Quality of Life

Quality of life (QOL) focuses on the wellbeing of people in a community. When studied through the lens of economics, QOL may include measures of local GDP, employment, income, education, health, housing, transportation, amenities, and/or environment.

How does QOL affect a community? We find that higher quality of life in a community helps to attract and retain residents and businesses alike.

Read the Brookings article:

Austin, J. C., Weinstein, A., Hicks. M., & Wornell, E. (2022, January 26). Improving quality of life—not just business—is the best path to Midwestern rejuvenation. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2022/01/26/improving-quality-of-life-not-just-business-is-the-best-path-to-midwestern-rejuvenation/

Downtown Muncie, Indiana

Authors

Learn more about the authors of this research. For media inquiries, contact the Center for Business and Economic Research at 765-285-5926 or email us.

John C. Austin, MPA
Brookings Metro
& Michigan Economic Center

Amanda L. Weinstein, PhD
The University of Akron

Michael J. Hicks, PhD
Ball State University – CBER

Emily J. Wornell, PhD
Ball State University – ICI & CLASP

View the Tableau visualizations used in this publication:

Source: Authors' calculations using data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Supplemental Research

Browse additional research on QOL and modern economic development:

Austin, J. (2020, May 7). COVID-19 Silver Lining? New Opportunity for Midwest's Smaller Communities. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. https://www.thechicagocouncil.org/commentary-and-analysis/blogs/covid-19-silver-lining-new-opportunity-midwests-smaller-communities
Ball State University CBER. (n.d.) Projects and Publications: Economic Development [project collection]. CBER Data Center. https://projects.cberdata.org/tag/55/economic-development
- Projects and Publications: Placemaking [project collection]. CBER Data Center. http://projects.cberdata.org/tag/39/placemaking
Bartik, T. J. & Austin, J. C. (2019, November 4). Most business incentives don’t work. Here’s how to fix them. Brookings Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2019/11/01/most-business-incentives-dont-work-heres-how-to-fix-them/
Hicks, M. J. (2021, August 4). Why have economic development policies been so disappointing? The Country Economist. https://michaeljhicks.substack.com/p/why-have-economic-development-policies?s=r
Reynolds, C. L., & Weinstein, A. L. (2021, November). Gender differences in quality of life and preferences for location-specific amenities across cities. Journal of Regional Science, 61(5), 916– 943. https://doi.org/10.1111/jors.12520
Weinstein, A. (2020, December 1). UA professor co-authors study on downward trends of Ohio’s economy. The University of Akron News. https://www.uakron.edu/im/news/ua-professor-co-authors-study-on-downward-trends-of-ohio-s-economy
Weinstein, A. L., Hicks, M., & Wornell, E. (2021, July). An Aggregate Approach to Estimating Quality of Life in Micropolitan Areas. Ohio River Valley Institute. https://ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Manuscript-Quality-of-Life-in-Micropolitan-Areas-3-2-21-with-title-page.pdf

Workshops and Resources

Through the ICI Academy, the Indiana Communities Institute offers a variety of seminars, training opportunities, and instructional resources related to quality of life and community growth. The practical coursework builds upon current research, helping your community address modern planning and development challenges in pursuit of building stronger, more sustainable neighborhoods, towns, cities, counties, and regions.

Contact the Indiana Communities Institute to discuss which training opportunities best fit your needs.

View current offerings