jobs and employment	207
economics	163
education	127
economic development	125
taxes	118
finance	102
recession	94
state and local government	83
unemployment and the labor market	80
budget and spending	79

Commentaries tagged with economics

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.
December 6, 2020	The Private Sector Is the Hero of COVIDSmart, successful businesses chase consumer interests.
September 13, 2020	Confusing Economic Statistics in the Time of COVID-19Americans should be pleased with the economists, statisticians and data scientists examining our complex economic climate.
May 24, 2020	Don’t Expand the Trade WarTrade allows us to buy things we cannot efficiently produce ourselves.
July 7, 2019	Independence Day ReflectionsPersonal liberty in the US has broadly expanded in both breadth and depth.
December 23, 2018	Thinking About Economic Growth Like an EconomistEconomists and businesses think about community growth in very different ways.
August 12, 2018	Ten Years of This ColumnThis has been an exciting and tumultuous time to write about economic policy, and along the way I’ve learned quite a few things.
March 4, 2018	Legislature Gets an "A" on Sunday SalesThe move to permit Sunday sales of alcohol is a step towards greater personal liberty.
August 20, 2017	How an Economic Study WorksEconomic research can help us identify the real problems instead of trying to remedy vague or fictitious ones.
June 18, 2017	The State of Fatherhood in 2017Single-parent households face a number of challenges.
February 12, 2017	Bad Ideas Have Real CostsInstead of focusing on local food, focus on local schools and neighborhoods.
February 5, 2017	The Makings of a Trump Economic PolicyDabbling in trade deals only shifts employment, not generate new.
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.
August 16, 2015	What Drives the Fed Rate Hike Decision?What is the nature of their agreement and disagreements and how does it play into the public debate over economic policy?
August 9, 2015	Who Actually Pays Taxes?All taxes are ultimately paid by households, either directly through various taxes or indirectly through price changes.
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.
December 7, 2014	The Lessons of an Oil Price DropThis is a clear example of an often misunderstood economic principle at work.
November 16, 2014	We Need Thoughtful, Sustained Policies for Growth, Not GimmicksLet's focus on an educated workforce and quality of place.
October 19, 2014	Polarized Labor Markets and the Supply and Demand of Unskilled Workers High-skilled and low-skilled workers face very different futures in this economy.
September 14, 2014	Focus on Shrinking the Federal GovernmentMost of our current problems are at the local level: schools, crime, housing, unemployment, and poverty.
May 11, 2014	Some Economic Consequences of MotherhoodMany women make great sacrifices for motherhood at the expense of their careers.
April 27, 2014	Some Truth of Men’s and Women’s WagesOccupation, education, job tenure and experience explain almost all wage differences; gender, almost none.
January 5, 2014	Economic Systems, North Korea and the ACAThe problem is that the economy we have is not a system; it is a series of markets that cannot be organized.
December 22, 2013	An Economic Model for the HolidaysRegional growth is a gift that keeps on giving through high-quality places to live.
December 15, 2013	Economic Development Studies and Tax AbatementOur research of state and local economic development programs yield some surprises
December 8, 2013	The Forecasting SeasonA forecast is designed to provide the best possible prediction of economic activity in the future.
May 26, 2013	International Trade Is the Opposite of WarWhat flummoxes me is not the academic debate, but the casual discussion about trade.
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.
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?
February 24, 2013	Stagnant Wages for Low-Wage Workers Are a ProblemToday, the plight of low-wage workers is a real and growing concern
February 17, 2013	Let’s Try a $25 Minimum WageLabor markets are subject to the laws of supply and demand.
December 16, 2012	Forecasts of the EconomyA well thought out economic forecast offers a great deal of useful information.
December 2, 2012	Demagoguery and Truth About TaxesWe should be a bit mindful of demagoguery about taxes.
November 11, 2012	The Next Big CrisisBond markets have already identified two states that cannot possibly pay their obligations, and a further four that are in serious trouble.
October 21, 2012	Are Families an Economic Issue?For those in long-term poverty, there are two causes: physical or mental illness or some form of failing families.
