Twine Line, a quarterly publication of The Ohio Sea Grant College Program, recently profiled research from AEDE’s Professor Elena Irwin, Professor Mark Partridge, and PhD alumnus Heather Stephens in its 2012 Summer/Fall Edition (Vol. 34/No. 3). The research, which is featured in the article “Lakeside Premium: Highly Educated Buyers Willing to Pay to Live Close to Lake Erie”, focuses on an analysis of two decades of data by the AEDE team, which enabled them to learn more about how Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes are attracting long-term residents and businesses.
Research from AEDE’s Professor Elena Irwin, Professor Mark Partridge, and PhD alumnus Heather Stephens was profiled in The Ohio Sea Grant College Program's 2012 Summer/Fall Twine Line Magazine. Photo Credit: The Ohio Sea Grant College Program.As noted in the article, based on an extensive analysis of data on population and employment changes since 1990, the researchers found that from 1990 to 2000, Lake Erie had great appeal, enticing individuals and businesses to relocate near the Lake. However, after 2000, this appeal dropped off, which the researchers suspect is due to either the waning economy, or the declining quality of the Lake.
However, on a positive note, the AEDE team found that during the period studied, Lake Erie not only attracted highly educated people to move to communities along the coast, but homeowners were willing to pay substantially more for a house right along the lakeshore. This information is being used by public officials to bring jobs back to the area. In the Twine Line article Stephens notes, “The overall story that the population is basically stagnant isn’t surprising, but the fact that we’re still seeing attraction to the lake with the higher income, higher educated people, makes us optimistic.” You can read the full article here.
The Ohio Sea Grant College Program is a statewide program that supports greater knowledge and stewardship of Lake Erie and the Great Lakes. It is part of the NOAA Sea Grant College Program (NOAA grant NA16RG2252, project M/P-2), which includes 32 state programs. Support of Ohio Sea Grant is provided by National Sea Grant, the State of Ohio, The Ohio State University, Ohio State University Extension, and participating universities, agencies, and businesses.
September 10, 2012