Local labor markets are also of interest to the Institute as useful laboratories for testing theories about labor market effects of national policies. As states are given more latitude in designing and implementing social programs, the outcomes of their programs offer valuable insight into the effectiveness of a wide range of policies.

• Senior staff / Experts
• Testimony
• Working papers
• Other papers and reports
• West Michigan economy
• Books
• Articles appearing in the Institute's newsletter Employment Research
• Technical Reports
• Links

• Randall W. Eberts, Executive Director
• Timothy J. Bartik, Senior Economist
• George A. Erickcek, Senior Regional Analyst

• Michigan's Business Taxes and Economic Development: Possible Reforms, Timothy J. Bartik
• Michigan Economic Development Policies, Timothy J. Bartik and George A. Erickcek

• Dashboard Indicators for the Northeast Ohio Economy: Prepared for the Fund for Our Economic Future, Randall Eberts, George Erickcek, and Jack Kleinhenz (Working paper # 06-05, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland). [  Full Text   ]
• Increasing the Economic Development Benefits of Higher Education in Michigan, Timothy J. Bartik (WP04-106), 2004. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Small Cities Blues: Looking for Growth Factors in Small and Medium-Sized Cities, George A. Erickcek and Hannah McKinney (WP04-100), 2004. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Incentive Solutions, Timothy J. Bartik (WP04-99), 2004. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Thoughts on American Manufacturing Decline and Revitalization, Timothy J. Bartik (WP03-96), 2003. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Local Economic Development Policies, Timothy J. Bartik (WP03-91), 2003. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Evaluating the Impacts of Local Economic Development Policies On Local Economic Outcomes: What Has Been Done and What is Doable?, Timothy J. Bartik (WP03-89), 2002. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Instrumental Variable Estimates of the Labor Market Spillover Effects of Welfare Reform, Timothy J. Bartik (WP02-078), 2002. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Thinking about Local Living Wage Requirements, Timothy J. Bartik (WP02-076), 2002. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• The Role of Partnerships in Economic Development and Labor Markets in the United States, Randall W. Eberts and George A. Erickcek (WP02-075), 2002. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Solving the Many Problems with Inner City Jobs, Timothy J. Bartik (WP00-066), 2000. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• The Role of Public Policy in Skills Development of Black Workers in the 21st Century, Timothy J. Bartik and Kevin Hollenbeck (WP00-064), 2000. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Group Wage Curves, Timothy J. Bartik (WP00-063), 2000. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• A Note on Commutes and the Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis, Kelly J. DeRango (WP00-059), 2000. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Aggregate Effects in Local Labor Markets of Supply and Demand Shocks, Timothy J. Bartik (WP99-057), 1999. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• The Labor Supply Effects of Welfare Reform, Timothy J. Bartik, 1998. [  Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Short-Term Employment Persistence for Welfare Recipients: The "Effects" of Wages, Industry, Occupation and Firm Size, Timothy J. Bartik (WP97-046), 1997. [  Abstract   |   Full Text  ]
• Economic Development Strategies, Timothy J. Bartik (WP95-033), 1995.
  [   Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Urban Labor Markets, Randall W. Eberts (WP95-032), 1995.
  [   Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Can Economic Development Programs Be Evaluated?, Timothy J. Bartik and Richard D. Bingham (WP95-029), 1995.
  [   Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• What Should the Federal Government Be Doing About Urban Economic Development?, Timothy J. Bartik (WP94-025), 1994.
  [   Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• The Effects of Local Labor Demand on Individual Labor Market Outcomes for Different Demographic Groups and the Poor, Timothy J. Bartik (WP93-023), 1993.
  [   Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Federal Policy Towards State and Local Economic Development in the 1990s, Timothy J. Bartik (WP93-017), 1993.
  [   Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• The Effects of Metropolitan Job Growth on the Size Distribution of Family Income, Timothy J. Bartik (WP91-006), 1991.
  [   Abstract   |   Full Text   ]
• Maximum Score Estimates of the Determinants of Residential Mobility: Implications for the Value of Residential Attachment and Neighborhood Amenities, Timothy J. Bartik, J.S. Butler and Jin Tan Liu (WP90-001), 1990.
  [   Abstract   |   Full Text   ]

• Higher Education, the Health Care Industry, and Metropolitan Regional Economic Development: What Can “Eds & Meds” Do for the Economic Fortunes of a Metro Area’s Residents?, by Timothy J. Bartik and George A.Erickcek
• Michigan’s Economic Competitiveness and Public Policy, a report prepared for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation
• Taking Preschool Education Seriously as an Economic Development Program, report and briefing by Timothy J. Bartik
• Appendices A and B from "Economic Develompent Policy in Michigan" by Timothy J. Bartik, Peter Eisinger, and George Erickcek. This paper appears as Chapter 14 in the edited volume Michigan at the Millennium, Charles L. Ballard, Paul N. Courant, Douglas C. Drake, Ronald C. Fisher, and Elisabeth R. Gerber, Editors.
  * Published by Michigan State University Press (East Lansing, 2003).
• An Economic Development Benchmarking System for Rural Michigan, by George A. Erickcek and Brad R. Watts
• Displacement and Wage Effects of Welfare Reform, by Timothy J. Bartik, January 1999.
• Eight Issues Toward Economic Development Incentives, by Timothy J. Bartik.