October 7, 2012	Bernanke Visits IndyBernanke maintained that monetary policy was not a panacea for our economic woes.
August 26, 2012	The Arts Matter, When Art Lovers Are FreeThe measurement of value in an artistic endeavor will always lie in the hearts of men and women.
August 20, 2012	A College Diploma Is Worthless, but the Education Is Priceless It is the college education that matters most, not the diploma.
July 16, 2012	Tax or Spend, That Is the ArgumentEconomic debates are far more sanguine, with more universal agreement than is apparent to outsiders.
May 28, 2012	Some Economics of Lasting ChangeThe warrior part of being a soldier is rewarding, even in the direst of settings.
August 15, 2011	Downgrading Standard & Poor’sFor anyone who recalls its glowing ratings for mortgage backed securities, S&P research is hard to take seriously.
June 20, 2011	The Economic Consequence of FatherhoodVirtually all families in long-term poverty – five years or more – are led by single parents.
June 13, 2011	The Island of Growth and Resurgent ProsperityWe Hoosiers are an economic anomaly, an Island of growth and resurgent prosperity.
January 10, 2011	What Is Economics?Describing the behavior of people, businesses and governments in equations is intensely abstract.
November 1, 2010	These Elections and Opportunity Cost...the heaping of enormous uncertainty onto recession made matters far, far worse.
June 14, 2010	Derivates and Financial Regulation Derivatives, in and of themselves, are fairly harmless and easy to understand.
June 7, 2010	The Economics of Education Migration causes brain drain and exacerbates the human capital differences between regions.
May 31, 2010	Market Data and Memorial Day The opportunity to dwell so deeply on short term matters of the economy is a remarkable luxury. We would be well to remember that on this weekend.
October 26, 2009	Non-market Valuation Identifies Important RelationshipsThe implications go beyond litigation to planning of public infrastructure.
July 6, 2009	The Gift of John FisherJohn Fisher stayed in Indiana to make a difference.
November 10, 2008	What do Economists do??Economists largely agree about big economic questions but not policy choices.
July 14, 2008	Summer Fun EconomicsLife lessons of hard work and compassion learned from the ball diamond might be more valuable than a Ph.D.
June 23, 2008	Public Policy and Pie EconomicsFighting over the slice of the pie or making all slices the same size, leaves us all a smaller "economic pie."
December 31, 2007	Forecasting Indiana’s Economy“The fundamentals for the state’s economy are in place.”
October 22, 2007	Wage Inequality in America - A Quick Analysis "The largest and fastest growing source of inequality is due to the supply and demand of educated workers in the United States.”
August 27, 2007	Coming to Indiana "As I begin to watch Indiana’s economy in earnest I see a hopeful state of affairs . . .”
August 20, 2007	The Final Word "... Indiana faces some serious challenges in the coming years.... I see plenty of reason for optimism despite these challenges."
August 20, 2007	The Final Word"... Indiana faces some serious challenges in the coming years.... I see plenty of reason for optimism despite these challenges."
July 2, 2007	Interest Rates in the News Again "If it were up to the American public to supply the funds to credit markets, rates would have risen sky-high a long time ago."
June 25, 2007	What's Your Favorite Economic Indicator?"The question is, what pieces of the economy should we be paying the most attention to?"
April 2, 2007	Why Economists Don't Get Invited Back to Parties "Economists hold some views that make them more than a little unpopular in polite circles."
March 26, 2007	Smoking and the Economy"...the differences in these survival rates...can have an enormous impact on the workforce and the population...."
February 17, 2007	The Value of Good Habits "...in most places and on most days in America, paychecks don’t bounce, bank deposits don’t disappear, and the government doesn’t show up at your door and seize your assets."
February 12, 2007	Is Earmarking Tax Revenues Wishful Thinking? "Important programs can be starved at the same time as less critical initiatives are awash with funds."
January 29, 2007	Decision Time on Property Taxes "...no one has come up with a way to replace the 5 or 6 billion of revenue, other than to offer a fervent hope that we can all suddenly live with a lot less government."
January 22, 2007	Keeping Score on Globalization "...if we are to enumerate the supposed evils of a globalized economic environment, we should list the benefits as well."
