Author Archives: timbartik

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About timbartik

Tim Bartik is a senior economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, a non-profit and non-partisan research organization in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His research specializes in state and local economic development policies and local labor markets.

Why earnings benefits of pre-K can be so large for the middle-class

My recent working paper on Tulsa’s pre-K program predicts that pre-K will increase the future earnings of both the poor and the middle class by similar dollar amounts.  (This paper, co-authored with Bill Gormley and Shirley Adelstein of Georgetown, can … Continue reading

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Presentation to American Chamber of Commerce Executives

My August  4th speech to the American Chamber of Commerce Executives’ convention, and the accompanying powerpoint, have now been posted at the Upjohn Institute’s website. This speech integrates much of the material from this blog, and my book “Investing in … Continue reading

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Even slight increases in kindergarten readiness yield benefits that exceed costs for pre-K

One implication of my recent paper on Tulsa’s pre-K program is that even modest increases in kindergarten readiness would be predicted to have large future earnings benefits for former participants in pre-K programs.  (This paper, co-authored with Bill Gormley and … Continue reading

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Talk tomorrow at American Chamber of Commerce Executives convention

I will be speaking tomorrow at the annual convention of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. As the organization’s name suggests, ACCE includes executives from over 1400 chambers of commerce in the U.S. and Canada.  I will be speaking on … Continue reading

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Does preschool benefit middle-class kids? Yes

A just-released working paper by me, along with my co-authors William Gormley and Shirley Adelstein at Georgetown, considers, among other things, how Tulsa’s pre-K program affects middle-class children.  For middle-class children, we project that both the half-day and full-day versions … Continue reading

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs | 2 Comments

Debt, health care, and educational investments

What is really the issue with the national debt? The real issue is not the short-run deficit. The deficit should be high right now to deal with the needs caused by the recession, and to stimulate the economy. The problem … Continue reading

Posted in Economic development | Comments Off on Debt, health care, and educational investments

Child tax benefits’ effects on hard skills and soft skills

Early childhood policy is more than preschool, child care and parenting assistance programs. It also includes broader policies that may affect the quality of child development, including policies that affect parental income. Such policies include macroeconomic policies to reduce unemployment, … Continue reading

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Pew issue brief for my book “Investing in Kids”

The Partnership for America’s Economic Success, a project of the Pew Center on the States, has written a short (8-page) issue brief summarizing my book “Investing in Kids”. This might be useful to those who want a short summary of … Continue reading

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Solving the jobs deficit while lowering the government debt burden

Well-known Yale economist Robert Shiller had an opinion piece in the Sunday New York Times arguing for stimulating the job market through balanced budget increases in both taxes and spending on productive public services. (Professor Shiller is known for a … Continue reading

Posted in Early childhood programs, Economic development, National vs. state vs. local | Comments Off on Solving the jobs deficit while lowering the government debt burden

Politically attractive financing for early childhood programs

The most straightforward way to finance early childhood programs is to have the government pay for these programs upfront. However, this may not be politically attractive at certain places and times. I’ve mentioned previously the idea of financing early childhood … Continue reading

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