Senior economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Nov 20, 2022 • 14 tweets • 5 min read
I appreciate what I interpret to be a compliment, but I think this judgment of actual policies is too extreme in its negative view. Altho I am sometimes tempted by cynicism, I don't think it impossible for our political system to run effective place-based programs.
At fed level, as I've mentioned in a number of publications, TVA seems to have boosted jobs in TVA region by 250K, at cost per job of roughly $80K. See Kline and Moretti. academic.oup.com/qje/article-ab…
Nov 19, 2022 • 23 tweets • 7 min read
This piece by @petercoy provides a useful highlighting of the recent intellectual & policy trend towards embracing place-based policies, albeit on small scale.
The article makes many useful points, including: governments have trouble doing targeting, past efforts have had mixed results, success ultimately should be judged by effects on PEOPLE in distressed places, & success depends on exploiting various multipliers, such as via clusters
Jun 15, 2022 • 30 tweets • 11 min read
My report on how state governments can target jobs for distressed places is being released today. This report pulls together a lot of my research of past 35 years on place-based policies -- but applies this to suggesting what state govts can do, w/ numbers for each state.
Here's a link to my testimony -- both written and powerpoints -- before the Michigan State Board of Education. This testimony relies on pulling together research from many folks on this issue.
The key point: research supports that HIGH-QUALITY pre-K has long-run effects on "authentic" adult outcomes,such as educational attainment and earnings. Research that seems to suggest otherwise is frequently on pre-K that is low-quality,or focuses on medium run test score effects
Great article by @emilymbadger at @nytimes on West Virginia's economic challenges. nytimes.com/2021/02/08/ups…
As article details, WVa faces challenges due to declining economic base, which is exacerbated because this declining base means the area lacks sufficient tax resources & philanthropic resources to allow needed investments for redevelopment.
Dec 11, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
More specifically, the blog post fails to seriously consider the ethics of distributing vaccines by WTP, or the negative effects on public trust if an untested vaccine proved disastrous.
Now, FDA might have approved more rapid albeit imperfect tests, and considered challenge trials. And govt should have reserved more doses. But faster solutions do not require throwing out commonsense ethics & standards.
Dec 10, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
I'd like to reup the announcement that my employer, the @UpjohnInstitute , is hiring another senior researcher, to do research related to U.S. labor markets. Here is a link to the job listing: upjohn.org/sites/default/…
For this position, we are looking to diversify our research group by hiring a senior researcher who is outside of economics, preferably someone who has expertise in qualitative research, mixed methods, or survey research.
Dec 10, 2020 • 16 tweets • 6 min read
My chapter on improving local economic development policies is published today by @econstrategygrp . This book is available for free download or you can request a free hard copy. #SecuringOurEconomicFutureeconomicstrategygroup.org/publication/se…
The book has 3 sections, each with several chapters. The 3 areas are: trends affecting the middle class; issues affecting particular geograpies; & climate change. The "local" section includes a chapter by @davidautor on the changing geography of middle skill jobs.
Dec 9, 2020 • 15 tweets • 7 min read
Good piece by @rodrikdani on creating more good jobs. Key points: need to work on both labor supply side & demand side; services beat subsidies, in particular need to do sectoral training & services to improve business inputs; these services need to be coordinated at local level.
I participated in a seminar chaired by @rodrikdani on good jobs by @InequalityHKS . I think video will be posted soon. Here is a link to my 7-minute speech draft (pdf listed under additional files) and the powerpoints (the download button):research.upjohn.org/presentations/…
Sep 23, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
You might ask: WHY do distressed areas tend to stay distressed? Because lack of jobs leads to lower job skills and social problems; out-migration is selective and removes some younger, more skilled workers; distress undermines local tax base, reducing public services
And what is evidence for persistence? As report reviews, between 2000 and 2014-18, correlation in prime-age employment rate in local labor markets is 0.88.
Sep 23, 2020 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
My report on helping distressed communities w/ a federal block grant is being released today by @BrookingsMetro . This report provides a plan for how federal policymakers can cost-effectively boost employment rates for residents in distressed areas. (1/N) brookings.edu/research/helpi…
To achieve the ultimate goal of boosting employment rates for residents in distressed communities, the block grant would fund both public services to help create & retain jobs, & services to help unemployed and underemployed residents access those jobs. Both are important. (2/N)
Aug 18, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
The belief among BOTH Dems and Repubs that middle-class tax cuts pay for themselves is astonishing.
I guess I do have to wonder whether people interpret this question, which is about LONG-RUN effects on DEFICIT, not revenue, as simply: are middle-class tax cuts "good", which means they must reduce this "bad thing", the deficit?
Aug 5, 2020 • 25 tweets • 7 min read
My memo outlines how local economic development policies can be reformed. It is addressed to business leaders, college & university leaders, and state & local government leaders. I suggest changes to our common narratives of how we think about local economies.(1/N)
We need to understand that distressed local labor markets are often not due to inevitable economic forces, but due to bad luck and bad policy, which leads to a self-reinforcing cycle of decline. In many cases, distress begins when an area is hit harder by a recession. (2/N)
Aug 4, 2020 • 29 tweets • 9 min read
My article on place-based jobs policies was published today in the Journal of Economic Perspectives. This article summarizes evidence for the "market failure" argument for such policies -- but w/ caveats about how current policies need reforms: aeaweb.org/articles?id=10… (1/N)
This article addresses both a general audience of economists -- but also any others interested in the economic perspective on place-based policies: @mattyglesias@bencasselman@jimtankersley@crampell@AnnieLowrey@JHWeissmann (2/N)
The webinar featured as speakers: Marianne Bertrand, prof of econ at Chicago Booth; Chi Mac, Small Business Research Lead at JP Morgan Chase Institute; Maurice Jones, President and CEO of LISC, @LISCMaurice
Jul 29, 2020 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
Thanks for the compliment! For those interested, the link to the @UpjohnInstitute research highlight on this, w/ further links to both the powerpoint and my speech draft, is here: upjohn.org/research-highl…
My thanks to @IEDCtweets & @jeffryfinkle for inviting me.
Jul 27, 2020 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
I'm part of a symposium pulled together by @VEDPVirginia & @StephenMoret , which invites many folks to provide some thoughts on the challenges posed by a post-COVID economy, for different economic sectors, for different regions, & for policy. issuu.com/vedpvirginia/d…
Contributors include not only me, but @DKThomp , @Richard_Florida , @joelkotkin , @amy_liuw , @MarkMuro1 , & @LReynoldsMITIPC , along with MANY others. Out of all our predictions, I'm sure at least some will prove correct!
Jul 23, 2020 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
So I agree interesting paper by @davidautor . Re:cost, I think full CBAwill be interesting. (1 ) should multiplier effect be applied to direct jobs? Could lower gross cost/job a lot. attn: @ModeledBehavior
The slides and webinar from this July 16 panel w/ me, @MarkMuro1 , & @baselinescene have now been posted. Also links to more extensive research by all three of us.
My focus is on helping distressed local labor markets, defined as local areas with low employment rates. Redistributing jobs to those places can boost permanent employment rates in those areas, reducing social costs & increasing the overall national employment rate.
Jul 17, 2020 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
I think we should always be attentive to the language that we use, but I disagree with some of the specifics of this piece.
Specifically, the piece argues that calling a place "distressed"
"further a narrative in which certain places—mostly neighborhoods of color—are seen as “un-investable” due to their perceived inability to generate profit or political support. ...
