Articles

Low-cost Alternatives for Marketing Research Assistance

Conducting your own marketing research study poses a challenge. Questions like ‘What do I want to learn about my business and my customers?’ ‘How do I develop a good questionnaire?’ and ‘How should I collect, analyze, and interpret the data I collect?’ will surface. Rather than approach these questions in isolation, you can seek partial or complete research assistance. Regardless of your preferred level of assistance or research budget, you can turn to local entities—such as universities and research firms—to help you design and execute a marketing study.
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Is Cash for Clunkers a Good Idea?

Creative ideas to help stimulate the economy have been common in the current recession. One of the more well-known ideas is the “Cash for Clunkers� program. The U.S. version was proposed originally by Alan Blinder in a New York Times editorial dated July 27, 2008. As conceived by Blinder, the program was to serve three purposes. First, it would improve the environment by removing less efficient cars from roadways. Second, because the poor own more clunkers than the rich, the program would reduce income inequality by providing the down payment for a new car. Third, it would provide a needed economic stimulus. Let’s see if the program met Blinder’s original three goals.
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Talking Points

New Mexico is a large exporter of natural gas, which means the sharp decline in natural gas prices have negative implications for the state economy. Employment in the energy patch is down and tax revenues are down. A special session of the legislature is expected in October.
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