slow recoveries of both the national and global economies, the prospect of sequestered budget cuts and the continuing European debt crisis.
“Politics and Globalization: Uncertainty and its Economic Discontents,” an economic analysis included in the latest MassBenchmarks issue, was prepared by UMass Dartmouth economists Michael Goodman and Robert Nakosteen.
The report contends that the future of both the United States and the Bay State remain firmly in the hands of national political institutions, which state leaders have no control of and whose decisions “will play a critical role in determining what the future holds for the Massachusetts economy and the people of the commonwealth.”
Although the Bay State is as well-positioned as any other to ride out upcoming economic turmoil, the “uncertain status of the global economy” is having a negative effect on the state’s economic conditions, including its innovation economy, which has been responsible for leading growth in recent years.
“Despite some recent positive signs, the national economic recovery has been slowing in recent quarters, providing yet another reminder that economic recoveries from balance sheet recessions brought upon by financial crises can be frustratingly slow,” said the article by Goodman and Nakosteen.
The UMass economists went on to say that Massachusetts cannot maintain steady economic growth in the face of slowing national and international growth. Although the Massachusetts economy has weathered the global slowdown well due to its high technology and medical device exports, recently demand has started to reflect the beleaguered global economy and begun to slow.
To view the full MassBenchmarks report, visit: www.massbenchmarks.org.
