Report cover featuring a Black man wearing a hard safety hatOctober 22, 2014

By Sarah Treuhaft, Justin Scoggins, and Jennifer Tran

Please note: reports dated earlier than June 2020 were published under our previous names: the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) or the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII).

How much could the economy benefit from racial inclusion?

This research brief by PolicyLink and PERE estimates the economic boost of racial inclusion for the largest 150 regions, all 50 states, and the nation.

We found that the national economy stands to grow $2.1 trillion every year from racial equity, and that every region in the country would gain millions per year—from $287 million in Springfield, Missouri (the lowest potential gain) to $510 billion in Los Angeles (the highest).

Download report

Resources

PolicyLink and USC ERI’s National Equity Atlas is a comprehensive web resource that provides local leaders and policymakers with the data and tools they need to build an equitable and prosperous economy where all can participate and prosper.

Our work with PolicyLink includes the National Equity Atlas, Racial Equity Data Lab, Equity Profiles, and more. Explore our projects to learn more about economic inclusion.

Read our other publications by research area

    Immigrant Integration & Racial Justice

    Our work on immigrant integration and racial justice brings together three emphases: scholarship that draws on academic theory and rigorous research, data that provides information structured to highlight the process of immigrant integration over time, and engagement that seeks to create new dialogues with government, community organizers, business and civic leaders, immigrants and the voting public to advance immigrant integration and racial equity.

    Economic Inclusion & Climate Equity

    In the area of economic inclusion, we at ERI advance academic theory and practical applications linking economic growth, environmental quality, and civic health with bridging of racial and other gaps; produce accessible and actionable data and analysis through the data tools; and establish research partnerships to deepen and advance the dialogue, planning, and actions around racial equity, environmental justice, and the built environment.

    Social Movements & Governing Power

    ERI’s work in the area of governing power includes: conducting cross-disciplinary studies of today’s social movements, supporting learning and strategizing efforts to advance dialogues among organizers, funders, intermediaries, evaluators, and academics, and developing research-based social change frameworks and tools to inform—and be informed by—real-world, real-time efforts towards a vision of deep change.

    Publications Directory

    In 2020, the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE) and the USC Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII) merged to form the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI).

    The full list of publications published under our previous and current names can be found in our publications directory.

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