I will be attending the Second State Demographics Conference in Bismarck on Monday the 27th. Okay, that is not quite accurate. I am giving a keynote address as well as running a breakout session. The keynote looks at the how and why of demographic analysis in the state of North Dakota. In the breakout I am actually showing how I came up with the various different items in my presentation from sources to analysis. The spreadsheet (or spreadsheets, not sure if it will be one Excel workbook or many) will be available at the conference and later on here.
I can think of no state where the tools of demographic analysis are more important and helpful than North Dakota at this point in time. Demographic analytics can and should inform all sorts of policy decisions. You want to cut budgets in ways that minimize impacts on different groups then you want demographic analytics. You want to plan infrastructure for the future, then you want age structure, migration patterns, rate of natural increase, and many other measures. Demographics matters for health and wellness, education, and many other things.
Consider the dismal state of revenue forecasting. You want to understand some of the fundamental changes occurring in the state and how they impact revenue generation? Focus on the household and family decisions that make up the revenue or spending decisions and you are talking about demographic analytics.
The simple fact is the demographic transitions and changes are fundamentally part of the adjustments in North Dakota right now. Understanding the patterns of changes, and their consequences, should allow for better decisions from businesses and policymakers across the state. Let’s hope they attend.
