Although the Reader's Digest's story, "Second Chance City - A wave of refugees is bringing new life to a dying American town" paints Utica as a city that has plunged into an "economic meltdown," Hamilton's Associate Professor of Economics Paul Hagstrom offers some hope. His research, which is referenced in this article, focuses on the economic impact of refugee resettlement and the refugees' effect on local labor markets on the central New York community. His data show that after approximately 15 years, Utica's investment in refugee resettlement will bear fruit, offering the city an effective long-term strategy for its economic survival. According to the Digest article, "Utica is still a long way from its former prominence as one of New York's most prosperous cities…but housing values increased 52 percent between 2001 and 2006."
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