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

Commentaries tagged with business

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 2, 2025	What Is Government Inefficiency?Different levels of government concern themselves with different problems.
November 17, 2024	The Degrowth Movement Is Wrong and ImmoralDegrowthers are terribly mistaken in three big ways.
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.
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.
May 19, 2024	The End of Noncompete ClausesBusinesses that have shielded themselves from competition through noncompete clauses will need to do better.
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.
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.
December 17, 2023	Great Economic Holiday GiftsThe end of year data is giving economy watchers plenty cause for holiday cheer.
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 29, 2023	The Association for Business and Economic ResearchResearch discovers something no one knows about a problem.
July 16, 2023	Job Creation Numbers Are DeceptiveOnly a small percentage of new jobs are due to state and local economic development efforts.
July 9, 2023	Human Capital Is the Source of ProsperitySuccessful places are both good for business and good for families.
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 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 26, 2023	Bank Failures Warn of Deeper Economic ProblemsDuring the Great Recession, a whopping 0.014 percent of banks were closed by the FDIC.
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.
February 19, 2023	Balancing the Federal BudgetThere’s no silver bullet that will return our debt to comfortable levels.
February 12, 2023	What Is Happening to Labor Supply?Wishing to employ someone is not the same as labor demand.
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.
November 20, 2022	Black Friday Is ChangingConsumers and businesses alike will adjust to these tighter labor markets.
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 4, 2022	Lingering Effects of COVID on WorkThe U.S. is still about 1.0 percent below its pre-COVID participation rate.
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.
June 12, 2022	Time to Dump the Rich States, Poor States RankingsTax policy is the wrong incentive to spur economic growth.
June 5, 2022	Mindless Economic Development Strategy?Much of what you see and read about these jobs announcements is raw political fiction.
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 30, 2022	Chick-fil-A as a Tasty Window into InnovationThe effective mix of people and technology fueled a 16 percent growth in sales.
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.
December 12, 2021	The 2022 ForecastFrom retail and restaurants to logistics and manufacturing firms, the U.S. economy has been astonishingly resilient.
December 5, 2021	Some More Talk About Inflation RisksA price increase does not equate inflation.
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 17, 2021	Market Adjustments Aren’t InflationToday, inflation is running far less than 1.0 percentage point off trend.
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.
August 22, 2021	How to Think About the Infrastructure BillInfrastructure spending reallocates jobs far more often than it creates them.
August 15, 2021	More Questions Than Answers About the Post-COVID WorkplaceWorkplaces vary widely in their degree of flexibility and productivity during the pandemic.
August 1, 2021	Slowing Economy Caused by the UnvaccinatedIn just the last three months, more than 32,000 Americans died of COVID.
July 25, 2021	Ending the Pandemic UI Was a Rare Mistake by This AdministrationThe pandemic unemployment insurance payments were as close to a ‘free lunch’ for Hoosier taxpayers as anything we’ll ever receive.
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.
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.
April 4, 2021	Inflation Is Not Our Top ProblemRecession effects are influenced by the tradeoff between unemployment and inflation.
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.
December 20, 2020	Indiana’s Hospital Monopolies Worse than CaliforniaOur hospital monopolies are financially damaging to Indiana’s economy and Hoosier families.
December 6, 2020	The Private Sector Is the Hero of COVIDSmart, successful businesses chase consumer interests.
May 17, 2020	It’s the Disease, Not the GovernmentConsumer spending changed before any government restrictions were implemented.
May 3, 2020	What Are Essential Jobs?In normal times there is no such division as ‘essential’ or ‘non-essential’ workers.
April 26, 2020	Covid-19 Response May Be the Most Consequential Decision in State HistoryThe real policy question is whether the benefit of these decisions outweighed the costs.
November 3, 2019	Monopsony Problems Get Hearing in CongressSummary: Firms mistake the presence of monopsony power for a labor shortage.
May 30, 2019	Our ‘Business-Centric’ Model Is Wrong and HurtfulMistaking the economy of a nation or region as one giant company can lead to deep policy mistakes.
April 21, 2019	Casino Bill is About Taxes, Not JobsCasinos do not create jobs; they simply move employees from one business to another.
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.
February 10, 2019	Monopoly Isn’t Just a Game AnymoreMarkets don’t always work perfectly, but they work well when competitive.