January 15, 2007	Reading the Tea Leaves on Employment Growth "We’re job growth laggards in this part of the country, pure and simple."
December 11, 2006	Researching Riddles from the Labor Market "...even some of the most basic research on the economy, such as recording, tabulating, and tracking jobs, reveals some surprisingly deep insights."
December 4, 2006	It’s All in the Language "Those who have been associated with government know that words used inside chambers don’t always have the same meaning as they do in the outside world."
October 30, 2006	Housing and the Economy: What Me Worry? "Interest rate hikes and housing price declines are a double whammy to those who were unable to resist the lure of quick profits that has given us “Flip this House” television shows ..."
October 16, 2006	Sunset in the Era of U.S. Economic Dominance "We were born into a world of American economic dominance, and the sweet spot for U.S. manufacturing, in particular."
September 18, 2006	Does the Economy Care Who Wins in November? "We’ve had inflation under Republican and Democratic administrations alike."
August 14, 2006	Democracy in Action "...there have been too many brilliant political ideas in our legislatures over the last few years, particularly at the federal level where the balanced budget mandate is absent."
June 26, 2006	Affordable Universal Health Care is Not Affordable "As a sustainable mechanism for financing the delivery of health care to seniors, Medicare as it stands today can only be called a colossal failure."
June 19, 2006	The Shifting Sands of Employment Data "The “facts” on job growth are something we can never exactly know, although we’d expect a well designed survey to come acceptably close."
January 27, 2006	U.S. Economy Hits a Speed Bump"...what’s troubling about the most recent GDP report is that the more closely you examine it, the worse it looks for our state."
December 9, 2005	Financing Local Government "It’s nearly impossible to overhaul the tax system in a way that makes everyone pay less, and you can expect those who might pay more to make plenty of noise. "
December 2, 2005	Economy Ending the Year Strong "For economists, reading these upbeat reports on the economy makes us feel a little like Indianapolis Colts fans do as they read their Monday morning sports sections."
November 11, 2005	Predicting Indiana’s Economic Future"After growing at double digit rates for the first half of this year, growth in individual income tax receipts came to an abrupt halt in the third quarter."
October 28, 2005	Paying the Price for Free Goods. "The result is that businesses costs are unnecessarily high, affecting productivity and competitiveness"
October 21, 2005	Cheer Up, the Economy’s OK "In a national economy that is well into its fourth consecutive year of growth, in a state where both job growth and tax revenues are up strongly, many of us still think that the economy is in bad shape"
September 16, 2005	Data Haves and Have Nots"When it comes to knowing how the economy is performing, what industries are growing and which are shrinking, or even how many people have jobs, the data for the state’s 51 non-metropolitan area counties are frustratingly incomplete and out of date."
August 19, 2005	The Upside of Higher Energy Prices "Those nasty little numbers that we see hanging on poles and billboards as we commute to and from our jobs seem to trump everything else when it comes to forming an opinion on the economy."
August 5, 2005	The Bright Star in the Center of Indiana "Indianapolis is not only growing its job base faster than the rest of the state, but the earnings and growth potential of many of those jobs is stronger as well."
July 29, 2005	Another Solid Quarter for the National Economy "Particularly heartening for the Indiana economy is the news on business spending."
July 22, 2005	Hot Housing Markets Hard to Find Here "In the Indianapolis metropolitan area, median home prices nudged up by an almost imperceptible 0.5 percent last year."
July 15, 2005	The Indiana Economy at Mid Year "The good news is that the fire that is propelling the state’s economic engine – growth in the industrial economy – appears to be still burning brightly."
July 8, 2005	Have Gas Prices Lost Their Sting? "Compared to medical care, college tuition, housing, or even food, the increase in gasoline prices over the past twenty-five years has been quite modest."
June 24, 2005	Put Away the Job-Counting Calculators "If we can pry our eyes away from job totals and consider a different way of keeping score, a picture of the state economy emerges that may surprise you."
June 17, 2005	Where Do Job Skills Come From? "...some research now suggests that some of the most important determinants of our future earnings are formed at a very young age."
