The University of Minnesota Duluth’s Bureau of Business & Economics Research (BBER) was one of the organizations that contributed data to an updated long-term economic research study of the Northland. The full 93-page report may be downloaded from the National Bank of Commerce website.
UMD senior Drew Burke was primarily responsible for the UMD portion of the report, including data collection and writing. He is a double major in Economics and Financial Markets - Finance and will graduate in May 2017.
The ongoing project is a unified regional effort by economists and student researchers at College of St. Scholastica, University of Minnesota Duluth, and University of Wisconsin-Superior. It is made possible through the support of the National Bank of Commerce and governed by an advisory committee that includes:
- College of St. Scholastica
- University of Minnesota Duluth
- University of Wisconsin-Superior
- Northeast Minnesota's Small Business Development Center
- Wisconsin Small Business Development Center at UW-Superior
- APEX
- The Development Association
- National Bank of Commerce
The Bureau of Business and Economic Research is part of the Labovitz School of Business and Economics (LSBE) and is housed in the Center for Economic Development, 11 East Superior Street, Suite 210, Duluth, Minn. The BBER collects, analyzes, and disseminates information regarding the economy of Duluth, Northeast Minnesota, the State of Minnesota, Northwest Wisconsin and beyond for public and private regional, state, and federal constituencies. It provides specific research to identify economic problems and opportunities. The BBER provides unbiased data and analysis concerning the economic viability of building, expanding, relocating, downsizing, and/or eliminating businesses, especially industry-specific businesses, such as forestry, mining, and energy. It also contributes to strategic thinking about research data (forecasting, communicating, responding, developing).
LSBE is accredited by the AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). Less than 5% of business schools worldwide have earned this prestigious distinction. In Northeastern Minnesota, LSBE is the only school to have attained AACSB accreditation. Its website is lsbe.d.umn.edu.