Michigan’s demographic challenge
We close our presentations with “either Michigan gets younger and better educated or we will get poorer”. Both matter and for both the trends are not good. Many of these posts are about the necessity of getting better educated. Michigan is 34th in the proportion of adults with a four year degree. In an increasingly […]
Education and inequality
We have written frequently on the correlation between college attainment and both income and employment. It is now the best predictor of both. (See data in this previous post.) Education attainment is also a––if not the–major cause of rising income inequality. College attainment is by far the best pathway out of poverty and to the […]
An anti-poverty agenda
Paul Tough concludes his must read new book, How Children Succeed, with ideas on how American can far better deal with poverty. He starts with a belief that the best of the urban reform schools across the country (KIPP and others), although they have made a real difference in the lives of low income, largely […]
Taxes and economic growth
Like most of America, Michigan’s chief economic growth strategy for at least two decades has been cutting taxes. As you know, our research has indicated that what a state and its local governments tax and how much has little or no predictive value in explaining whether a state or its regions are prosperous or not. […]
Germany as a model
Governor Snyder and others have suggested Germany as a model for what they would like the Michigan economy to be. Largely a place that makes products that are in demand across the planet. A Michigan that once again is a global manufacturing force. Germany has a strong and prosperous economy. Although it has lost about the […]
Worth reading
As always there are too many good articles to write about. Some recent articles that I think are worth checking out: On cities: A Washington Post article on the importance of immigrants to central city redevelopment. A terrific Dome article on the importance of Detroit to all of Michigan A USA Today article on the […]
Grit trumps academics?
Anyone who is interested in children’s health and education should read Paul Tough’s new book, How Children Succeed. The main focus of the book is on what matters most to low income, minority urban kids succeeding in college. To answer the question, Tough explores what science is learning about what matters most to a broad […]
Sound advice on k-12 education
Two recent editorials laid out the path we should be on when it comes to k-12 education. The first from Stephen Henderson, editorial page editor of the Free Press, entitled “State must get tougher if charter schools fail to make the grade”. The second for the Detroit News by Sandy Baruah, CEO of the Detroit […]
Ohio
Interesting New York Times Sunday Magazine article on the Ohio economy and politics. The article is primarily about the intersection between the state’s economy and the presidential election. What is of more interest to me is three insights about the long-term success of the state’s economy. Each matter to Michigan as well as Ohio. First […]
Going backwards on college attainment
“Too much emphasis on a four-year degree, says Michigan Governor” was the headline of a recent Michigan Radio article. How distressing! The reality is that Michiganders are suffering because not enough of us have four year degrees. Michigan is now 36th in per capita income, down from 18th in 2000, largely because we are 34th […]