For most of our 50-year history, ECOnorthwest organized itself as an economic consulting firm. “ECO” stands for Economic Consultants of Oregon, our founder held a PhD in economics, and, for many years, the firm’s talent pipeline started in the University of Oregon’s economics department.
Classical economics, as a social science, specializes in techniques to measure an economy’s efficiency: for a given level of labor, land, and natural resources, how much might we expect an economy to produce in goods and services? How large can we make the economic pie?
Economists routinely ask, answer, and debate questions about efficiency, but they are less comfortable weighing in on equity—or how to share the pie. Most see tradeoffs. Sharing the pie more equitably, many traditional economists would argue, implies a smaller pie. So, while the field of economics is evolving, mainstream economists have traditionally referred questions about equity to philosophers, sociologists, and political scientists. And for many years, so did we.
The economic times, and our values, drew us further into equity work
We excelled in efficiency measurement work and earned a reputation as a trusted, independent scorekeeper. Show us a proposed policy, and we’d add up the costs and benefits and list the winners and losers. We centered an economics-based approach over decades and thousands of projects. But in an era of persistently widening wealth gaps, we couldn’t ignore what our own work was showing:
The economy’s gains were too concentrated, too uneven, and often unjust.
We concluded the scorekeeper’s role was unfulfilling and narrow. It increasingly wasn’t meeting the needs of clients who were asking sophisticated equity-related questions. And the scorekeeping work, by itself, was of little interest to our staff and top recruits. Since our founding, we’ve intended to do work that would have an impact and that would improve the communities where we live and work. Impact requires more than scorekeeping.
So, we broadened our perspective, bringing on sociologists like Dr. Jade Aguilar, equitable policy experts, and other non-economists. We realized that our work over the decades had missed an understanding that inequitable laws and practices—both centuries-old and current—sit at the foundation of today’s highly unequal society. To achieve the societal outcomes we and our founders envisioned, we had no choice but to broaden our expertise and develop intentional research processes to recognize how the disproportionate distribution of power and resources continues to reinforce inequities.
During our expansion from an economics focus to a broader equitable policy focus, and with the support of the experts we’ve recruited to our team, we’ve had the opportunity to advance equity in dozens of intentional projects around the Northwest and the country. We’ve worked with governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in service of reducing poverty, increasing educational attainment, mitigating and repairing harms from discriminatory housing policies, and otherwise helping to ensure that historically marginalized groups have the opportunity to thrive. We’ve also implemented an Equity Framework, which helps us to think about distributional issues and qualitative findings in all of our work, and not only within projects that explicitly focus on equity. Over the past decade, we’ve worked on projects including:
- OBC Poverty Task Force: From 2013–2021, we supported the Oregon Business Council’s efforts to reduce poverty and enhance economic mobility. Our involvement in the Poverty Reduction Task Force, the first of its kind in the U.S. mainstream business community, led to significant policy changes, such as reforms in TANF, childcare tax credits, and an increase in the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit for families with preschool-aged children. Our collaboration with Opportunity Insights from 2019 to 2021 aimed to boost upward mobility for Oregon’s low-income and minority children, contributing to the Oregon Business Plan’s economic mobility agenda.
- Long-term Impacts of Poverty Reduction: For the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, we explored the potential long-term impacts of an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit on Portland’s education and economic landscape. Our findings suggested that expanded EITC would lead to higher educational attainment and greater economic activity over time.
- Child Equity Index for Tulsa, OK: Collaborating with ImpactTulsa, we provided policy guidance and data analysis to support the development of a Child Equity Index. This tool helps the school district and community understand barriers faced by students and focuses on improving opportunities for children who are economically disadvantaged.
- Albina Vision Trust: We partnered with the Albina Vision Trust to revitalize the historically Black Albina Neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. Our role involved analyzing economic potential, financial structuring, and development incentives for various community-driven development scenarios. This effort seeks to restore the community and generate intergenerational wealth through economic development.
- Analysis of Homeownership Disparities in Tacoma: We assisted the City of Tacoma in evaluating systemic disparities in homeownership. Our analysis and recommendations aimed to increase Black homeownership and promote equity-conscious remedies. This included community engagement and a comprehensive equity framework to inform policy changes.
- BIPOC Affordable Housing Project: Alongside Uncommon Bridges, we facilitated the Washington State Legislature’s Homeownership Disparities Work Group, which addressed disparities in homeownership rates between BIPOC and white communities. Our research and data analysis culminated in a comprehensive recommendations report, focusing on increasing the supply of affordable homeownership units and reducing barriers to homeownership.
- Edmonds Equity Evaluation Gap Analysis: In partnership with Geos Institute and Broadview Planning, we helped the City of Edmonds evaluate its Comprehensive Plan for equity and climate concerns. We provided recommendations to enhance the City’s long-range planning, integrating climate adaptation and equity considerations into the planning processes.