Author: Jeffrey Humphreys

Even if we manage to dodge a recession in 2008, the extended housing downturn, the broadened credit crunch and elevated energy prices will work to slow retail sales growth. The sharp housing downturn will do the most damage to households’…

Last year, Delta’s successful emergence from bankruptcy eliminated one of the headwinds restraining Georgia economic growth, but in 2008 high fuel costs and a possible merger cloud the outlook for Atlanta’s largest employer. Meanwhile, other airlines, especially AirTran, will continue…

Two years ago, insurers posted their best underwriting performance in 57 years. They did that by emphasizing premium growth over market share. Last year, the industry’s re-focus on fundamental underwriting standards was sorely tested. Insurers flinched and premiums declined, but…

The 2008 forecast calls for Georgia’s inflation-adjusted GSP to increase by 2.4 percent, only slightly lower than the 2.6 percent advance estimated for 2007. Although the percentage gain will be down from last year, it will be higher than the…

Due to the deepening of the housing recession and a series of financial shocks, the pace of inflation-adjusted GDP growth will remain subdued in 2008. What initially appeared to be a near perfect soft landing for the U.S. economy morphed…

The Atlanta office market’s expansion phase should continue in 2008, but at a much more subdued pace. An abundance of recently announced projects – as well as those already in the development pipeline – will ensure that overall spending for…

Few if any of Georgia’s single-family housing markets are dodging the recession, but the turnaround in new home construction should begin in the second quarter of 2008.

Georgia is the nation’s 10th largest consumer market, thanks to advances in buying power among African-American, Asian and Hispanic populations in the state.

What is the short-term economic impact of college- or university-related spending on the communities that host Georgia’s institutions of higher education? In college towns across our state, the question is a perennial one. I recently quantified the economic benefits that…

Measured in the simplest and broadest terms, the total economic impact of the ports on Georgia’s economy is $55.8 billion.

Although renowned as a quintessential college town, Athens is very much a part of blue collar America. The area is more dependent on manufacturing jobs than either the state or the nation.

Columbus is poised for substantial growth, thanks to Fort Benning, Aflac and the coming Kia plant. The big push won’t begin until 2008.

Banks will continue to benefit from positive demographic trends because the steady influx of new residents increases demands for banking services, props up asset prices and encourages new business formation.

The pace of Georgia's gross domestic product growth will slow in 2007, but it still will outstrip national figures.

The Economics Of Eating Out

The country's economic expansion will continue in 2007, but at a slower pace - due primarily to the housing situation.

What is the bottom line for the U.S. economy? My forecast calls for U.S. Gross Domestic Product to rise by 3.2 percent in 2006, and by 2.7 percent in 2007.

As the nation's fifth largest metropolitan area in terms of the size of its travel and tourism industry, Atlanta is behind only New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The metro area also ranks fifth in terms of total tourism employment, with about 160,000 jobs in tourism-related industries.

Despite the effects of damaging hurricanes, I expect the nation's economic expansion to continue, but with a moderate slowdown in the pace of growth.