PUBLICATIONS & RESEARCH
Use the search field below to find Boyd Center for Business & Economic Research publications by title, author, or date of publication.
The Impact of TennCare: A Survey of Recipients, 2024
Publication Date: January 9, 2025
The Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee, under contract with the Department of Finance and Administration of the State of Tennessee, conducted a survey of Tennessee residents to ascertain their insurance status and use of medical facilities and their level of satisfaction with the TennCare program. A target sample size of 5,000 households allows us to obtain accurate estimates for subpopulations. The Boyd Center prepared the survey instrument in cooperation with personnel from the Division of TennCare.
Navigate Reconnect, 2024 Annual Report
Publication Date: January 9, 2025
Navigate Reconnect is Tennessee’s primary model of college coaching and advising for independent and over-25 students in Tennessee. Between 2019 and 2021, Navigators helped nearly 11,000 Tennesseans explore and fulfill their hopes to enroll in or return to college. This report is the first in a series documenting college and workforce outcomes for prospective students who have worked with a Navigator through the Navigate Reconnect program (“Reconnectors”) in Tennessee.
An Economic Report to the Governor of the State of Tennessee, 2025
Publication Date: December 19, 2024
This 2025 volume of An Economic Report to the Governor of the State of Tennessee is the forty-ninth in a series of annual reports compiled in response to requests by state government officials for assistance in achieving greater interdepartmental consistency in planning and budgeting efforts sensitive to the overall economic environment. Both short-term, or business cycle-sensitive forecasts, and longer-term, or trend forecasts, are provided in this report. The report’s special section provides an assessment of artificial intelligence and how it could affect the economy in the U.S. and in Tennessee. The Tennessee forecast in Chapter 2 provides an in-depth look at the state’s population trends and projections.
Tennessee’s Post-Pandemic Labor Force Recovery
Publication Date: December 18, 2024
For the past several years, one of the most important economic issues facing our state has been the recovery of the labor market after the COVID-19 pandemic. The short but intense recession that followed the onset of the pandemic resulted in an unprecedented number of unemployment claims: 981,414 in 2020, a 628% increase from 134,818 in 2019. At the same time, there was a sharp decrease in the number of Tennesseans who viewed themselves as part of the labor force—that is, either working, on a temporary leave, or unemployed but looking for work. The state’s labor force participation rate was 61.7% in January 2020 and fell to 58.7% in April 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In this brief, we review the extent to which Tennessee has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels of labor force participation.
College Coaching and Completion Grants in Tennessee: Estimated Effects on Persistence
Publication Date: December 18, 2024
Every high school graduate in Tennessee has been eligible for tuition-free community college through Tennessee Promise since 2015. Starting in 2019, nonprofit organization tnAchieves provided supplemental support to Tennessee Promise students from Knox County (Kast, 2019). The additional aid fell under the umbrella term “Knox Promise” and came in two forms: completion coaches and completion grants. Results from our difference-in-discontinuity design suggest that a typical level of first-semester engagement with COMPLETE coaching and grants significantly increased the likelihood that a student re-enrolled for a second year of college.
Tennessee Business Leaders Survey, Summer 2024
Publication Date: September 23, 2024
Many business leaders from across Tennessee responded to the Boyd Center’s semi-annual Business Leaders Survey, providing a unique perspective on the Tennessee and U.S. economies. Responses were provided between July 31 and August 21, 2024. Respondents represent a broad sample of Tennessee’s businesses, both by size and by industry.
Tennessee Business Leaders Survey, Winter 2024
Publication Date: February 23, 2024
Many business leaders from across Tennessee responded to the Boyd Center’s semi-annual Business Leaders Survey, providing a unique perspective on the Tennessee and U.S. economies. Responses were provided between January 10 and January 31, 2024. Respondents represent a broad sample of Tennessee’s businesses, both by size and by industry.
Going Beyond Free College: Initial Findings on College Success with Supplemental Coaching and Grants
Publication Date: February 14, 2024
We examine the relationship between short-term success in college and student take-up of supplemental coaching and financial aid. These extra supports were made available to some students participating in Tennessee’s “free community college” program starting in fall 2018. We use residence, income, and other eligibility criteria to understand how coaching and additional grants are associated with persistence into a second year of college, or receipt of an early college credential in the first year. Results indicate that students who were more engaged with their coaches were significantly more likely to re-enroll in college for a second year or complete an early credential. Students who received supplemental grants, often for emergencies or unanticipated expenses, were not more or less likely than others to persist into a second year of college or earn an early postsecondary credential.
FACT SHEET: Going Beyond Free College
Publication Date: February 14, 2024
College coaching and completion grants were available to some Tennessee community college students starting in Fall 2018. We study how supplemental coaching and grants are associated with persistence into a second year of college or receipt of an early college credential in the first year. We find that students who connected more often with their coaches were significantly more likely to re-enroll in college for a second year or complete an early credential. Students who received supplemental grants, often for emergencies or unanticipated expenses, were not more or less likely than others to persist into a second year of college or earn an early postsecondary credential.