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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.

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May 4, 2025 Two Key Economic Lessons in One BillHoosiers face trade-offs and opportunity costs in the wake of SEA1.
February 16, 2025 The End of DEI and a Call to ActionHow can we ensure that everyone has equal access to schooling, health care and economic opportunity?
February 9, 2025 The Medicaid DilemmaFor every one new job created in Indiana since 2010, we’ve had more than two new people enroll in Medicaid.
January 5, 2025 School Choice Is a Good, Not Great Thing… Sort ofThe benefits are overestimated and misunderstood.
November 24, 2024 Thanksgiving 2024For Americans, particularly poorer Americans, the current economy has never been stronger.
October 20, 2024 Lessons in Home PricesIndiana’s dominant housing problem is a surplus of homes that are unlikely to ever again be occupied.
September 22, 2024 Indiana’s Small Towns Need More ImmigrantsMany Midwestern counties are in their fourth or fifth decade of population decline.
August 25, 2024 Three Property Tax PlansThere are problems with each of these tax proposals from our gubernatorial candidates.
August 18, 2024 What would a conservative tax system look like?There are three big things we can tax: wealth, income and spending.
August 4, 2024 Childcare Problems Are Vexing and CostlyIndiana has both childcare and pre-kindergarten programs available to low-income households.
June 30, 2024 Silly Tax Cut ProposalsIn Indiana, a 1 percent increase in the average tax rate leads to a 2 percent increase in population growth.
April 14, 2024 The Midwest Is Struggling in the Post-COVID WorldWe are chasing past economic glories rather than pursuing economic opportunities of the future.
March 17, 2024 Deep Ideological Chasm Behind SB202 Will RemainThe central fight over ideological bias on campus involves two competing visions of the world.
January 14, 2024 Thinking Hard About the IREAD TestAbout one in five Hoosier 3rd graders fail to pass the statewide reading test.
December 24, 2023 Leaving Behind Dickensian PovertyThis Christmas holiday is not about worldly wealth, but it is a time of giving thanks for the many blessings we enjoy.
December 3, 2023 The ‘Great Discordance’ of Economic Fact and FeelingThat Americans appear to prefer higher unemployment over historically mild inflation is not something any of us should be proud of.
November 26, 2023 The Best of ThanksgivingsWhether in times of peace or distress, we always find time to give thanks.
October 22, 2023 Economic Perceptions Driven by Educational and Geographic Differences in ProsperityThe geography of economic opportunity is shrinking.
September 3, 2023 Work From Home Is Here to StayAt least 1 million Hoosiers work from home at least one day per week.
August 27, 2023 Indiana’s Hospital Monopolies Are WorseningBetween 2019 and 2021, the average American saw a $10 increase in hospital charges, compared to an increase of $175 per Hoosier.
August 13, 2023 A More Thoughtful Understanding of Quality of LifeRunning through a hypothetical list of amenities is the worst way to think about improving quality of life.
July 30, 2023 The Midwest Doesn’t Have a Housing Crisis, It Has a Neighborhood CrisisIn many areas, a new home cannot sell for the cost of construction.
July 23, 2023 Populists Are Wrong—Life Is Better TodayMany problems arise when comparing the past to today.
June 25, 2023 Growing and Declining Places Have Different ChallengesThe Midwest came of age at a time when natural amenities and recreational opportunities played only a modest role in prosperity or migration.
June 11, 2023 “Of Boys and Men” by Richard Reeves Is a Must ReadThe gender gap in education is larger than any racial or ethnic gap.
May 7, 2023 Money Illusion and InflationPrice fluctuation could cause inflation to last longer, but it didn’t cause the inflation, it simply extends the pain.
April 23, 2023 Economic Opportunity Is Now in High Quality of Life PlacesAs Americans grew richer, we began to value more than just economic opportunity in our location choices.
March 19, 2023 Remote Work Through the Eyes of Three 20-SomethingsRemote work is here to stay.
March 12, 2023 Remote Work and Labor MarketsThere are more remote workers today than there are immigrants in the U.S.
March 5, 2023 The Amish in IndianaIt is hard not to draw similarities between the Amish and newer immigrant groups.
February 26, 2023 Subsidizing Builders Fixes the Wrong Housing ProblemRemote workers and their families can now live wherever they wish.
February 5, 2023 HB1004 Would Restrict Hospital MonopoliesIndiana’s not-for-profit hospitals are among the most profitable businesses in the United States.