December 30, 2018	Understanding Job Numbers in 2018An announcement of new jobs reflects only one small part of the total job creation and destruction that occurs in an economy.
December 23, 2018	Thinking About Economic Growth Like an EconomistEconomists and businesses think about community growth in very different ways.
October 28, 2018	Thinking About the Next RecessionThe good is news is that labor markets seem strong, jobs are plentiful and wages may be rising.
October 7, 2018	Amazon and Some Harsh Facts About Pay and Labor ShortagesIn several industries, businesses are unwilling or unable to pay market wages for the workers they want.
March 4, 2018	Legislature Gets an "A" on Sunday SalesThe move to permit Sunday sales of alcohol is a step towards greater personal liberty.
November 5, 2017	The Need for Corporate Tax CutsCutting corporate taxes will have an effect on wages, but it won’t come in the form of direct wage increases.
September 24, 2017	Time to Quit Building Business Incubators, Co-Working Spaces and Maker’s SpacesThese spaces do not significantly improve the local economy.
September 11, 2016	Cut the Tax Cut Debate, Spend the Money WiselyLet’s focus on workers, not businesses.
August 14, 2016	Entrepreneurship Proposal Will Strengthen INPRS and IndianaThe proposal would do three big things in the long term.
February 21, 2016	Some Surprising Lessons from CarrierIt would be wiser to invest in making people more productive.
August 9, 2015	Who Actually Pays Taxes?All taxes are ultimately paid by households, either directly through various taxes or indirectly through price changes.
December 28, 2014	Labor Markets in 2014The data indicates this was a strong year for Indiana employers.
August 10, 2014	Corporate Tax Inversion Corporations should have a say in the laws that govern them.
July 13, 2014	Indiana Gets a Small Business RankingComplaints about high taxes might simply mean that local government isn't delivering sufficient quality for the cost of government.
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?
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.
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.
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 3, 2013	A New Minimum Wage DebateIf we really wanted to help minimum wage workers, we could do better.
October 20, 2013	A Still Uncertain EconomySomething remains terribly wrong in the U.S. economy, but there are some tantalizing hints
August 25, 2013	A New Antitrust CaseThe proposed business merger between two large airlines brings century-old anti-trust law to the forefront.
March 17, 2013	Economic Data Hold Little Good NewsDespite the delight in the media, the February data tell a wretched story.
February 24, 2013	Stagnant Wages for Low-Wage Workers Are a ProblemToday, the plight of low-wage workers is a real and growing concern
September 16, 2012	Corporations and GreedCorporations differ from other business in that their ownership is diffused across people who have purchased shares of the company.
February 20, 2012	Markets and GrowthMarkets rule supreme, but they also work imperfectly and will do so as long as humans themselves remain imperfect.
April 25, 2011	Profits and the Profit MotiveProfits and the motive for getting them are the most critical part of an economy.
September 20, 2010	Business Locations: Taxes, Clusters and WorkersOver the long run, and especially during the good times when labor markets are tight, firms worry most about the availability of workers.
September 6, 2010	Labor Unions, Trade Unions and Labor DayTrade unions remain strong because they work with, not against the businesses that employ them.
July 31, 2006	The Truth About Small Business "About 53 percent of net job growth in the last decade has come from businesses with more than 100 employees."
November 18, 2005	Distinguishing Ourselves From the Competition"In the coming decade, it’s a pretty safe bet that distinctions between Midwest states like Indiana and the rest of the country will become more blurred, but that day isn’t here yet."
July 29, 2005	Another Solid Quarter for the National Economy "Particularly heartening for the Indiana economy is the news on business spending."
May 13, 2005	Expect More Tightening by the Fed "The list of commodities whose prices are rising is as long as your arm – including aluminum, energy goods, paper and many plastics."
December 10, 2004	Reversing the Exodus of Corporate Headquarters "The reason why Indiana has so few headquarters today is that we aren’t planting enough seeds – in the formation of new companies – for the future."
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."
August 6, 2004	Small Business and Economic Growth "Higher rates of job destruction – matched by high rates of job creation – are consistently associated with faster economic growth."
April 23, 2004	The Business Cycle Turns Up for Indiana "It has been a good first quarter for job growth in the Indiana economy."
October 4, 2002	Meeting Business Halfway on Ethics "... we should recognize that what is said to be ethical, and what is encouraged by the law, are often two very different things."
July 12, 2002	Indiana Gets Its Tax House in Order "The list of roadblocks to business spending that are being removed is quite impressive."

Center for Business and Economic Research - Ball State University

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Commentaries tagged with business