A New York Times editorial, "Can States Just Say No to Corporate Giveaways," references the work of Timothy J. Bartik on helping manufacturing-intensive communities. In his "Helping Manufacturing-Intensive Communities: What Works" report and the companion technical report, Bartik concludes that expanding services to smaller manufacturers, investing in infrastructure, and increasing spending on services to improve local workers skills can help these communities succeed.
The Times editorial noted that politicians "would do much better to invest in education and infrastructure, according to research by a leading scholar of tax incentives, Timothy J. Bartik."