Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1367407
PolicyLink and PERE 14 An Equity Profile of Orange County Why equity matters now Introduction Orange County has an opportunity to lead. Orange County experienced demographic change and economic shocks before much of the rest of the nation—and it has emerged with a realization that leaving people and communities behind is a recipe for stress not success. Making progress on new commitments to inclusion can inform policy making in the rest of the nation's metros, many of which are playing catch-up to changes experienced here in the last few decades. 1 Manuel Pastor, "Cohesion and Competitiveness: Business Leadership for Regional Growth and Social Equity," OECD Territorial Reviews, Competitive Cities in the Global Economy, Organisation For Economic Co-Operation And Development (OECD), 2006; Manuel Pastor and Chris Benner, "Been Down So Long: Weak-Market Cities and Regional Equity" in Retooling for Growth: Building a 21 st Century Economy in America's Older Industrial Areas (New York: American Assembly and Columbia University, 2008); Randall Eberts, George Erickcek, and Jack Kleinhenz, "Dashboard Indicators for the Northeast Ohio Economy: Prepared for the Fund for Our Economic Future" (Cleveland, OH: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, 2006), https://www.clevelandfed.org/newsroom-and-events/publications/working- papers/working-papers-archives/2006-working-papers/wp-0605-dashboard- indicators-for-the-northeast-ohio-economy.aspx. 2 Raj Chetty, Nathaniel Hendren, Patrick Kline, and Emmanuel Saez, "Where is the Land of Economic Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the U.S.," Quarterly Journal of Economics 129 (2014): 1553-1623, http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/assets/documents/mobility_geo.pdf. 3 Darrell Gaskin, Thomas LaVeist, and Patrick Richard, The State of Urban Health: Eliminating Health Disparities to Save Lives and Cut Costs (New York, NY: National Urban League Policy Institute, 2012). 4 Cedric Herring, "Does Diversity Pay?: Race, Gender, and the Business Case for Diversity," American Sociological Review 74 (2009): 208-22; Slater, Weigand and Zwirlein, "The Business Case for Commitment to Diversity," Business Horizons 51 (2008): 201-209. 5 U.S. Census Bureau, "Ownership Characteristics of Classifiable U.S. Exporting Firms: 2007," Survey of Business Owners Special Report, June 2012, http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo/export07/index.html. 6 Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson, "Income Inequality and Health: A Causal Review," Social Science & Medicine 128 (2015): 316-326. . The face of America is changing. Our country's population is rapidly diversifying. Already, more than half of all babies born in the United States are people of color. By 2030, the majority of young workers will be people of color. And by 2044, the United States will be a majority people-of- color nation. Yet racial and economic inequality is high and persistent. Over the past several decades, long-standing inequities in income, wealth, health, and opportunity have reached unprecedented levels. Wages have stagnated for the majority of workers, inequality has skyrocketed, and many people of color face racial and geographic barriers to accessing economic opportunities. Racial and economic equity is necessary for economic growth and prosperity. Equity is an economic imperative as well as a moral one. Research shows that inclusion and diversity are win-win propositions for nations, regions, communities, and firms. For example: • More equitable regions experience stronger, more sustained growth. 1 • Regions with less segregation (by race and income) and lower income inequality have more upward mobility. 2 • The elimination of health disparities would lead to significant economic benefits from reductions in health-care spending and increased productivity. 3 • Companies with a diverse workforce achieve a better bottom line. 4 • A diverse population more easily connects to global markets. 5 • Less economic inequality results in better health outcomes for everyone. 6 The way forward is with an equity-driven growth model. To secure America's health and prosperity, the nation must implement a new economic model based on equity, fairness, and opportunity. Leaders across all sectors must remove barriers to full participation, connect more people to opportunity, and invest in human potential.