The book "Who Benefits from State and Local Economic Development Policies?" by Timothy J. Bartik examines the impact of state and local economic development policies on various aspects of economic activity, including job creation, unemployment, wages, housing prices, and real earnings. Bartik argues that these policies can significantly affect local growth and benefit the overall national economy, contrary to common criticisms that they are ineffective or beneficial only to capitalists and property owners. Key points include: 1. **Job Creation**: The primary goal of economic development policies is to create more jobs, which is politically and socially desirable. 2. **Economic Impact**: State and local policies can influence business location and expansion decisions, leading to significant local growth. 3. **Labor Market Effects**: Local job growth can reduce unemployment, increase labor force participation, and improve real wages, particularly for minority and less-educated workers. 4. **Hysteresis**: Local growth can have long-term effects on unemployment rates and occupational status, even after the initial shock subsides. 5. **National Benefits**: State and local competition for jobs can redistribute jobs to the most needy areas and potentially increase national growth. 6. **Distributional Effects**: While benefits may be distributed regressively (more to upper-income groups), the overall impact is likely to be progressive, benefiting low-income individuals more. The book presents empirical evidence from studies of specific programs, surveys, case studies, and econometric analyses to support these arguments. It concludes that state and local economic development policies can have significant positive impacts, provided they are well-designed and implemented.The book "Who Benefits from State and Local Economic Development Policies?" by Timothy J. Bartik examines the impact of state and local economic development policies on various aspects of economic activity, including job creation, unemployment, wages, housing prices, and real earnings. Bartik argues that these policies can significantly affect local growth and benefit the overall national economy, contrary to common criticisms that they are ineffective or beneficial only to capitalists and property owners. Key points include: 1. **Job Creation**: The primary goal of economic development policies is to create more jobs, which is politically and socially desirable. 2. **Economic Impact**: State and local policies can influence business location and expansion decisions, leading to significant local growth. 3. **Labor Market Effects**: Local job growth can reduce unemployment, increase labor force participation, and improve real wages, particularly for minority and less-educated workers. 4. **Hysteresis**: Local growth can have long-term effects on unemployment rates and occupational status, even after the initial shock subsides. 5. **National Benefits**: State and local competition for jobs can redistribute jobs to the most needy areas and potentially increase national growth. 6. **Distributional Effects**: While benefits may be distributed regressively (more to upper-income groups), the overall impact is likely to be progressive, benefiting low-income individuals more. The book presents empirical evidence from studies of specific programs, surveys, case studies, and econometric analyses to support these arguments. It concludes that state and local economic development policies can have significant positive impacts, provided they are well-designed and implemented.