Center for Business and Economic Research - Ball State University


CBER Data Center
Projects and PublicationsEconomic IndicatorsWeekly CommentaryCommunity Asset InventoryManufacturing Scorecard

About

Commentaries are published weekly and distributed through the Indianapolis Business Journal and many other print and online publications. Disclaimer

RSS Feed

Disclaimer

The views expressed in these commentaries do not reflect those of Ball State University or the Center for Business and Economic Research.

Recent

Two Key Economic Lessons in One BillHoosiers face trade-offs and opportunity costs in the wake of SEA1.

Time to Fix Economic Development PolicyAllocating tax dollars to land development won’t cause economic growth.

The Unanticipated Effects of SB1Businesses, governments and households may all feel the effects.

The Stupidest of PoliciesThis whipsawing of tariff rates has unnerved financial markets, which on Wednesday, were toying with a liquidity crisis.

View archives

Top Tags

jobs and employment 261
economics 201
state and local government 188
education 186
economic development 171
indiana 171
budget and spending 145
taxes 144
law and public policy 142
workforce and human capital 139
Browse all tags
Reporter / Admin Login

CBER Weekly Commentaries - 2013

  • Select a year →
  • 2025
  • 2024
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2007
  • 2006
  • 2005
  • 2004
  • 2003
  • 2002
  • 2001
January 7, 2013 More Budget FailuresIn the final hours, it was clear the poison pill of the fiscal cliff required too much courage for our ‘leaders’ in Washington.
January 13, 2013 Why Is the Unemployment Rate Still So High?In short, it took nearly all of us to make this happen.
January 21, 2013 Leadership and the Government ShutdownThe transparency of a genuine budget debate will reveal just how unsustainable our spending has become.
January 27, 2013 Middle Class and Income InequalityThe middle class was built upon an abundance of well-paying but relatively low-skilled jobs.
February 3, 2013 The Recession Is HereThere has been no quarterly decline in GDP on record without a recession.
February 10, 2013 The Whys of Stock PricesThe shedding of 8 million unneeded workers boosted profits for lots of businesses.
February 17, 2013 Let’s Try a $25 Minimum WageLabor markets are subject to the laws of supply and demand.
February 24, 2013 Stagnant Wages for Low-Wage Workers Are a ProblemToday, the plight of low-wage workers is a real and growing concern
March 3, 2013 Manufacturing and the FutureThe machinery required for production requires different skills now than what was required in 1970.
March 10, 2013 The Sequester of the FutureThings will get worse before they get better.
March 17, 2013 Economic Data Hold Little Good NewsDespite the delight in the media, the February data tell a wretched story.
March 24, 2013 The Iraq War Ten Years OnThe war in Iraq was expensive.
March 31, 2013 A Policy ShiftIn the early days of the recession, there were two competing arguments about policy.
April 7, 2013 Bad Ideas Still ReignToday I see three bad intellectual influences that merit noting—one each from the political right, the left and bipartisan folly.
April 15, 2013 Bourgeois Dignity and the Modern WorldIf the encouragement of a young Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison or Bill Gates is key to economic growth, how are we doing as a nation?
April 21, 2013 Terror Bombings and the Broader EconomyWith the exception of 9/11, we Americans have been spared much of the bombing terror that is a part of life in much of the world.
April 28, 2013 Tax Cuts Are in Our FutureIndiana has probably the best tax system in its history, but it is not without its problems.
May 5, 2013 The Real Cause of Brain DrainBrain drain in Indiana is neither a problem of our universities nor a result of our business relocation efforts.
May 12, 2013 Labor Markets Continue to SufferThe employment data we read about treat all jobs the same, whether they are 15 hours or 45 per week.
May 19, 2013 The Heritage Foundation, Immigration and Moral CourageGood research should illuminate, not merely support an opinion.
May 26, 2013 International Trade Is the Opposite of WarWhat flummoxes me is not the academic debate, but the casual discussion about trade.
June 2, 2013 Good and Bad Bailouts in TARPFor all intents and purposes, TARP allowed the U.S. Treasury to act a lot like George Bailey using his honeymoon money to quell a bank run.
June 9, 2013 Nice Places Grow FasterThe link between economic performance and local schools is self-evident.
June 16, 2013 Good News on Manufacturing in 2013The most interesting part of our manufacturing research this year was revelations on productivity growth in Indiana.
June 23, 2013 We Need a Better Immigration PolicyAs a practical matter, our immigration policy is broken.
June 30, 2013 The Fed and Economic TheoryPolitical folklore has it that economists are infamously divided between explanations for the cause of the boom-and-bust cycle.
