Michael D. Goodman, Ph.D.

Michael D. Goodman is Professor of Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. An economic sociologist by training (Ph.D., Boston University), his research focuses on the Massachusetts economy, with particular attention to regional economic development, housing, and demographic and workforce conditions across the Commonwealth and New England. His work has attracted nearly $14 million in external funding, much of it supporting community-engaged scholarship conducted in partnership with the regions and communities it examines.

Since 2001, he has co-edited MassBenchmarks, published by the UMass Donahue Institute in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Boston Fed's New England Public Policy Center and the Board of Economic Advisors of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, is a gubernatorial appointee to the Commonwealth's Economic Assistance Coordinating Council, and is a Public Director of the Depositors Insurance Fund.

Professor Goodman is a frequent commentator on the regional economy in print, radio, and television. A past president of the New England Economic Partnership, his institutional service at UMass Dartmouth has included terms as Acting Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, President of the Faculty Senate, Executive Director of the Public Policy Center, and Chair of the Department of Public Policy. He also writes Notes on the Commonwealth, where he offers periodic commentary on the economy, communities, and public affairs of Massachusetts.

Notes on the Commonwealth

Periodic commentary on the people, places, public affairs, and economy of Massachusetts — subscribe on Substack.

• June 16, 2026
  You can only kick the can so far — A local budget reckoning
• May 20, 2026
  Where Your Property Tax Goes: A New Bedford Taxpayer Receipt — An interactive taxpayer receipt, built from the city's audited FY2025 financial report.