jobs and employment	265
economics	207
state and local government	191
education	190
indiana	176
economic development	174
budget and spending	149
taxes	148
law and public policy	147
workforce and human capital	142

Commentaries tagged with workforce and human capital

June 29, 2025	More Changes to Economic Development Policy Are NeededThe IEDC board should consider whether they should be picking winners and losers in both business attraction and location.
June 22, 2025	We Have a Healthy Middle ClassThe biggest issue in the middle class involves changes to consumption, not earnings.
June 15, 2025	Economic Freedom Is Essential, but It Isn’t Just TaxesBusinesses and households prioritize standard of living among other factors.
May 4, 2025	Two Key Economic Lessons in One BillHoosiers face trade-offs and opportunity costs in the wake of SEA1.
April 6, 2025	American Scientific Brain Drain Is Now HappeningUniversities need to be free, not conformist.
March 30, 2025	The Birth and Death of Rustbelt CitiesEducational attainment is the fundamental factor leading to city growth or decline.
March 23, 2025	What the Census Tells Hoosiers About the FutureKeeping things the same really isn’t an option for communities.
March 9, 2025	A 1960s Rural Development PlanFarming and manufacturing jobs aren’t coming back, even as we hit new production records.
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.
February 2, 2025	The Great State of Illiana (or is it Indinois?)Deep economic divergence has gripped the United States for four decades.
January 19, 2025	My 2025 ForecastThe Hoosier economy is growing, but at the same time falling further behind the rest of the nation.
December 15, 2024	Indiana’s Commission on Higher Education Issues an Eye-Opening ReportOur current level of educational attainment and college attendance rates puts us squarely in the bottom 10 states and territories.
December 8, 2024	Sorting and Policy DivergenceWithout room for state-level differences in what it meant to be a Republican or Democrat, states began to align with national politics.
November 3, 2024	My Apology to LogansportThe city is well known as an immigration success story in the Midwest.
October 13, 2024	Worsening Brain DrainThe declining educational spending at state universities should be of big interest to elected officials in all the towns around public universities.
September 22, 2024	Indiana’s Small Towns Need More ImmigrantsMany Midwestern counties are in their fourth or fifth decade of population decline.
September 15, 2024	IEDC’s Unhappy 20th AnniversaryIndiana must become a place where education and skills of people form the central mission of state and local economic development policies.
September 1, 2024	Urban Growth Dominates the US Economy – and Puts Rural Places at RiskEducation becomes more important as more people become educated.
August 4, 2024	Childcare Problems Are Vexing and CostlyIndiana has both childcare and pre-kindergarten programs available to low-income households.
July 21, 2024	Why Don’t We Learn from Economic Development Failures?Educational attainment alone is now a more powerful predictor of a region’s economic success than everything else combined.
July 7, 2024	Freedom Is DifficultSimply living in the United States is as easy as it gets, and almost always has been.
June 23, 2024	Some Good Reasons for Partisan Perceptions About the EconomyThe gap between rich places and poor places is growing in more ways than one.
June 9, 2024	Advice for Young People Heading Directly into the Labor MarketSkipping college does not mean you cannot have a satisfying career, but it will take more planning and work to get there.
June 2, 2024	Regional Cities Initiative, an Economic BoonBehind the concept was a clear understanding that most economic growth was happening in cities with solid quality-of-life investments.
April 28, 2024	We Botched Our Last Curriculum Reform, We Cannot Do So This TimeA very good idea can become very bad public policy when executed poorly.
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.
April 7, 2024	What Caused the Midwest to Thrive? EducationIndiana was universally literate before England was.
March 10, 2024	Are We in the Early Stages of a Long Economic Boom?Economists aren’t yet sure why labor productivity is growing, but I can offer two educated guesses.
March 3, 2024	Indiana Needs More Municipal FlexibilityCities aren’t just critical to Indiana’s economy, they are the future of Indiana’s economy.
February 11, 2024	Some More Truth About Manufacturing and TradeManufacturing employment peaked decades earlier than manufacturing production.
January 28, 2024	Do Record Levels of Capital Investment Benefit Citizens?Taxpayers may be appropriately skeptical about business relocation announcements.
January 21, 2024	Small School Corporations Face Some Tough ChoicesStudent opportunities and outcomes increase and operational costs decrease when corporations approach optimal enrollment levels.