May 20, 2005	The Outlook for the Labor Market "Much has been written and said in Indiana about the kinds of jobs that are disappearing in communities throughout the state. But much less is said, or understood, about the kinds of jobs that are taking their place."
April 8, 2005	Random Views from an Economist's Perspective "There are 92 counties in Indiana, large and small. Some of them are economic haves, but most are have-not’s."
April 1, 2005	Revisiting the Crystal Ball "We’ve all seen the results of strong worldwide demand for energy every time we drive by a gas pump."
February 25, 2005	In Defense of Free Trade Agreements "We should never make the mistake of accepting the idea that we are worse off today, economically, than we used to be."
December 31, 2004	Getting in Touch With Our Economic Feelings "Whether it was the Iraq war, the drumbeat of news of weak job growth, or the presidential campaign, people consistently told surveys they felt worse about the economy than their own spending would indicate."
December 3, 2004	The Devilish Details of Revenue Forecasting "... over the last eight years, the share of total income going to households and individuals has been on a virtual roller coaster ride, taking a lot of forecasters for a ride in the process."
November 26, 2004	Do the Colts Add to the Economy? "The idea that spending by local residents on anything – gambling in casinos, buying cars, or attending sports events – can propel the overall economy to greater heights is something we should all be deeply skeptical of."
November 19, 2004	Growing in the Right Direction "... you’d be hard pressed to come up with a better setting for recovery in the Indiana economy than what is unfolding in the national economy at this very moment."
October 22, 2004	Why High Costs Don’t Matter "Boasting about costs to companies with specialized needs becomes a waste of time."
October 15, 2004	Data and Quasi-Data "If research does not adequately distinguish between what we know, and what we don’t know, then it can fail us when we need it."
October 8, 2004	Sizing Up the Labor Market "For those hoping for a quick rebound from the soft consumer spending levels of recent months, the September jobs report is a big disappointment."
October 1, 2004	Is the Tide Rising Enough for Indiana’s Boat? "The Midwest, along with New England, enjoys the dubious distinction of dragging the tail on the horse riding to recovery."
September 10, 2004	Placing Bets on Our Economic Future "... we need to focus on increasing investment by companies that do business with the world outside our community’s borders."
August 20, 2004	Talking Back to Your Television "We’ve evolved over the last two decades into an economy that is increasingly focused on the delivery of services instead of goods"
August 13, 2004	Rooting for the Economy "A changeover in the party in power brings the possibility for reverses or reforms, depending on your point of view, that can have direct impacts for long-term investments."
July 30, 2004	GDP Growth Comes Down to Earth "The anemic 1.0 percent rise in consumer spending during the April – June period was the worst single quarter performance since the onset of the recession."
July 16, 2004	Indiana Economy at Mid Year "This rebound doesn’t solve all the state’s problems, but it certainly eases some of them. "
July 2, 2004	Tracing Our Economic Evolution "As economists and statisticians track the size of the overall economic pie, they overlook the sometimes widely fluctuating fortunes of the individuals and households within it."
June 18, 2004	Industrial Economy on a Roll "The down and up cycle of the manufacturing economy nationwide since 2000 fits Indiana’s recession experience like a glove, with good reason."
February 6, 2004	The U.S. Economy is Working Smarter "Economists have always pointed to productivity improvements as the key to our competitiveness and prosperity."
January 16, 2004	The Indiana Economy at Year's End " ... in Indiana in 2003 manufacturing was hardly the only sector in the red."
December 5, 2003	Tracking the State Economy: It's a Whole Different Game "It is ironic that in this, the information age, we are actually receiving less data than in years past on states and regions."
November 7, 2003	Grading Indiana 's Economic Performance " ... the challenges we face, particularly in plugging into the high technology, high growth side of the national economy, are enormous."
October 24, 2003	Unmasking False Trends and Finding Real Ones " ... those who project that new trend forward to warn of a future where domestic manufacturing ceases to exist are going over the edge."
October 3, 2003	The Persistence of Racial Inequality "The relevance of race in statistics on economic performance has been a persistent theme in our society."
