Founded on July 1, 1945, the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of New Mexico will celebrate its 60th birthday this year. BBER (then called the Bureau of Business Research) was created at UNM as a way to focus university resources in an effort to assist in the economic development of New Mexico and has since provided 60 years of research and information about the state’s economy and population to the citizens of New Mexico.
Over the years BBER has concentrated on helping New Mexicans better understand the state’s economy and the demographic characteristics of the population, with the objective of helping individuals and institutions make more informed decisions. To this end, BBER’s professional staff, with assistance from UNM student employees, collect, analyze, disseminate and explain data, develop estimates and projections of economic and demographic variables, and conduct policy and other research on New Mexico under contract.
“From the very beginning, BBER has been committed to being of service to the State of New Mexico and its residents, and I expect that will continue many, many tomorrows,” said BBER Sr. Economist Larry Waldman.
The BBER maintains a major depository of socioeconomic data that is open to the public—the Data Bank; a “content-heavy” Web site filled with data tables —www.unm.edu/~bber; a monthly publication of economic indicators and topical articles titled New Mexico Business; a quarterly economic forecasting newsletter — The FOR-UNM Bulletin; and an economic forecasting service (FOR-UNM) that provides projections of numerous economic variables for the state as a whole and for three of the state’s metropolitan areas (Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Santa Fe).
In addition, BBER maintains close ties with the U.S. Census Bureau, along with the national community of demographers and information-providers. BBER also conducts research on a contract basis that studies a wide variety of economic and demographic issues.
Recent research projects include: the economic impact of the University of New Mexico; the economic impact of the Federal government on the New Mexico economy (for New Mexico First); a baseline study of the Santa Fe economy, to be followed by a second study, for the purpose of assessing the impact of the Living Wage Ordinance on the City of Santa Fe economy; the economic importance of the arts and cultural industries in Santa Fe County; and the benefits and costs of city-county unification: an analysis of the City of Albuquerque and County of Bernalillo finances.
The general public is invited to contact the Bureau of Business and Economic Research if they seek Census or other data related to New Mexico. The Data Bank can be reached at: 277-6626 or dbinfo@unm.edu; for economic forecast data contact Larry Waldman, 277-7077, lwaldman@unm.edu; or for information on contract research contact Lee Reynis, 277-7071, lreynis@unm.edu. BBER's Web site can be accessed at:
Contact: Steve Carr, (505) 277-1821
Posted by scarr at June 22, 2005 04:34 PM