Upjohn Institute Senior Economist Tim Bartik presented on broadly shared economic success at a webinar for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The webinar, “Deindustrialization and regional transitions: How can places transform leaving no one behind?” also featured presentations from OECD officials and Enrico Moretti of the University of California, Berkeley.
The OECD, originally the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, was formed to administer European reconstruction efforts after World War II. The organization has grown to 38 member countries and focuses on economic progress and world trade.
Bartik’s presentation highlighted the following points:
- There are large differences in local labor market performance for different groups.
- These differences do not simply correspond to high-tech versus rust belt, or any other simple dichotomy, but rather there is a great deal of variation in all kinds of areas.
- Places can do better if they invest in local assets and strategically reposition them to respond to emerging economic trends.
- Racial disparities in U.S. labor markets remain stubbornly high. The most politically acceptable way to overcome these disparities is to specifically target increasing access to better jobs by residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods.
The presentation draws from an Upjohn Institute report by Bartik, Brad Hershbein, Kathleen Bolter and Kyle Huisman titled “Broadly shared local economic success since 2000: New measures and new lessons for communities.”