July 4, 2003	Wake Up, You're Part of Indianapolis "With the latest wave of reclassifications, exactly half of our state's 92 counties are now considered to be part of an MSA. "
May 16, 2003	In Defense of Predators, Gougers, and Greed "For all of our post-Cold War bluster about the triumph of capitalism, the simple truth is that we don't really allow markets to freely function in the West."
March 7, 2003	Our Love-Hate Affair with Economic Report Cards "However much it may wound our pride at times, we would be well advised to keep an eye on what our competitors are doing."
February 14, 2003	Rewards to Skill Just Keep Growing "Whichever way you look at it, the distribution of income in this country -- as in other developed nations -- has widened significantly."
February 7, 2003	The Economy is Bad? Show Me the Numbers "As forecasters, we see an economy that is still sticking to the script."
January 31, 2003	Passing the Baton " ... we have learned that the U.S. economy entered the new year with its momentum nearly spent."
November 29, 2002	Has Economic Recovery Arrived in Indiana? "...if data on the Indiana economy don't yet show a lot of growth, they do tell us quite convincingly that the bleeding has stopped."
November 15, 2002	Time for Forecasters to Show Us Their Cards "...it’s a good idea to occasionally close your office door and calmly examine the main drivers for your business"
November 8, 2002	Corporate Governance Not The Only One Needing Reform "In a year that focused on the supposed drama of which party would control the House, the larger story is that for the vast majority of voters, there was no drama whatsoever."
October 11, 2002	The Long Arm of Wall Street "The bear market, now more than two years old, has produced plenty of collateral damage, some through mechanisms we're just beginning to understand."
September 6, 2002	Right Policies for the Wrong Reasons "Rarely do the turbulent waters of partisan politics part and allow meaningful changes to the cumbersome institutions and habits of our governments."
August 26, 2002	Is Consumer Spending Running Out of Gas? "... pinning the economy's future on the hope that consumers will continue to spend at full sail when income growth stagnates is not realistic."
July 19, 2002	The Economic Challenge for Smaller Cities "Small town America has been taking it on the chin in Indiana, much as it has throughout the country."
June 21, 2002	Is the Stock Market Swoon the Cure for What Ails Us? "The wobbling of stock prices, the decline of the U.S. dollar, and the increase in the price of gold are all telling us that the global love affair with the American economy is coming to an end."
June 7, 2002	Elevating the Indiana Budget Debate "The state's dire fiscal straits make it almost certain that some unpleasant changes to taxes and expenditures will soon be forced upon us."
March 22, 2002	The Economic Impact of Inaction "The state legislature has adjourned and the first serious proposals for comprehensive tax reform in Indiana in 28 years were left lying on the table."
March 15, 2002	The Down Side of Government for Profit "The FCC of 2002 doesn't act much like a government agency anymore, and among Washington bureaucracies, it's not alone."
March 1, 2002	Towards a Deeper Understanding of State Budget Crises "When governments, and in particular state governments, run out of tax revenues to cover their expenses, our level of scrutiny ratchets up quickly."
February 1, 2002	Consumers Open Their Wallets "Just a few months of zero percent financing for new cars and trucks here in America has been enough to trigger a spending spree of unprecedented size."
January 25, 2002	Is the Well of Consumer Spending Going Dry? "Spending by consumers translates into income for businesses and workers, which those with empty order books and unused capacity desperately need."
January 11, 2002	Indiana Economic Report Card for 2001 "A collapse in business spending and in exports, coupled with weak consumer spending, has helped produce the first recession in the U.S. economy since 1991."
November 30, 2001	Where's the Smoking Gun in the U.S. Economic Decline? "Now that the economy is heading south, all eyes are on those who purport to know when things will turn around."
November 23, 2001	Indiana's Still a Production-Oriented State "Indiana has fewer people with college degrees than any other Great Lakes state."
September 28, 2001	Sorting Through Census 2000 "Communities everywhere are competing with each other for jobs, investment, and residents."
September 21, 2001	Data Belie The Myth of the Instant Economy "It is said that the U.S. economy lost more than a trillion dollars of wealth in the last five days, owing to the steep declines in stock markets in the wake of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington."