January 14, 2024	Thinking Hard About the IREAD TestAbout one in five Hoosier 3rd graders fail to pass the statewide reading test.
December 31, 2023	Education After High School Is the Path to Middle-Class LifeJobs of the future require at least some college training.
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 10, 2023	Manufacturing Matters, but Not for Creating JobsManufacturing is important because it is the source of a significant share of regional productivity growth.
November 19, 2023	Are We in a Period of New Union Activism?The bigger effect of unions appears to be how they influence labor markets outside the firms in which they’ve organized.
October 22, 2023	Economic Perceptions Driven by Educational and Geographic Differences in ProsperityThe geography of economic opportunity is shrinking.
October 8, 2023	Falling Behind Mississippi Indiana now sends 52.9 percent of high school graduates to college, while Mississippi sends 81 percent.
September 24, 2023	Don’t Expect the UAW to GrowThere is no evidence of a resurgence in the UAW or other industrial unions today.
September 3, 2023	Work From Home Is Here to StayAt least 1 million Hoosiers work from home at least one day per week.
August 20, 2023	Face the Fact: Factory Jobs Aren’t Coming BackFor every factory job Indiana lost since 1973, other industries created seven more jobs.
July 9, 2023	Human Capital Is the Source of ProsperitySuccessful places are both good for business and good for families.
June 18, 2023	New Labor Market Data Is Eye Opening But Under UsedThere’s been more data created on labor and education in the past 25 years than in the preceding 25 centuries.
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.
June 4, 2023	Increasing Importance of Summer JobsThese jobs offer an opportunity to learn as well as earn money.
May 28, 2023	Educational Attainment, the 21st Century Fund and the Future of SchoolingIndiana ranks 42nd in educational attainment.
May 14, 2023	Re-Thinking Economic Development A large share of the most mobile families—perhaps half—no longer need to live near where they work.
April 30, 2023	A Good Post-COVID Run for the Hoosier EconomyIndiana entered COVID with an already weakening economy.
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.
April 16, 2023	What New AI Might Do to Labor MarketsThe human advantage lies in creative intelligence and social organization.
April 2, 2023	The Five Skills Employers Tell Me They NeedI’ve asked countless numbers of leaders in business, government, military, and organizations.
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 12, 2023	What Is Happening to Labor Supply?Wishing to employ someone is not the same as labor demand.
January 22, 2023	Some Labor Market Facts You Won’t Read ElsewhereIndiana is simply not producing a 21st century workforce.
January 8, 2023	Remote Work Is Indiana’s Biggest Opportunity and RiskThere are now more Hoosiers in remote work than there are in manufacturing and logistics combined.
January 1, 2023	The CHIPS Act Was Wise LegislationSemiconductors are a key part of national defense, among other industries.
December 11, 2022	READI Grant Is Great for Most of IndianaBusinesses and households value public services more highly than public infrastructure spending.
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 6, 2022	Adopt the Governor’s Public Health Commission Report Proposals Hoosier health problems are in areas that are the most susceptible to public health interventions.
October 30, 2022	Remarkable Productivity Growth in Hospitality and TourismA more productive business requires—and hires—fewer workers.
October 9, 2022	A Recession Is Time to Think About the Long TermManufacturing employment is now a smaller part of our economy than it was in previous downturns.
September 11, 2022	Benefits and Costs of EducationFor the vast majority of students, college is among the best financial investments they will ever make.
September 4, 2022	Lingering Effects of COVID on WorkThe U.S. is still about 1.0 percent below its pre-COVID participation rate.
August 14, 2022	SB1 Will Be Deeply Damaging to Indiana’s EconomyPublic policy is about trade-offs, it is just imperative to know what they are.
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 24, 2022	Why Are Rich Places Growing and Poor Places in Decline?To participate in a new economy, a community’s workforce must possess the ability to absorb new skills that may be vastly different from what they currently know.
July 17, 2022	My 750th ColumnColumns like mine are designed to help people think about issues they might otherwise not read about.
June 12, 2022	Time to Dump the Rich States, Poor States RankingsTax policy is the wrong incentive to spur economic growth.
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 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 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 27, 2022	A Tough Two Decades for the Hoosier EconomyMost of Indiana’s job growth this century has been in low-wage work.
March 20, 2022	Quality of Life Spending Is a Conservative PolicyHome prices and wages signal the desirability of communities.
