You never know where economic research will lead. This time, it led to Spotify.
Soon after releasing the American Growth Project’s February report on projected economic growth for U.S. midsize cities, we realized several places near the top of our rankings featured prominently in songs. Naturally, a playlist was born: There’s a song to represent each Extended Metropolitan Area in our top 10 for growth, starting in order with Midland, Texas, at No. 1. You’ll find the playlist here and at the bottom of this page, and make sure you’re already signed into Spotify or you’ll hear only 30 seconds of each song. All songs have the city’s name in the title (pro tip: “Albany” is about a performance venue in the city), and we promise – no explicit lyrics.
Give us a listen, and we’ll give you one, too: If you like what you hear or if we left out a favorite of yours (determining an economics-driven playlist is an inexact science at best), let us know. We’ll pass your comments to DJ AGP, who promises to check them out between economics conferences and the occasional wedding reception gig. In the meantime, we hope these songs bring you a bigger-than-midsize smile.