included specific data needed on labor force characteristics, unemployment, 

 and income; therefore, the report is out-of-date in several areas (e.g., cur- 

 rent number of employed persons per county, net migration of minorities, the 

 percentage of families living at below the national poverty level of $9,290 in 

 Southwest Florida) . 



No data were available from the Bureau of Census in 1950 to 1959 on non- 

 Whites when there were fewer than 5,000 non-Whites in a particular county. 



The analytical instrumentation necessary for indepth characterization of 

 the economic forces affecting Southwest Florida are somewhat limited. Models 

 calibrated with current data are needed to accurately reflect the flow of 

 goods and services in Southwest Florida for both producers and consumers. 



RECOMMENDATIONS 



The problem of extrapolating census data and using it to reflect the 

 characteristics of the population and the labor force can be solved, but only 

 if more comprehensive and timely data are collected, compiled, and analyzed. 

 Further development and testing of analytical tools, including the data appro- 

 priate for such analysis, is needed for detailed characterization of the eco- 

 nomic forces affecting Southwest Florida. This sort of information (and a way 

 to generate it) is crucial to the economic development of Southwest Florida. 



The preponderance of elderly citizens in Southwest Florida should be 

 reflected in the social, recreational, and economic planning by planners and 

 policy-makers. Private and public sector policies and practices that discour- 

 age senior citizens from staying productively active and thereby accelerating 

 processes that lead to dependency should be avoided. 



22 



