Kathleen Bolter, PhD
@kathleenbolter.bsky.social
820 followers 2K following 180 posts
Political scientist & data viz creator passionate about simplifying complex ideas for leaders & policymakers. I study place-based policy, labor markets, & workforce development. Portfolio: https://kathleenbolter.com
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Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
timbartik.bsky.social
My papers arguing that the "Abundance Movement" needs broadening to include place-based jobs policies for distressed places are being released today, with a long paper at the Upjohn Institute & a shorter summary at Brookings Metro.
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
timbartik.bsky.social
Why does Tulsa Remote produce over $4 in higher per capita income benefits for other Tulsa residents, per $1 of program costs? 3 reasons: (1) the program's offer of $10,000 moving incentive, plus other support services, tips location decision of at least 58% of Tulsa Remoters.
upjohninstitute.bsky.social
Programs to woo remote workers to a city or region have blossomed across the U.S. since the pandemic. But do they improve the lives of people already living there? New report from our @timbartik.bsky.social finds one program, Tulsa Remote, has benefits that far outweigh its costs.
#econsky #EconDev
Each dollar spent drawing remote workers to Tulsa delivers $4 benefit to current residents
Study finds 58 to 70 percent of Tulsa Remote workers would not have moved to Tulsa without the program
www.upjohn.org
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
timbartik.bsky.social
Finally, @mattyglesias.bsky.social mentions that notion that high end housing can help requires looking at "complicated" analyses by economists. I should mention that my colleague @kathleenbolter.bsky.social has done a great "explainer" on this topic: research.upjohn.org/reports/310/
How Even Luxury Housing Can Help Solve the Housing Shortage
By Kathleen Bolter, Published on 02/11/25
research.upjohn.org
kathleenbolter.bsky.social
I think we’d also have enough data to look 10 years out instead of 6. We know the long time frame has a big impact on the number of students completing their credentials.
kathleenbolter.bsky.social
That’s a good idea! There’s been a couple of changes to the program since the last study too (MCA colleges, expansion of apprenticeships) that would be interesting to evaluate as part of the programmatic impacts.
kathleenbolter.bsky.social
Hmmm…she thought as she read this while passively scrolling through Bluesky.
kathleenbolter.bsky.social
Thanks for sharing! That was an interesting read. I haven’t read too many ROI studies on Promise programs.
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
bradhershbein.bsky.social
As we appear headed for more economic turmoil, I wanted to share the latest New Hires Quality Index from @upjohninstitute.bsky.social, which tracks the earnings power of newly hired workers: www.upjohn.org/nhqi
NHQI: New Hires Quality Index | Upjohn Institute
www.upjohn.org
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
claudiakoerner.bsky.social
can't believe it's 2025 and i'm stressed about tariffs and measles, like am i a character in an american girl book
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
simonhrjohnson.bsky.social
In partnership with @schmidtsciences.bsky.social, @dacemoglumit.bsky.social, David Autor and I are seeking funding proposals from researchers conducting innovative field experiments on the labor economics of frontier AI. Learn more and apply by March 31. shapingwork.mit.edu/call-for-pro...
Call for Proposals: The Labor Economics of Frontier AI - Massachusetts Institute of Technology
shapingwork.mit.edu
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
itsafronomics.bsky.social
Several good things are happening according r/fednews so I am going to drop them here. If federal workers are fighting back, how much more us?

A thread/
kathleenbolter.bsky.social
Not every benefit/cost estimate gives you roughly the proportions of a pencil to visualize. But, the large benefits to Michigan residents in the form of increased earnings by enabling parents to work are a win/win for the populace and design!
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
timbartik.bsky.social
My new report, on shorter-run economic benefits of Michigan's state pre-K program, was released today by @upjohninstitute.bsky.social . This links to the Research Highlights page, from which you can access the full report: www.upjohn.org/research-hig...
Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program yields positive economic return
www.upjohn.org
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
timbartik.bsky.social
This one-pager summary, prepared by @kathleenbolter.bsky.social , provides a nice summary of the report: www.upjohn.org/sites/defaul...
www.upjohn.org
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
andrew.heiss.phd
I really liked this idea of using a histogram as a legend in a choropleth map (since land isn't unemployed; people are), so I made a little guide to doing it with #rstats, {ggplot2}, and {patchwork}

www.andrewheiss.com/blog/2025/02...
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
aaronsojourner.org
Wow, listen to this guy. He served as chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor, former senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers and serves as board member @upjohninstitute.bsky.social & the Society of Labor Economists, & is generally a great labor economist.

⬇️
jrothst.bsky.social
It seems almost unavoidable at this point that we are headed for a deep, deep recession. Just based on 200K+ federal firings & pullback of contracts, the March employment report (to be released April 4) seems certain to show bigger job losses than any month ever outside of a few in 2008-9 and 2020.
Reposted by Kathleen Bolter, PhD
timbartik.bsky.social
A research "explainer" on how building more new housing, even market-rate housing, can provide broad benefits.
kathleenbolter.bsky.social
Housing is a complex ecosystem and my latest explainer for @upjohninstitute.bsky.social illustrates (quite literally) why we need to build more of it.

research.upjohn.org/cgi/viewcont...

An excerpt from the report, here's a cartoon explaining the chain reaction driving this argument. . .(1/10)
kathleenbolter.bsky.social
And of course a big thank you to Emily Petz, Brian Asquith, @truesdale.bsky.social, @timbartik.bsky.social, @mmilleradams.bsky.social, and @bradhershbein.bsky.social for their notes and feedback in creating the piece!