Deep inside the Lost Decade: Decline, transformation and resilience in Michigan's regions

Ann Arbor on the East Side and Grand Rapids on West are both widely considered to be the most wealthy and desirable areas of Michigan. However, Kalamazoo Portage and Battle Creek in Southwest Michigan were found to outperform all other metropolitan areas in Michigan in terms of economic growth. These statistics are vital for policymakers to guide investment decisions as well as citizens to make career and location choices. Over 85 percent of Michigan's goods and services were made in 14 metropolitan areas during the past decade. Bruce Katz, director at the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program, said that while small-town America is often portrayed as a positive, it's the major metropolitan areas that will continue to drive Michigan’s economy. According to George Erickcek, a senior regional analyst at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, 'Kalamazoo is extremely diversified.' This was despite the fact that the state has gone through a severe restructuring of its automotive and pharmaceutical industries over the past ten years. George Erickcek (senior regional analyst, Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, Kalamazoo) said that Kalamazoo has a lot of diversity.
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(Detail breakdown of Kalamazoo economy. The pharmaceutical industry was able to hold its own. The Western Michigan University is an important institution. It is important to have Western Michigan University.
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(Detail breakdown of Battle Creek's economy. Ron Kitchens, president and CEO of Southwest Michigan First, stated that Kalamazoo responded in kind to the loss at a General Motors Co. stamping facility and significant downsizing of its pharmaceutical industry during the 1980s and 90s by expanding its small-business base. "We didn't attempt to be the microchip capital," he said. He said that he didn't want to invent new industries.
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"Lots and lots of privately-owned businesses quietly grew here, bringing back jobs. Fabri-Kal Corp. is a producer of plastic food packaging. According to Kitchens and a Kalamazoo Gazette report, the company will invest $17.3 million to build a new local plant. The facility will provide 30 additional jobs for its 72 employees. Erickcek stated that Kalamazoo's growing educational and health-care sectors combined with affordable realty make it an attractive choice for people looking to relocate or rebuild their financial lives. The Upjohn Institute's research found that many of these students were from parochial and private schools. Upjohn was unable to assess the positive effect on property values within the school district.
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Erickcek stated that homes outside of the school district's boundaries are selling at the same prices as those within the district. Kitchens stated that "(The Promise] stopped the decline and stabilized price,"
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"I believe we resisted a lot of foreclosures."