The McKinsey Global Institute Productivity Studies: Lessons for Canada

The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) is a think tank based in Washington, D.C. founded in 1990 with the objective of analyzing international productivity levels from both economic and management perspectives. MGI uses microeconomic analysis on a sector-by-sector level to study the effects that industry decisions ultimately have on national productivity. For the most part the productivity drivers identified by MGI can be grouped into three broad areas: competitive factors (concentration, trade protection, deregulation, minimum wages, work rules, and zoning laws); managerial factors (best practice, human capital, capital intensity, and information technology); and demand factors (average income, cyclical factors, and consumer preferences). This paper examines these factors in an attempt to shed light on the causes of Canada-U.S. productivity differences at the industry level. Competitive factors may explain the poor productivity performance of the Canadian financial and cultural service industries relative to their U.S. counterparts, and likewise may explain the high productivity levels of some natural resource industries in Canada relative to the United States. Managerial factors, especially the implementation of new technologies and related processes, may be important in explaining the poor productivity growth in Canada relative to the United States in service industries such as retail trade. Given the similarities between Canada and the United States, the findings of the MGI studies cannot be indiscriminately applied to Canada-U.S. productivity differences at the industry level. However, the MGI studies do put forward a number of useful working hypotheses for analyzing these differences.Productivity, Productivity Growth, Industry, Industry Studies, McKinsey Global Institute, MGI, Concentration, Competition, Retail Trade, Wal-Mart, Regulation, Banking, Airlines, Best Practice, Deregulation

Survey of Texas Black-owned Businesses

Report on the state of black-owned businesses in Texas, based on 2010 Census data and a statewide survey of black business owners conducted in 2013. The demographic portion of the study found that the number of black-owned businesses in Texas grew faster in the early 2000s than the state average for all businesses, but the vast majority of black-owned businesses in Texas were small, with no paid employees other than the owner. In sales and number of employees, black-owned businesses lagged behind state averages. In their survey responses, a majority of black business owners indicated they felt they had the education and skills needed to succeed. They saw room for improvement in the areas of political access and contracting opportunities.Bureau of Business Researc

Human Trafficking by the Numbers: The Initial Benchmark of Prevalence and Economic Impact for Texas

Prevalence HighlightsCurrently, there are approximately 79,000 minor and youth victims of sex trafficking in Texas.Currently, there are approximately 234,000 workers who are victims of labor trafficking in Texas.Currently, there arean estimated 313,000 victims of human trafficking in Texas.Cost HighlightsMinor and youth sex trafficking costs the state of Texas approximately $6.6 billion. Traffickers exploit approximately$600 million from victims of labor trafficking in Texas.BackgroundThough human trafficking is widespread in geographically large states with large urban centers like Texas, the true scope of this hidden crime is largely unconfirmed as data on human trafficking are difficult to ascertain. Existing data gathered in anti-trafficking efforts focus almost exclusively on identified victims, shedding light on only a fraction of the problem. The first phase of the Statewide Human Trafficking Mapping Project of Texas focused on providing empiricallygrounded data as a benchmark about the extent of human trafficking across the state. The following three primary research questions guided our data collection efforts, which included queries of existing databases, interviews, focus groups, and web-based surveys.1.What is the prevalence of human trafficking in Texas?2.What is the economic impact of human trafficking in Texas?3.What is our understanding of human trafficking in Texas?MethodsThe findings in this report were derived using a multi-methods approach to quantify the prevalence and economic impact of human trafficking in Texas. Higher-than-average risk industry and community segments were chosen for sex and labor markets. We defined community segments asgroups of people considered to be at higher-than-average risk of trafficking because of risk indicators found in trafficking cases (e.g. homelessness). More specifically, rather than attempting to establish prevalence of trafficking among the 27.4 million people living in Texas, for the purposes of demonstrating our methodology, establishing some benchmarks on human trafficking prevalence and economic impact estimates, and providing a concrete example of our planned activities moving forward, victimization rates were applied to a select few community segments that are at higher-than-average risk of trafficking.The methodology has addressed the critical industry and community segments to accurately estimate prevalencewhile reducing overlap between the chosen segments

The Connection between Entrepreneurial Intentions and Community Member Priorities for Asset-Based, Sustainable Development to Improve Well-Being

This chapter analyzes survey data collected from 5487 residents across 85 communities in Texas, USA, ranging from rural areas to large urban centers. Our analysis examines the impact of a community’s degree of urbanity and rurality, as well as individual factors such as social position, values, and satisfaction with local assets, on their economic and quality-of-life development project preferences. We argue that community development processes should take a broader, multicriteria approach that considers a range of factors impacting community needs and well-being. Our findings demonstrate the viability of this human-centered approach, highlighting the opportunity to direct societal capitals toward enhancing well-being within various systems. We analyze six community development project concepts, including renovations to downtown buildings, opening a community health center, deploying high-speed internet, enhancing public libraries, offering early-college-credit programs, and creating a co-working and startup space. Our study shows that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to community development, and participatory processes can guide collaboration between experts and community members. We find that entrepreneurial intention can positively or negatively impact community development concepts and should be considered as part of a well-being strategy. However, social governance structures, both governmental and non-governmental, need to address common-cause aspects of well-being such as community health and education