January 23, 2022	Indiana’s Long-Term Economic Prospects Are PoorState policymakers should be deeply alarmed about a return to a ‘normal’ economy.
October 31, 2021	Who Can Fix Our Supply Chain Issues?Congress could ease logistics problems in any number of ways; the private sector is already at work.
October 24, 2021	Deep Worries About Education and Employment Are Still With UsIndiana will start 2022 with three consecutive years of declining educational attainment of adults.
October 3, 2021	Automation and Today’s Labor Market ChallengesThe process of workers matching with employers is messy and slow.
September 5, 2021	The Evolving Nature of WorkWork has the potential to provide meaning and satisfaction, unconnected to the economic importance of the task at hand.
August 15, 2021	More Questions Than Answers About the Post-COVID WorkplaceWorkplaces vary widely in their degree of flexibility and productivity during the pandemic.
June 27, 2021	School Choice, Cost Savings and Educational SpendingIndiana adopted universal school choice a little more than a decade ago.
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.
June 6, 2021	What Economists Got Right and Wrong about COVIDShifts in labor, occupational structure, and community amenities influence the degree of recovery.
May 30, 2021	Pay Shortage, Not Labor ShortageThe most relevant data is not on the quantity of jobs, but the wages that indicate whether or not there is a labor shortage.
May 16, 2021	College Grads and Today’s Job MarketFewer than half of adults with only a high school diploma are currently working, while more than two-thirds with a college degree are working.
May 2, 2021	Why Are We Hearing About a Labor Shortage?Government benefits are not to blame.
April 25, 2021	Polarization of Jobs and PlacesUnfortunately, short-term spending policies aren't likely have much long-term effect on the decline of middle-wage jobs.
April 11, 2021	Economic Development Should Be About Value, Not CostIn the late 1970s–80s, you were taught that low tax rates and capital investment were the key to growth and prosperity, but that theory has not panned out as anticipated.
March 28, 2021	What Will This Economic Recovery Yield for Indiana?The quest to better fund schools and improve our workforce cannot become a partisan issue.
March 14, 2021	Two Sides of the Minimum WageWhat role should the government play?
March 7, 2021	Our Biggest Economic Challenge Is School Funding Better educational attainment both causes and is caused by a better economy.
February 28, 2021	Teacher Pay Is the Symptom of Deeper ProblemsState spending per Hoosier student is down more than 7.0 percent since 2010.
February 7, 2021	Indiana’s Lagging Educational AttainmentFinancial security without a college degree is possible but not probable.
January 31, 2021	How This Recession Is UnfoldingIt appears now that we’ll end 2020 with a downturn that ranks in the top five to seven worst years since the 1920s.
December 27, 2020	Some Thoughts on the Coal EconomyMany of the cities and towns born in the Industrial Revolution have lost their original economic reason for being.
November 22, 2020	Some New and Better Data About Labor MarketsWorker benefits and child care options may affect labor participation.
September 6, 2020	COVID-19 and InequalityThe pandemic continues to exert a historic effect on our economy, and we must confront it with honesty, facts and determination.
July 26, 2020	Challenges for Indiana’s Colleges Threaten Long-term GrowthSome of the costs of COVID-19 on US colleges are already emerging.
July 5, 2020	More Presidential Confusion on TradeThe Trump Administration is accelerating the trade imbalance in the quickest way possible.
June 28, 2020	Visa Restriction Damages EconomyThis action will shrink the US economy by almost $100 billion this year alone.
June 7, 2020	What Long-Term Changes Might We Anticipate from These Crises?The first half of 2020 has given us a trade war, global pandemic, economic downturn, and protests.
May 31, 2020	The Pandemic’s Damage Is Long TermWe must honestly acknowledge the potential depth and duration of the downturn.
May 10, 2020	Mother’s Day and Unmeasured EconomicsA disproportionate share of unmeasured work falls to women, particularly those who happen to have kids.
May 3, 2020	What Are Essential Jobs?In normal times there is no such division as ‘essential’ or ‘non-essential’ workers.
February 9, 2020	Back to Basics in Education, and Away from Vocational IndoctrinationThe only skill that we are certain will be needed by today’s kids in 20 years is the ability to learn and master new skills.
February 2, 2020	The College Wage Premium and Indiana’s Slow RecoveryIn the fastest growing urban places, half of all job advertisements are for college grads.
January 12, 2020	Fixing Regional InequalityMarket forces dictate much of the advantages and disadvantages of each place.
