Category Archives: Local variation in benefits

Head Start impacts: the importance of the counterfactual

Posted on April 14, 2015 by timbartik

Two recent research papers, by Kline and Walters, and by Feller et al., suggest that Head Start has much larger impacts when it is compared to the alternative of “no preschool”. This finding tends to increase the likelihood that Head … Continue reading →

Posted in Distribution of benefits, Early childhood program design issues, Local variation in benefits | Comments Off on Head Start impacts: the importance of the counterfactual

What are the best paths to prosperity for localities and the nation?

Posted on April 13, 2015 by timbartik

I have a new paper published that bears on the following important issue: when will local economic development incentives – various types of customized tax breaks or services to individual businesses – be most effective in helping improve economic well-being? … Continue reading →

Posted in Business incentives, Economic development, Local variation in benefits, National vs. state vs. local, Timing of benefits | Comments Off on What are the best paths to prosperity for localities and the nation?

Pre-K policy should be based on all the evidence, not one study of one state’s programs

Posted on November 22, 2013 by timbartik

Dr. Grover Whitehurst’s latest criticisms of Obama’s preschool plan at the Brown Center website at the Brookings Institution have drawn some attention. He has done numerous posts criticizing Obama’s preschool plan, some of which I’ve responded to in previous posts. Dr. Whitehurst’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs, Local variation in benefits | 6 Comments

What does research say about the proposed expansion of Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program?

Posted on March 20, 2013 by timbartik

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently proposed a major expansion of the state’s pre-K program, called the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP).  From reports in Gongwer News Service, legislators and others have expressed various doubts about the proposed expansion. This blog … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs, Local variation in benefits | Comments Off on What does research say about the proposed expansion of Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program?

ReadyNation issue brief on my book

Posted on June 7, 2012 by timbartik

ReadyNation has a new and improved version of an issue brief that summarizes my 2011 book, Investing in Kids. This issue brief summarizes the main points of my book, and accompanies this summary with some great graphics. Specifically, the issue brief … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood programs, Local variation in benefits, National vs. state vs. local | Comments Off on ReadyNation issue brief on my book

How socially valuable is additional employment?

Posted on December 5, 2011 by timbartik

I have a new working paper available that looks at how job-creating policies should be evaluated in benefit-cost analyses. The paper is technical, and is mainly addressed to economists interested in benefit-cost analysis. However, the paper’s findings have some important … Continue reading →

Posted in Business incentives, Distribution of benefits, Early childhood programs, Economic development, Local variation in benefits | Comments Off on How socially valuable is additional employment?

Interpreting the conflicting evidence on Head Start effectiveness

Posted on September 12, 2011 by timbartik

The evidence on the effectiveness of Head Start is mixed. On the one hand, the recent random assignment study of Head Start found that test score effects of Head Start mostly disappeared by the end of first grade. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs, Local variation in benefits, National vs. state vs. local | Comments Off on Interpreting the conflicting evidence on Head Start effectiveness

Top ten points about business incentives in my book

Posted on May 13, 2011 by timbartik

Although the main focus of my book is early childhood programs, I also extensively discuss business incentives.  Even for those interested primarily in early childhood programs, understanding the pros and cons of business incentives is important.  Political debates over state … Continue reading →

Posted in Business incentives, Incentive design issues, Local variation in benefits, National vs. state vs. local | Comments Off on Top ten points about business incentives in my book

Special education cost savings from pre-k programs can be higher for targeted pre-k programs, or if special education costs are higher, or if special education effects of a program are higher

Posted on April 8, 2011 by timbartik

In a previous post, I provided estimates of the savings in special education costs from a high-quality universal pre-k program. I stated that these cost savings started out at about 4% of the pre-k program’s costs in kindergarten. That is, … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood programs, Local variation in benefits, Timing of benefits | 2 Comments

Metro area growth and business incentives

Posted on February 10, 2011 by timbartik

How might metro area growth affect the economic development benefits of business incentives? This topic is considered in chapter 9 of Investing in Kids. We might expect fast-growing metro areas to be less in need of new jobs.  If an … Continue reading →

Posted in Business incentives, Local variation in benefits | 1 Comment