Rethinking Supply Chains as Neighborhoods

This paper explores the implication of a neighborhood model for interfirm interactions that explicitly tries to create an equality matching relationship among firms in an industry. The aim is to examine what would happen if these firms worked to gain trust with each other with an eye toward maximizing the value of the collaboration across projects rather than just maximizing revenues in individual projects. A review of extant literature and an analysis of in-depth interviews yielded three actionable strategies that support the creation of a sustainable neighborhood in the construction industry: 1) Hub Strategy, 2) Trust Exercise Strategy, and 3) Sustainable Neighborhood Strategy. As envisioned in this study, the hub is a concentrated, inter-organizational structure for supply chain participants in large, complex projects. Importantly, hub members engage in a variety of technical activities that infuse ongoing and future projects with innovation, scope optimization, and operational efficiencies. Additionally, other activities within the hub are designed to purposefully allow participants to develop trust through collaboration before or outside of their primary contractual engagements. At present, this model has been examined for construction megaprojects, but the general neighborhood concept could be applied to many different industries and settings including manufacturing supply chains and collaborations among communities engaging in economic development. Future work will explore whether mechanisms like the hub and trust exercises can be applied in these other settings as well.IC2 Institut

“To the Public, Nothing was Wrong with Me”: Life Experiences of Minors and Youth in Texas At Risk for Commercial Sexual Exploitation

This study describes child sex trafficking in three regions across Texas using empirically grounded qualitative and quantitative research methods. It is intended to expand the body and depth of knowledge that can that can help anti-trafficking professionals better identify individuals at risk for, or experiencing, child sex trafficking. The report explores the life experiences of individuals – both young adults and minors, ages 13-27 years – who are survivors of child sex trafficking in three regions of Texas: Houston, Lubbock, and the Texas-Mexico border region. It provides data and analysis on the prevalence of trafficking and exploitation within communities at high risk for victimization. The study examines specific experiences of minor and youth sex trafficking survivors, including risk factors, push/pull factors, help-seeking behaviors, and reasons for multiple exits and re-entries into trafficking and/or exploitative situations.Office of the Texas Governor, Criminal Justice DivisionBureau of Business Researc

Asset-Based, Sustainable Local Economic Development: Using Community Participation to Improve Quality of Life Across Rural, Small-Town, and Urban Communities

We analyze survey data from 5,487 residents of 85 Texas communities, including rural communities, small towns, medium-sized cities, and the five largest urban centers, to model the influence of the degree of urbanity and rurality of a community as well as residents’ social position, values, and their satisfaction with local assets. The paper’s central argument is that a wide range of factors impact how community members think about their needs and thus should be considered in any community development process. This human-centered approach looks at how community specific factors impact economic and quality-of-life development project preferences in support of adapting community development decision-making processes according to the context of each community. For the sake of parsimony, this paper presents results for three community development project concepts: (1) renovating some downtown buildings as mixed-use facilities with retail shops and apartments, (2) opening a community health center, and (3) deploying gigabit high-speed fiber broadband internet in the downtown area. Our findings specifically highlight areas where participatory processes can be introduced to guide further interactions be- tween experts and community members to (1) identify groups in the community to bring into the process who may be most impacted by the choice of one intervention over another, and (2) target areas where further community discussion and deliberation is necessary around which community dialogues (round tables, town halls, workshops, etc.) could be facilitated.Bureau of Business Researc

Methods Report ReVEAL: Recording Victim Video Statements as Evidence to Advance Legal Outcomes in Family Violence Cases: Determining Efficacy, Cost Efficiency, & Impact on Outcomes

FUNDING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: THE REVEAL PILOT STUDY WAS FUNDED BY THE TEXAS OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, CRIMINAL JUSTICE DIVISION GRANT NUMBER 3070401/3070402. THE OPINIONS, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS PUBLICATION/PROGRAM/EXHIBITION ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR(S) AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE TEXAS OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR.Institute on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (IDVSA

Resources for Texas Sexual Assault Survivors

This project was funded by OOG Solicitation: ST20 PY20 Sexual Assault Survivors’ Task Force Program under Grant Contract number 3928001. The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Texas Office of the Governor.The specific project aims were to inventory the sexual assault services available in Texas, assess sexual assault survivors’ needs by region for the 11 Texas regions, and develop a sexual assault services resource inventory.Texas Office of the GovernorBureau of Business Researc

Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments: An Empirical Study of Prevalence and Perceptions of Sexual Harassment, Stalking, Dating/Domestic Abuse and Violence, and Unwanted Sexual Contact

The Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments (CLASE) (pronounced ‘class’) project is a research study about University of Texas System students’ experiences with sexual harassment, stalking, dating/domestic abuse and violence, and unwanted sexual contact. As part of the study, the University of Texas System conducted the most in-depth survey of sexual assault and misconduct ever undertaken by an institution of higher education in the United States. The survey was completed by more than 28,000 students enrolled at 13 UT institutions across Texas. This report presents the findings of the survey, summarizes existing institutional direct programs that serve students, and reports strategic next steps. The report consists of 11 documents: two aggregate reports (one for academic institutions and one for health institutions), individual reports for the eight academic institutions in the study, and a summary infographic.Bureau of Business Researc