Tim Bartik
@timbartik.bsky.social
Senior Economist at Upjohn Institute, fan of "place-based policies" (or at least some of them!). https://www.upjohn.org/about/upjohn-team/staff/timothy-j-bartik
Timothy J. Bartik is an American economist who specializes in regional economics, public finance, urban economics, labor economics, and labor demand policies. He is a senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, Michigan. .. more
Economics
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These services can have less than one-third the cost per job created for local residents compared to tax incentives.
Federal and state governments can help solve the employment problems of people in distressed places to spur equitable growth
How to best target economically distressed places with job creation programs and what job creation programs are most effective.
dev-equitablegrowth.pantheonsite.io
As I have argued, the most cost-effective ways to help distressed places is to provide "customized services" rather than business tax incentives. Such services include infrastructure and training. dev-equitablegrowth.pantheonsite.io/federal-and-...
"To cushion trade shocks, it calls for the losers to be compensated financially, and for governments to invest in infrastructure and education to make economically depressed regions more attractive to outside companies." I obviously agree.
I obviously particularly liked the paragraph that begins: "One of the general principles of the London Consensus is “Growth matters, but so does place.”...
Reposted by Aaron Sojourner
"There is no good economics without good politics"--one of the principles of "The London Consensus," an interesting new book that is the subject of my latest column. 1/4
www.newyorker.com/news/the-fin...
www.newyorker.com/news/the-fin...
What Can Economists Agree on These Days?
A new book, “The London Consensus,” offers a framework for rethinking economic policy in a fractured age of inequality, populism, and political crisis.
www.newyorker.com
Great article on a new book.
Reposted by Timothy J. Bartik, Aaron Sojourner, Bessma Momani
What Can Economists Agree on These Days?
A new book, “The London Consensus,” offers a framework for rethinking economic policy in a fractured age of inequality, populism, and political crisis.
www.newyorker.com
"There is no good economics without good politics"--one of the principles of "The London Consensus," an interesting new book that is the subject of my latest column. 1/4
www.newyorker.com/news/the-fin...
www.newyorker.com/news/the-fin...
Summers conferred with Epstein frequently about how to extract sexual favors from a Harvard econ grad (AB '04, PhD '09)
The grad is from China
Epstein and Summers referred to her by the codename "Peril"
Racism and sexual exploitation in one efficient package
bit.ly/3LHpin8
The grad is from China
Epstein and Summers referred to her by the codename "Peril"
Racism and sexual exploitation in one efficient package
bit.ly/3LHpin8
As Summers Sought Clandestine Relationship With Woman He Called a Mentee, Epstein Was His ‘Wing Man’ | News | The Harvard Crimson
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: convicted sex offender Jef...
bit.ly
A senior academic using mentoring as leverage to obtain sex is a contemptible abuser of power.
Underlying lesson is that sensible economic development policies depends upon targeting distressed places, and coordinating with workforce development and housing policies that will target jobs and allow for needed housing.
At the extremes, targeting highly distressed places & having housing supply accommodate growth can increase benefit-cost ratio > sixfold compared to targeting booming places with restrictive housing supply -- BC ratio is 4.27 in former place vs. 0.66 in latter place.
If the housing price increase due to population is high, BCt ratio is only 1.32, and BC ratio almost doubles to 2.56 if housing price effect is low. Higher housing price response chokes off job growth, & transfers benefits from workers to property owners.
In addition, project benefits vary with whether housing prices go up relatively little or a lot with population boosts. Higher price responses drive up local costs, which reduces multiplier effects, and skews benefits towards property owners and away from boosting earnings per cap of local workers.
For this project, its benefit-cost ratio in highly distressed place is 3.45, because job creation has larger effects on boosting employment rates. In booming place, BC ratio only 1.10, because new jobs mostly just boost population -- benefits are lower and skewed more towards property.
In the essay, I present some simulations showing that benefit-cost ratio of econ dev projects varies greatly with whether area is distressed (has low baseline employment rate) or the area has better workforce programs to target jobs at non-employed. Benefit-cost ratio can plausibly vary threefold.
Many past development policies, such as bulldozing neighborhoods for Urban Renewal or highways, failed because even if they "worked", mainly aided property owners rather than original residents. If we want broad support for development, it must boost real earnings per cap of original residents.
INCENTIVES: SMART LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY Can Gain Support from The Abundance Movement – Site Selection Magazine
siteselection.com
I have a new essay on place-based economic development policies as "broadly-shared abundance policy" at Site Selection magazine: siteselection.com/incentives-s... Key pt: econ dev policies can boost abundance IF targeted at distressed areas/non-employed, & if local housing policies accommodate.
Tim Bartik
@timbartik.bsky.social
· Oct 30
These findings are policy relevant because RxKids has been expanded to other Michigan cities, including Kalamazoo. And recent state of Michigan budget adds $270 million to further expand program. So issue of what it does for all Michigan residents, not just direct beneficiaries, is important.
Tim Bartik
@timbartik.bsky.social
· Oct 30
Also, although given Flint context, transfer benefits are highly concentrated on lowest income quintile. But the program's benefits are broadly spread by increased spending and increased jobs and employment rates to all income quintiles, and particular bottom 60% of income distribution.
Tim Bartik
@timbartik.bsky.social
· Oct 30
Our model assumes that the program's cash benefits otherwise would not provide Michigan benefits. But even if we switch to tax financing, benefits in higher state per capita incomes would be 1.78 times the program's transfer costs.
Tim Bartik
@timbartik.bsky.social
· Oct 30
Core findings: depending upon model used, effect on total state personal income is 60% to 300% greater than the direct cash payments. Per capita income goes up by 2.4 times the cost of the program. Labor market benefits from job creation are actually greater than direct benefits of transfers.
Tim Bartik
@timbartik.bsky.social
· Oct 30
RxKids provides $1,500 during pregnancy, and $500 per month for first year of child's life. Other research is looking at benefits for child development, etc. -- our research focuses on regional economic benefits from this injection of cash into local economy.
Tim Bartik
@timbartik.bsky.social
· Oct 30
A new analysis by the Upjohn Institute finds that the Rx Kids program delivers measurable economic benefits to families and the broader local economy in Flint, Michigan. Read the full report
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
So, what does our study find? The RxKids program is a program that started in Flint, which provides universal benefits during pregnancy & the first year of a child's life. We find that the "demand-side" effects of the program are sufficient to provide sizable spillover benefits.
Reposted by Timothy J. Bartik
A new analysis by the Upjohn Institute finds that the Rx Kids program delivers measurable economic benefits to families and the broader local economy in Flint, Michigan. Read the full report
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
www.upjohn.org/research-hig...