Hicks Commentary: The Labor Demand Shocks of Artificial Intelligence
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael J. Hicks June 8, 2025 The most disruptive technology in human history was almost certainly the wheel. That economic shock, and all the o “...”
Hicks Commentary: Misdiagnosing Housing Problems
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael Hicks June 1, 2025 The U.S. faces three types of housing market problems, with three very different types of solutions. Yet, policy eff “...”
Hicks Commentary: It’s TDS to Suppose These Tariffs Are Working
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael Hicks May 18, 2025 Judging from email and social media, my last column, which revised my 2025 economic forecast in light of President Tru “...”
Hicks Commentary: Trump’s Tariff Recession Is Here
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael Hicks May 11, 2025 Three months ago, I released an economic forecast that I called “the best for Indiana in the 17 years I’ve been do “...”
Hicks Commentary: Two Key Economic Lessons in One Bill
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael Hicks May 4, 2025 Indiana’s 2025 legislative session offered a valuable pair of economic lessons. The first is that there are no perfec “...”
Hicks Commentary: Time to Fix Economic Development Policy
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael Hicks April 27, 2025 Media reports identified significant accounting problems at the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC). In “...”
Hicks Commentary: The Unanticipated Effects of SB1
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael Hicks April 20, 2025 Gov. Mike Braun has signed the contentious Senate Bill 1 into law. This legislation was neither as good, nor as bad, “...”
Hicks Commentary: The Stupidest of Policies
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael Hicks April 13, 2025 The GOP is vacillating between contradictory claims that President Trump’s tariffs are either negotiating tactics “...”
Hicks Commentary: American Scientific Brain Drain Is Now Happening
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael Hicks April 6, 2025 As recently as 1900, American colleges and universities educated too few students and did too little research. One w “...”
Hicks Commentary: The Birth and Death of Rustbelt Cities
This column was originally published on the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research Weekly Commentary blog. By Michael Hicks March 29, 2025 The economic forces that built American cities have disappeared. These fundamental economic changes left in their wa “...”