Two new book reviews have been published of my book Investing in Kids. One review  appeared in Business Economics, the academic journal of the National Association for Business Economics. This review is by Steve Barnett, one of the leading scholars on early childhood programs.  The other review appeared in the Journal of Regional Science, the leading academic journal in regional studies. This review is by Sam White, a leading researcher on regional economic development issues.

Unfortunately, both reviews are behind paywalls, so they will be costly for many readers to access unless they are associated with an institution that has full access. Both reviews make a great effort to summarize the diverse focus of my book on different aspects of local economic development policy, including both business incentives and early childhood investments.

According to Professor Barnett’s review,

“Nothing could be timelier for the business economist than a new book focused on local policies for job creation…A better reference could not have been designed for this task than Investing in Kids…The best hope for the ideas in this book is that they will reach local and state business leaders who, in my experience, are much more farsighted than their political counterparts. They understand that business interests are tied to communities and the quality of the local labor supply in the long run…”

Professor White ends his review as follows:

“[Bartik] examines and presents carefully and compellingly. He has produced a fascinating product that many should read to better understand not only the case for various forms of business assistance but, more importantly, the case that can be made for public investment in early childhood education.”

I thank both reviewers for the time they devoted to reading and trying to summarize, interpret and evaluate my book.