shift-share analysis and Google Trends

Shift-share analysis is a decomposition technique that is commonly used to measure attributes of regional change. In this method, regional change is decomposed into its relevant functional and competitive parts. This paper introduces traditional shift-share method and its extensions with examples of its applicability and usefulness for program evaluation and development, strategic planning, enrollment management and other traditional functions of higher education administration. To illustrate we provide an appraisal of the impact of demographic and employment changes resulting from the great recession on the MBA program of a regional private university in the state of Connecticut. We establish the validity of our shift-share based analysis with a Google Trends examination of relevant keywords