• West Michigan Data Center/Business Outlook for West Michigan
• 2000 Census data for Southwest Michigan

• Do Community Colleges Respond to Local Needs? Evidence from California, Duand E. Leigh and Andrew M. Gill - read the first chapter now, 2007.
• Reining in the Competition for Capital, Ann Markusen, Editor, - read the first chapter now, 2007.
• Does "Trickle Down" Work? Economic Development Strategies and Job Chains in Local Labor Markets, Joseph Persky, Daniel Felsenstein, and Virginia Carlson, - read the first chapter now, 2004.
  
• State Enterprise Zone Programs: Have They Worked?, Alan H. Peters and Peter S. Fisher, - read the first chapter now, 2002.
  
• Start-Up Factories: High-Perfomance Management, Job Quality, and Regional Advantage, Peter B. Doeringer, Christine Evans-Klock, and David G. Terkla, 2002.
  * Co-published with and available from Oxford University Press.
• Jobs for the Poor: Can Labor Demand Policies Help?, Timothy J. Bartik, 2001.
  * Co-published with and available from Russell Sage Foundation.
• The Economics of Sports, William S. Kern, Editor, - read the first chapter now, 2000.
• Rising Wage Inequality: The 1980s Experience in Urban Labor Markets, Thomas Hyclak, - read the first chapter now, 2000.
• Changes in Income Inequality within U.S. Metropolitan Areas, Janice F. Madden, - read the first chapter now, 2000.
• Bidding for Business: The Efficacy of Local Economic Development Incentives in a Metropolitan Area, John E. Anderson and Robert W. Wassmer, - read the first chapter now, 2000.
• Skill-Biased Technological Change: Evidence for a Firm-Level Survey, Donald S. Siegel, - read the first chapter now, 1999.
• Industrial Incentives: Competition Among American States and Cities, Peter S. Fisher and Alan H. Peters, 1998.
• Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: Magnitudes and Locaton Choice of New Manufacturing Plants, Jan Ondrich and Michael Wasylenko, 1993.
• Wage and Employment Adjustment in Local Labor Markets, Randall W. Eberts, Joe A. Stone,1992.
• Wage Flexibility and Unemployment Dynamics in Regional Labor Markets, Thomas Hyclak and Geraint Jones,1992.
• Job Accessibility and the Employment and School Enrollment of Teenagers, Keith R. Ihlanfeldt, 1992.
• Who Benefits from State and Local Economic Development Policies?, Timothy J. Bartik, 1991.
• Plant Closings and Workers Displacemen: The Regional Issues, Marie Howland, 1988.

• "Eds and Meds" and Metropolitan Economic Development, by Timothy J. Bartik and George A. Erickcek
• Principles of Labor Market Information, by James Woods and Christopher O'Leary
• Better Deals for State and Local Economic Development, by Ann Markusen
• Preschool and Economic Development, by Timothy J. Bartik
• A Simple Gift? The Impact of the Kalamazoo Promise on Economic Revitalization, by Michelle Miller-Adams
• Development of a Regional Economic Dashboard, by Randall W. Eberts, George A. Erickcek, and Jack Kleinhenz
• Thinking about the Future of Small Metropolitan Areas, by George A. Erickcek and Hannah McKinney
• Thoughts on American Manufacturing Decline and Revitalization, by Timothy J. Bartik
• The Effectiveness of State Enterprise Zones, by Alan H. Peters and Peter S. Fisher, University of Iowa
• Living Wages and Local Governments, by Timothy J. Bartik
• "Smart" Economic Development, by George A. Erickcek
• Rising Wage Inequality in Urban Labor Markets, by Thomas Hyclak, Lehigh University
• Employment as a "Solution" to Welfare: Challenges over the Next Ten Years, by Timothy J. Bartik
• Will Welfare Reform Cause Displacement?, by Timothy J. Bartik
• Industrial Incentives: Competition Among American States and Cities, by Peter S. Fisher and Alan H. Peters, University of Iowa
• The Role of Small Business: A Tale of Two Cities, by George A. Erickcek
• Jobs for Welfare Recipients, by Timothy J. Bartik
• Developing Community Economic Outcome Measures, by George A. Erickcek
• Economic Development Incentive Wars, by Timothy J. Bartik

• Economic Development and Black Economic Success, Timothy J. Bartik (TR00093-001), 181 pp., 1993.

• U.S. Department of Labor
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• U.S. Department of Commerce
• National Conference of State Legislatures