September 14, 2001	Rewriting the Script for the U.S. Economy "As the country tries to sort through the confusion of a disaster without precedent, economists and policymakers have their own worries when it comes to the near-term future for the U.S. economy."
August 31, 2001	Painful Adjustments Ahead for U.S. Economy "There are now only two scenarios for the future: a resumption of growth, or a recession."
August 24, 2001	Who Deserves the Credit for Economic Growth? "What passes for a market economy on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and in the state of Indiana as well, contains a stronger dose of governmental planning, coordination, and regulation than we sometimes admit."
August 10, 2001	In Search of Good Indicators "What indicators are available for Indiana that are more reliable?"
August 3, 2001	The Indiana Economy at Mid-Year "Those of us who live and breathe economic data are usually one to two months behind the rest of the world."
July 27, 2001	U.S. Economy Still Growing, but Barely "Thanks to the American consumer, the U.S. economic expansion remains alive through the first half of the year."
July 20, 2001	In Search of Silver Linings "Whether you are a person who sees the glass half full or half empty, it has been difficult to do anything but tremble as the once-roaring engines of factories across the nation sputter and stall before our eyes."
June 29, 2001	Is More Always The Answer for Social Programs? "Programs for the poor run by government at all levels -- from the Federal government all the way down to townships -- are perpetually starved for resources."
June 22, 2001	Are We Doomed to Forever Repeat the Past? "Any banker worth his or her salt knows that the worst performing loans are always written just as the economy is running out of gas."
June 8, 2001	Bad News at the Bottom Line for the U.S. Economy? "Since the fall of last year, the go-go spending of U.S. businesses on plant and equipment that was at the heart of the productivity boom abruptly fell."
May 25, 2001	The California Economy is Too Big to Ignore "As we wax righteously about the folly of California's energy policy, its political leadership, or even its laid-back style of business, we may want to temper our words."
May 11, 2001	Forecasting and Politics Don't Mix "If an economic projection of the future delivers unpleasant news, its more likely to be discredited than anything else."
April 13, 2001	A Tale of Two Economies "The Indiana legislature should be forgiven for trying to spend more money that the state has."
March 30, 2001	Will This Be the Last Census? "A need for more up-to-date information on population has motivated one of the biggest new projects ever taken on by a Federal statistical agency, known as the American Community Survey."
March 23, 2001	Markets Work on the Way Up and the Way Down "he adjustments taking place on Wall Street, and to a more muted extent, in the economy at large, are evidence that the market is working exactly as it should."
March 16, 2001	Don't Write the Story on the U.S. Economy Yet "The slumping stock market, announcements of layoffs by some prominent companies, and the high price of energy are all the evidence that some people need to pronounce the economic expansion's demise."
March 2, 2001	The Indiana Economy Wound Down in 2000 "The Department of Workforce Development's preliminary statistics on Indiana job growth for year 2000 have been telling us that a substantial slowdown in the growth of the state's economy took place last year."
February 16, 2001	Did the Federal Reserve Act in Time? "The fog that obscures the true state of the economy from the worrisome eyes of the current Federal Reserve chairman is just as thick today as it has been for his predecessors."
February 9, 2001	Is the Indiana Economy of 2001 More Diversified? "we will find out in the upcoming months whether the rejuvenated Indiana economy, which outperformed the nation through much of the 1990's, can weather the pounding of an economic slowdown that is hitting the manufacturing sector with full force."
February 2, 2001	There's Nothing Subtle About Fed Policy These Days "The irony in the Fed's dramatic action is that its immediate impact can only be on our minds, not on the economy itself."
December 31, 1969	Silly Bands and Value Theory. . . It is the desire and scarcity for an item that generates its value in a market exchange.
December 31, 1969	Desert Storm, Twenty Years On . . .A common wartime experience wouldn’t make us agree more, but it should make us more agreeable and less often angry.
December 31, 1969	Integrity and Accuracy in Economic ForecastsWe could do like weather forecasters and give probabilities, but that doesn’t make public budgeting any easier.

Center for Business and Economic Research - Ball State University

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Commentaries tagged with economics