January 5, 2020	Growing Regional Inequality Is the Challenge of Our AgeAn educated workforce began to replace physical capital as a factor explaining economic growth.
December 8, 2019	The Recovery Has Not Been Kind to IndianaIndiana should have enjoyed a far more robust economic recovery.
November 25, 2019	Time for an Education Tax IncreaseNothing predicts the income of a region better than the average education of its citizens.
October 27, 2019	Indiana’s Human Capital Policies Are Causing Brain Drain and Weakening Our EconomyThe nation may not slip into recession, but Indiana now has.
September 1, 2019	Ideas, Not Labor or Capital, Made Our Modern EconomyThe focus of economic growth research in the last 40 years has been almost wholly about human capital and the power of ideas.
August 4, 2019	Indianapolis’ Wise Move on Tax Incentives Is Only a Start The problem facing America’s heartland cities is not really a shortage of good jobs, but a shortage of effectively skilled and educated workers.
July 14, 2019	Economic Research Points the Way for Different Education PolicyThis column is part of my effort to draw out two or three critical lessons from the last two or three decades and tie them to state policies.
April 14, 2019	We Need to Send 10,000 More Hoosier Kids to College Next YearIf only 20 percent of the gains of higher education are due to actual learning or acquired skills, it may still be the best investment our state and local governments can make.
March 24, 2019	A Frank Column on Education, Subsidies and PayWe should be very careful about promoting job training in careers that offer low wages.
March 17, 2019	Beware Panacea for Economic GrowthAs a stand-alone feature of economic growth, only human capital matters.
March 10, 2019	Lessons Learned from an Economics ConferenceI found two elements very intriguing, and worth sharing in this column.
February 24, 2019	Poor Policy Has Weakened Indiana’s EconomyA return “to trend” is not good news for Indiana.
February 3, 2019	Another Brookings Study Marks Indiana “at Risk”Hoosier workforce and education policies have increased our vulnerability to job losses.
January 20, 2019	Indiana’s Labor Markets Aren’t Ready for a RecessionThe long-term effect of a recession is mostly determined by the labor market response of businesses.
December 9, 2018	Factory Productivity Growth Isn’t About Machines, but PeopleEven if our industry is dominated by technology, we often fail to see how this affects production within our firms.
December 2, 2018	GM’s Layoffs Are a Warning to Indiana’s Workforce PoliciesFactory jobs are not coming back and manufacturing employment will be a much smaller share of US jobs in the future.
November 18, 2018	Amazon LessonsThe clearest lesson of Amazon is that people matter to business location decisions, probably more than everything else combined.
September 16, 2018	Some Advice for High School GraduatesMost young workers will have to look to the private sector for training.
June 3, 2018	Workforce Development Problems Are Deeper Than They SeemSince 1990, the United States has not created a single net new job for workers who have not been to college.
May 6, 2018	Indiana at Huge Risk in Trade DisruptionsBetween 1818 and 2018, technology essentially killed every existing job and created every new one.
March 18, 2018	Low Unemployment Is Time to Rethink Our Economic Development PoliciesThe most important single assumption supporting all our economic development efforts is that labor supply is perfectly elastic.
November 12, 2017	Time for More Strategic Thinking on EducationThe skills students need over the long run are those that enable them to master non-routine cognitive tasks.
October 22, 2017	Rustbelt Was Losing People Long Before They Lost Factory JobsIn the 1960s, population decline was already evident in the fated Rustbelt cities.
July 23, 2017	Automation, Trade and Urbanization Require More Resilient People and PlacesOur study implies that regional inequality might be poised for a big increase.
March 26, 2017	A Tale of Two Immigration ImpactsSixty-eight percent of recent economics doctorates in the US were earned by immigrants.
March 12, 2017	We Need Better Planning for Automation-Related Effects on WorkersOur workforce must learn to adapt to automation.
September 11, 2016	Cut the Tax Cut Debate, Spend the Money WiselyLet’s focus on workers, not businesses.
August 21, 2016	The Importers Benefit from TradeUnbalanced trade activity points to an unbalance in efficiency.
August 7, 2016	Labor Force Participation and ConspiraciesThe labor force does not include those who are not actively searching for or working in a job.
May 1, 2016	The Future of Ivy TechA nearby state sets an excellent example of an efficient community college model.

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Commentaries tagged with workforce and human capital