Center for Business and Economic Research - Ball State University

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Commentaries are published weekly and distributed through the Indianapolis Star and many other print and online publications. Disclaimer

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The Remainder of Trump’s Term Will Be About Remedying MistakesThere is no real plan, ideology, focus or intellectual construct — just whim.

The Economic Effects of Limiting Wind and Solar DevelopmentThe data suggest counties with renewable energy restrictions are paying more to compete for investment they've made harder to win.

It’s Time to Measure the “Value Added” Performance of SchoolsSome school districts are dramatically outperforming what their demographics would predict.

Oil Supply Shocks Have the Same Economic Effects as TariffsIf 20% of the world's oil stops moving, prices don't rise just 20%.

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Commentaries tagged with private sector

October 12, 2025	The IEDC Mess Is Bigger Than One AuditAll told, Hoosier taxpayers probably spent $70,000 in economic development for every net job created in the state.
October 5, 2025	A Data Center StudyData centers have almost no local economic effects, with one possible exception.
July 13, 2025	A Golden Age of Economic ColumnistsThe recent mayoral primaries in NYC provide plentiful material for discussion.
March 2, 2025	What Is Government Inefficiency?Different levels of government concern themselves with different problems.
April 9, 2023	Some More Truth About Hospital MonopoliesWhy do not-for-profit hospitals show annual profits of 20 to 30 percent?
August 22, 2021	How to Think About the Infrastructure BillInfrastructure spending reallocates jobs far more often than it creates them.
December 6, 2020	The Private Sector Is the Hero of COVIDSmart, successful businesses chase consumer interests.
June 5, 2016	More Free Speech ShenanigansAs citizens, we must necessarily make judgments about research in which we aren’t experts.
May 29, 2016	unKoch My Campus Is Soros-Funded HypocrisyThe contracts and grants we receive fund research on nonpartisan issues.
February 1, 2015	Sunday Sales Proposal Needs a Closer LookThe Sunday sales of retail alcoholic beverages may be the most visible relic of prohibition, but it is hardly the only one.
July 9, 2012	Smart Cuts in GovernmentIt is often argued that government workers are overpaid and over-benefitted, but I think that the composition of the government workforce is a more pressing matter.
February 3, 2006	Let the Private Sector Operate the Toll Road" It’s not about ideology, it’s about performance."
May 27, 2005	Solutions to Problems Create Problems "We have come to expect our governments to take some of the hard edges off of market capitalism."
May 6, 2005	Private Sector Management Meets Public Sector Challenges "If we do a poor job in providing public services, we risk driving talented people and new investment away, and shrinking the pie for everyone."
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."

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