5 Ways to Measure Prosperity in Tennessee
What Common Economic Indicators Do and Don’t Tell Us
Unemployment, labor force participation, GDP, income, and poverty are five of the many ways to measure growth and prosperity in Tennessee.
Mandy joined The Sycamore Institute in 2016 as the Policy Director. She has the lead responsibility for developing the organization’s research plan and conducting and curating research and analysis.
Mandy holds a master’s degree in public policy with a health policy concentration from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree from Lipscomb University. Mandy brings with her over a decade of experience in health policy – including as a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advising senior HHS leadership under both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama on budget policy issues and as the Health Policy Adviser to U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), who served on the Ways and Means Committee during the drafting, consideration, and passage of the Affordable Care Act. She began her career in policy as an intern and then bill clerk in the Tennessee General Assembly.
Contact: Mandy Pellegrin
Measuring Prosperity: Gross Domestic Product
What It Means, How Tennessee Is Doing, and the Trade-Offs
While GDP offers valuable insight into Tennessee's economy, there are many aspects of economic well-being it does not capture.
Measuring Prosperity: Labor Force Participation
What It Means, How Tennessee Is Doing, and the Trade-Offs
Tennessee’s labor force participation rate is consistently lower than the national average, but the gap has narrowed in recent years.
Measuring Prosperity: The Unemployment Rate
What It Means, How Tennessee Is Doing, and the Trade-Offs
The unemployment rate measures the share of Tennessee's labor force without a job, but not all working-age adults count as "in the labor force."
Measuring Prosperity: Poverty
What It Means, How Tennessee Is Doing, and the Trade-Offs
We measure poverty to gain insights into how many people have trouble meeting their basic needs.
Measuring Prosperity: Personal and Household Income
What It Means, How Tennessee Is Doing, and the Trade-Offs
Measures of household and personal income gauge the financial support Tennessee residents have from wages and some – but not all – other sources.
What Will the Coronavirus Recession Mean for Tennessee’s Budget?
The pandemic has serious health and economic effects, yet Tennessee still has to balance its budget. These are the challenges policymakers face and the tools they have right now.
Summary of the FY 2021 Preliminary Budget
With pandemic here and recession near, lawmakers passed a preliminary FY 2021 budget that trims $854 million from Gov. Lee’s first draft.
State Budget Surpluses, Deficits, and Rainy Day Funds
We explain why surpluses and deficits occur, the role of revenue projections and rainy day funds, and the trade-offs Tennessee policymakers must weigh when crafting the budget.
A Deep Dive into Health Insurance Coverage in Tennessee
Trends in Coverage, Choice, and Costs Since 2010
For better or worse, robust access to the U.S. health care system is largely predicated on having health insurance.