December 25, 2022 Storm Costs on ChristmasThis storm comes amidst some of the busiest travel days of the year.
December 18, 2022 The Anderson Family Scholar HouseThe best assistance for a family comes comprehensively.
December 11, 2022 READI Grant Is Great for Most of IndianaBusinesses and households value public services more highly than public infrastructure spending.
December 4, 2022 Inflation Will Make the Legislature’s Job Difficult This YearThe budget challenges faced by state legislatures are twofold.
November 27, 2022 Economic Optimism and Worry on ThanksgivingThe balance of power between freedom and tyranny has never been this favorable.
November 20, 2022 Black Friday Is ChangingConsumers and businesses alike will adjust to these tighter labor markets.
November 13, 2022 The Timing of Economic PolicyCentral planning of economic activity likely will result in wasteful, ineffective policies.
September 4, 2022 Lingering Effects of COVID on WorkThe U.S. is still about 1.0 percent below its pre-COVID participation rate.
August 21, 2022 Limiting Future InflationOverreacting to inflation can be worse to the economy than underreacting.
August 7, 2022 It Is Time to Face the Facts About Factory JobsThe education and skills of today’s displaced factory workers don’t match the many available jobs nationwide.
July 31, 2022 Trying to Measure the Effect of Abortion Bans on Our EconomyThe effect we see right now is vastly different from what we’ll see in a few years.
July 10, 2022 The Tensions of Economic Policy in a Volatile TimeDiffering political views can lead to very different policy choices.
June 26, 2022 Inflation Affects Each Family DifferentlyWe understand earthquakes and hurricanes better than we do inflation.
May 22, 2022 The Undersupply of College Graduates Is Clobbering Indiana’s EconomyNationwide, about 8 in 10 of all net new jobs go to 4-year college graduates.
May 8, 2022 The Lives of Mothers Through the Last CenturyThe women of the 20th century witnessed the most stunning technological and economic growth.
May 1, 2022 Lilly CEO Speaks to Indiana’s FutureIndiana must better educate a higher share of its young adults and make more communities into places they’d like to live.
April 24, 2022 Ending Hospital Monopolies Is Needed to Restore Free MarketsThe economic argument against monopoly power is that it interferes with the free functioning of markets.
April 3, 2022 The U.S. Job Creation MachineNo U.S. state, and very few cities, have more ‘global’ jobs than they did in the spring of 1992.
March 20, 2022 Quality of Life Spending Is a Conservative PolicyHome prices and wages signal the desirability of communities.
March 13, 2022 Economic Lessons From America’s Most Experienced Avon LadyJob flexibility is just as appealing to workers today as it was to housewives half a century ago.
January 23, 2022 Indiana’s Long-Term Economic Prospects Are PoorState policymakers should be deeply alarmed about a return to a ‘normal’ economy.
January 16, 2022 Americans Are Quietly Realizing Dr. King’s VisionMLK’s words are part of the canon of American political writing, and belong to a long tradition of Enlightenment thought.
January 9, 2022 IU Health’s Price Freeze Is a GimmickThe medical provider has become a strong regional monopoly in many parts of the state.
January 2, 2022 2021 Was an Unnecessarily Horrible YearFrom political unrest to vaccination and economic woes, this year was heavy.
December 26, 2021 Some Lessons from Hallmark Christmas MoviesA lot of economic ideas are packed into Hallmark movies.
December 5, 2021 Some More Talk About Inflation RisksA price increase does not equate inflation.
November 28, 2021 A Time to Give ThanksIf Mr. Lincoln could find reason to call us together for a day of gratitude, we can now have no cause to do otherwise.
November 21, 2021 Tax Debate Should Be About Value of Government Services, Not PriceOver the past two decades, Indiana cut business taxes and saw agonizingly slow economic growth.
October 10, 2021 COVID and the Risks of Medical Care Delays As we think about the longer-term effects of COVID, we must consider how many people have deferred medical care because of the disease.
October 3, 2021 Automation and Today’s Labor Market ChallengesThe process of workers matching with employers is messy and slow.
September 26, 2021 What’s Happening in Labor MarketsWork environments and wages, as well as cost of care services, heavily influence choices in the current labor market.
September 19, 2021 Vaccine Mandates Are Huge Cost SavingsMost individuals have dodged the financial cost of COVID health expenses, but insurance premiums are likely to rise.
