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Thanks for the compliment! For those interested, the link to the @UpjohnInstitute research highlight on this, w/ further links to both the powerpoint and my speech draft, is here: https://www.upjohn.org/research-highlights/aftermath-pandemic-recession-role-economic-development-policy https://twitter.com/TroelsAdrian/status/1288540907625525248
My thanks to @IEDCtweets & @jeffryfinkle for inviting me.
My talk was on key economic challenges of "pandemic recession", & how economic development policy needs to respond. Key challenges include: (1) growing inequalities across regions, income groups, business size, & races; (2) remote work increase; ...
(3) more health care-related capacity needs, including health-related manuf; (4) state/local government budget problem.
Growing regional inequality due to this recession means state & federal policymakers must do more to target jobs at distressed regions.
Pandemic has hurt jobs for low-wage workers more, so both economic developers & workforce developers need to do more to link job creation w/ people who need the jobs, thru customized training, job-creation subsidies for hiring non-employed, & demand-oriented training.
Pandemic has hurt small business more, so economic developers need to work to strengthen small business ecosystem of business advice & financing. Business advice to small business creates jobs at low cost per job.
This recession has also disproportionately reduced Black employment & Black business owners, so we need to adopt hiring & business development policies to build up Black employment and business base.
Pandemic has accelerated remote work trend; we need to ensure that all have access to high-quality broadband, via infrastructure investment & subsidies.
In pandemic aftermath, we will want to invest in health care services & research, & health-related manufacturing. We need to spread this high-tech growth beyond the usual Coastal high-tech centers, as suggested by @baselinescene & @jonathangruber1 & @MarkMuro1 & @RobAtkinsonITIF
Pandemic has caused state/local budget problem of 15% or so in next 2 years, 5% even 5 years from now. Economic developers need to support tax reforms that will raise revenue while targeting tax credits more narrowly at new investment in base industries.
& we should consider national compact, via federal legislation, to cap incentives, as is done in European Union (as argued for in past by @GoodJobsFirst & @MiddleClassPoli https://shelterforce.org/2019/06/17/lessons-for-the-u-s-how-the-eu-controls-bidding-wars-for-jobs-and-investment/
Overall, pandemic recession has accentuated & accelerated many recent economic trends, which demands a more rapid response by policymakers. Economic development policy is an important part of the needed policy response.
