A new kind of economic indicator

[Said1]

I'm so tired of this quasi-guru, and his stupid "Creative Class' - he's taking over Canada. Anyway, another one of his consultation 'templates'.

A new kind of economic indicator
By Richard Florida
7 July 2009


In 2007 Charlotta Mellander and I examined how various regional factors shape housing prices. We found that two factors combine to shape them. The first is pretty obvious: income. The wealthier the residents, the pricier the housing. The second and much larger factor is reflected by our Bohemian–Gay Index, which combines the concentration of artists, musicians, and designers with the concentration of gays and lesbians in a region. Regardless of which variables we applied, what version of the model we used, or which regions we looked at, the concentration of bohemians and gays consistently had a staggering impact on housing values.

Read the rest here: McKinsey: What Matters: A new kind of economic indicator