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Inclusive Growth and Racial Equity

In the previous section, researchers quantitatively analyzed the performance of the Tampa Bay region along the lines of economic indicators such as unemployment rate, GRP per capita, the poverty rate, the supplemental poverty measure and the household debt-to-income ratio. These indicators depict the strength of the Tampa Bay area鈥檚 economy.

The more important aspect, however, is inclusive growth. By inclusive growth, USF researchers mean economic growth that is distributed fairly across different sections of society. To this end, researchers analyzed the performance of the Tampa Bay MSA with respect to 19 other comparison MSAs along the indicators of income inequality, economic mobility and food insecurity.

Another important aspect of inclusive growth is the racial equity. The voice for racial equity has been growing stronger than ever. In this section, in addition to income inequality, economic mobility and food insecurity indicators, researchers also considered the variables related to racial equity indicators: Black-white unemployment rate gap, Black-white poverty rate gap, Black-white labor force participation rate gap, the Black-white digital access gap, Black-white educational attainment (a bachelor鈥檚 degree or higher) gap. Analyzing this data could help leaders and policymakers understand how the Tampa Bay region is faring in terms of bridging the gaps between the different social strata.