July 7, 2013 The Real Marriage DebateEconomic costs come not from same-sex households, but from single-parent households.
July 14, 2013 Gold, Bitcoin and Kissi PenniesToday, we hear some interesting assertions about currency.
July 21, 2013 The End of Real PovertyThere is ‘poverty’ and there is ‘real poverty’, and making the distinction is a moral imperative.
July 28, 2013 China Hits the WallA nation that can compel workers to leave subsistence farms for bad factories can see its growth accounting soar.
August 4, 2013 Reforming Teacher TrainingChanges in the last two years to teachers’ promotion and compensation rules focus on classroom performance.
August 11, 2013 The Next Fed ChairThe great problem facing the Federal Reserve in the years to come lies in deciding how and when to tighten monetary policy.
August 18, 2013 The Grand Debate About Higher Education Shouldn’t Matter to StudentsThe most essential elements of an education are unchanged.
August 25, 2013 A New Antitrust CaseThe proposed business merger between two large airlines brings century-old anti-trust law to the forefront.
September 1, 2013 The Labor Movement in Full CollapseThe early successes of labor unions are partially to blame for their decline today.
September 8, 2013 Income, Amenities and Affordable HousingPerceived value of employment and quality of school districts are two factors affecting personal income in our communities.
September 15, 2013 School Reform Two Years OnThe U.S. ranks at the top for elementary attainment but at the bottom for secondary (high school) attainment.
September 22, 2013 Janet Yellen and the FedThe Federal Reserve is a necessary, yet imperfect, institution.
September 29, 2013 The Start of the Affordable Care ActLabor markets would likely improve if we could just get away from employer-based health insurance.
October 6, 2013 More Budget FailuresIn the final hours, it was clear the poison pill of the fiscal cliff required too much courage for our ‘leaders’ in Washington.
October 13, 2013 Welcome the Debate, Even If It Ain’t PrettyThe size and scope of our government is in tension with the available dollars we can tax from households and businesses.
October 20, 2013 A Still Uncertain EconomySomething remains terribly wrong in the U.S. economy, but there are some tantalizing hints
October 27, 2013 The Affordable Care Act into the FutureThe ACA must work for more than 30 million households—one-third of whom are functionally illiterate, and another third of whom have no computer or internet at home.
November 3, 2013 A New Minimum Wage DebateIf we really wanted to help minimum wage workers, we could do better.
November 10, 2013 Veterans and Society in the Years to ComeRecent veterans comprise just over 1 percent of the population but will leave a lasting mark on business and society.
November 17, 2013 QE3 and the Labor MarketThe sign of a truly positive jobs report would be the decline of stock prices in anticipation of the end of QE3.
November 24, 2013 Let’s Have a Debate on Gay Marriage in Our Homes The discussion of what makes a good marriage should happen in our homes, not in the Statehouse.
December 1, 2013 Great Places and the Sweep of Economic GeographyOur parents entered an economy focused on factories; our children enter an economy focused on services and amenities.
December 8, 2013 The Forecasting SeasonA forecast is designed to provide the best possible prediction of economic activity in the future.
December 15, 2013 Economic Development Studies and Tax AbatementOur research of state and local economic development programs yield some surprises
December 22, 2013 An Economic Model for the HolidaysRegional growth is a gift that keeps on giving through high-quality places to live.
December 29, 2013 The Fed’s End-of-Year ActionsThe question is simply, why is this level of monetary growth not having a more visible effect?

© Center for Business and Economic Research, Ball State University

About Ball State CBER Data Center

Ball State CBER Data Center is one-stop shop for economic data including demographics, education, health, and social capital. Our easy-to-use, visual web tools offer data collection and analysis for grant writers, economic developers, policy makers, and the general public.

Ball State CBER Data Center (cberdata.org) is a product of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University. CBER's mission is to conduct relevant and timely public policy research on a wide range of economic issues affecting the state and nation. Learn more.

Terms of Service

Center for Business and Economic Research

Ball State University • Whitinger Business Building, room 149
2000 W. University Ave.
Muncie, IN 47306-0360
Phone:
765-285-5926
Email:
cber@bsu.edu
Website:
www.bsu.edu/cber
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/BallStateCBER
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/BallStateCBER
Close