News and Events National Business News Treasury eyes 4.5% mortgage rate Stocks gain for 2nd session Bailout road trip! Big 3 drive to Washington Quick Fact No. 20 The LSBE Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a student group that takes an active role in learning more about the field of Human Resources.

bber

Research

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research works for students, alumni, and the region as a whole, and has three distinct functions:

• to collect, analyze, and disseminate information regarding the economy of Duluth, Northeast Minnesota, and the State of Minnesota;
• to provide specific research to identify economic problems and opportunities in Minnesota;
• and to act as a catalyst which generates research from faculty, staff and students within the School.

In addition, the Bureau operates as a place for students to gain the hands-on, real-world skills of conducting economic and business research, and perhaps most importantly, it provides unbiased data and analysis concerning the economic viability of building, expanding or relocating businesses in our region.

Funded by a special appropriation of the Minnesota Legislature, private contracts, and research grants, the Bureau of Business and Economic Research is actively involved in a number of current projects. Click the links below for more information.

BBER FUNDED RESEARCH recently completed (Acrobat pdf files and project links)

"Employment Change in the Census Divisions 1982-2005," Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies, Doorn and Jacobson

BBER FUNDED RESEARCH in-progress includes:

• Erie Pier Re-Use Facility Phase II: An Optimized Cost-Effective Strategy for Increased Transport and Handling of Dredged Materials, with Hongyi Chen of UMD Mechanical and Industrial Department, and Rodger Brannan of UMD Department of Accounting, for the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute, 2009
• Economic Impact of U.S. Steel’s Keetac Mine Expansion Project on the State of Minnesota and the Arrowhead Region, for Barr Engineering, 2009
• Economic Impact of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway System (GLSLS), with David Doorn of UMD Department of Economics, for the Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute, 2009
• Analyzing Alternatives to the Harbor Maintenance Tax, with Christopher McIntosh of UMD Department of Economics, and Randall Skalberg of UMD Department of Accounting, for UMD Special Research Funding, 2009

BBER Publicatons:

• Arrowhead Business Advisor (Budgeteer) - selected archive in Acrobat PDF format
• ENTER (Duluth News Tribune) - selected inserts in Acrobat PDF format
• BBER Working Papers Catalogue of Working Papers - Acrobat PDF files available on request.
• Local Economy (includes Retail Sales Index)

For Students:

• Student Information about the BBER
• Downloads

Contact Information
Telephone: 218-726-8614
FAX: 218-726-6555
Postal address:
104 School of Business and Economics Building
University of Minnesota Duluth
412 Library Drive
Duluth, MN 55812-3029

E-mail: Jim Skurla, Acting Director jskurla@d.umn.edu
Jean Jacobson, Editor jjacobs1@d.umn.edu
Vickie Almquist-Minko, Executive Office and Administrative Specialist valmquis@d.umn.edu