Charles L. Ballard

Charles L. Ballard is a professor in the Department of Economics at Michigan State University. He is an widely-published, award-winning author; a proud Princeton graduate; and has been a consultan...

Michigan's Economic Future

Charles L. Ballard

Click this link read the text of Ballard's PBS interview by Jim Lehrer and Gwen Ifill

Click this link hear the MSU Spartan Podcast with Charles Ballard

In the 1950s and 1960s, Michigan was an economic powerhouse. Over the last several decades, however, manufacturing has claimed an ever- smaller share of the U.S. economy; Michigan has steadily lost ground. Michigan's industrial power "created a set of attitudes that hundreds of thousands of Michigan people have a sense that, 'I don't need college, I'm going to get one of those factory jobs....that is a dream that is shrinking, shrinking, shrinking. One of the biggest challenges facing the Michigan economy is we're sort of behind the curve in the attitude toward the skills levels that we'll have to have."

Ballard provides a detailed analysis of Michigan’s current economic difficulties, with transportation, land use, environment, education, and finance as critical policy issues.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. An Overview of the Michigan Economy
Chapter 2. Michigan¿s Human Resources
Chapter 3. Michigan¿s Physical Resources: Transportation, Land, and Environment
Chapter 4. Other Budget- Related Issues and Policies in Michigan
Chapter 5. The Tax System in Michigan
Chapter 6. What Will Michigan¿s Economy Be Like in 2025?