July 11, 2021 What Is ‘Quality of Place?’When choosing a place to live, workers consider the wages they will earn against the cost of housing and access to amenities.
June 20, 2021 Looking Back at a Century of Father’s DaysThe lives of our fathers and their fathers are representative of the early and mid-20th century.
June 13, 2021 Some Early Census Results for IndianaPeople are the driving force of economic growth.
May 9, 2021 Mother’s Day Thoughts in the Wake of COVIDThe experience of women in the labor force has differed from that of men in key respects.
April 18, 2021 The Post-COVID World Favors High Quality-of-Place CommunitiesBetween 23 million and 35 million households will find themselves newly unencumbered by the need to live within an easy daily commute to work.
March 7, 2021 Our Biggest Economic Challenge Is School Funding Better educational attainment both causes and is caused by a better economy.
November 29, 2020 Regional Divergence and Local TaxesIn recent decades, nearly all large urban places thrived, while smaller cities and rural places mostly stagnated.
November 22, 2020 Some New and Better Data About Labor MarketsWorker benefits and child care options may affect labor participation.
July 19, 2020 School Re-opening Decision Is Tough, Politicizing Masks Makes It HarderIndiana has about 1.1 million kids in grades K-12, and many have little-to-no high-speed internet access.
June 21, 2020 Changing Dynamics in Modern FatherhoodFamily formation varies depending on race, income, and education level.
May 17, 2020 It’s the Disease, Not the GovernmentConsumer spending changed before any government restrictions were implemented.
May 10, 2020 Mother’s Day and Unmeasured EconomicsA disproportionate share of unmeasured work falls to women, particularly those who happen to have kids.
November 17, 2019 Beware Claims of a Golden Age in Our EconomyWe cannot go back, and are naïve to want to do so.
June 23, 2019 Low Cost of Living Probably Means Low-Valued CommunityThe value of two identical homes will vary by as much as 25 percent given the quality of the local schools.
September 30, 2018 Broadband Funding the Right Move, for Unexpected ReasonsMeasures of regional inequality were worse due to the absence of this technology.
August 5, 2018 Midwest Must Save Middle Class NeighborhoodsIf your community isn’t thriving, your problems are far deeper than you suppose.
April 15, 2018 We Need Better Thinking About the Gender Pay GapPay gaps are due primarily to occupational, educational and family choices.
February 11, 2018 Housing Shortages Are Really Neighborhood ProblemsA third of the variation of home prices in a city are determined by school quality.
July 16, 2017 Thoughts on the Universal Basic IncomeThis program would put more money in our paychecks but also would eliminate the social safety net.
June 25, 2017 Some Economics of Food DesertsFood deserts are more about poor places than poor people.
June 18, 2017 The State of Fatherhood in 2017Single-parent households face a number of challenges.
April 2, 2017 Healthcare Law Changes About Consumer Choice Healthcare information is ruthlessly suppressed.
December 25, 2016 Holiday Season a Good Time to Think About Personal ChoiceWe make choices about leisure, labor, making a living, and building a life.
January 10, 2016 Demand, Not Supply, Is the Drug Problem“Prescription only” restrictions are a bandage for a bigger issue.
July 5, 2015 Same-Sex Marriage, Liberty and FamiliesThose who think the Supreme Court’s ruling on same sex marriage is the problem have entirely misdiagnosed the deep challenges to families.
July 6, 2014 Court Rulings Uphold FreedomSome issues should stay as matters of individual conscience, not public policy.
May 11, 2014 Some Economic Consequences of MotherhoodMany women make great sacrifices for motherhood at the expense of their careers.
February 2, 2014 Policy on Income Inequality and Poverty Hasn’t WorkedIt is what kids learn at home, not how much their parents make that affects income mobility.
January 26, 2014 Consumption Inequality, Not Income Inequality, Is the Real IssueWellbeing is determined from benefits from consumption, not earnings.
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.
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.
July 7, 2013 The Real Marriage DebateEconomic costs come not from same-sex households, but from single-parent households.
July 7, 2013 The Real Marriage DebateEconomic costs come not from same-sex households, but from single-parent households.
June 18, 2012 Fathers and Personal Discount RateThe more you value the future, the more highly you are apt to be valued by the economy, and vice versa.
June 20, 2011 The Economic Consequence of FatherhoodVirtually all families in long-term poverty – five years or more – are led by single parents.
May 9, 2011 The Empirics of Mothers’ DayMotherhood isn’t limited to the act of giving birth….

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