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Previewing the Long-Term Effects of TariffsThe dominant effect of the Trump tariffs will be to raise production costs on almost every American manufacturing firm.

It’s TDS to Suppose These Tariffs Are WorkingTrump has pushed the U.S. into an economic downturn that will be especially hurtful to Hoosiers.

Trump’s Tariff Recession Is HereMy new forecast, completed in late April, predicts a national recession began as early as March in reaction to Trump’s tarriffs.

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

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April 27, 2025 Time to Fix Economic Development PolicyAllocating tax dollars to land development won’t cause economic growth.
April 20, 2025 The Unanticipated Effects of SB1Businesses, governments and households may all feel the effects.
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.
March 2, 2025 What Is Government Inefficiency?Different levels of government concern themselves with different problems.
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 2, 2025 The Great State of Illiana (or is it Indinois?)Deep economic divergence has gripped the United States for four decades.
January 5, 2025 School Choice Is a Good, Not Great Thing… Sort ofThe benefits are overestimated and misunderstood.
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.
September 22, 2024 Indiana’s Small Towns Need More ImmigrantsMany Midwestern counties are in their fourth or fifth decade of population decline.
September 8, 2024 You Maybe Don’t Want to Ask How We Can Balance our Federal BudgetIt seems like we could easily cut spending—until you understand what we are spending money on.
September 1, 2024 Urban Growth Dominates the US Economy – and Puts Rural Places at RiskEducation becomes more important as more people become educated.
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.
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.
May 5, 2024 US Debt Will Change Local Economic Development PoliciesThere’s no tax cut that will generate rapid economic growth, nor is there some magical spending mix that will cause a big spike in productivity.
April 7, 2024 What Caused the Midwest to Thrive? EducationIndiana was universally literate before England was.
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 4, 2024 Libertarians Going CrazyLibertarian viewpoints offer us a useful reminder of what restraints we must put upon those who govern us.
January 21, 2024 Small School Corporations Face Some Tough ChoicesStudent opportunities and outcomes increase and operational costs decrease when corporations approach optimal enrollment levels.
November 5, 2023 Municipal Elections Are Critical to Your ProsperityIn Indiana’s cities, like most cities nationwide, the problems mayors face aren’t partisan issues.
October 22, 2023 Economic Perceptions Driven by Educational and Geographic Differences in ProsperityThe geography of economic opportunity is shrinking.
October 1, 2023 Another Stupid Government ShutdownShutdowns are often a demonstration of clownsmanship, not statesmanship.
September 3, 2023 Work From Home Is Here to StayAt least 1 million Hoosiers work from home at least one day per week.
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.
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.
May 21, 2023 Big Savings for Ending Prevailing WageMy statistical models show that repealing state prevailing wage laws save taxpayers money.
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 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.
January 15, 2023 Three Types of Public DebtAll types of public debt are effectively transfers of wealth from the future to our present selves.
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 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 25, 2022 Two economic lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian WarOne lesson is about public spending on services, the other about free trade.
September 18, 2022 Why Do We Care About a Monarchy?Strong, stable, adaptable institutions help us navigate change while ensuring continuity.
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 17, 2022 My 750th ColumnColumns like mine are designed to help people think about issues they might otherwise not read about.
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.
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.
August 22, 2021 How to Think About the Infrastructure BillInfrastructure spending reallocates jobs far more often than it creates them.
November 10, 2019 A Reunion of VeteransIt is no secret that military service in the U.S. has long been a family business.
May 26, 2019 Honoring Our War Dead Demands Honoring the ConstitutionThe experiences of military service draw out the best and worst in soldiers.
June 24, 2018 Temporal Inequality Is Much Larger Than Income Inequality TodayFrom antiquity to about 1650, the average person existed at the margin of subsistence.
May 28, 2017 Public Corruption through the Prism of Memorial DaySome serve their country nobly, and some do not.
May 25, 2009 The Timeless Value of Public ServicePublic service in a republic is the physical expression of that simple but most powerful idea of the enlightenment. We each have value.
December 17, 2007 Moving Indiana into the 21st Century“The proposed reforms are crucial to linking the cost of public services to their quality.”
May 15, 2006 Re-Inventing Government "Economic development in particular has been hamstrung by the disconnectedness between silos of government."

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