In the 1950s and 1960s Michigan was one of the world's economic power-houses. Over the last several decades, however, manufacturing has claimed an ever-smaller share of the U.S. economy, and Michigan, with its heavy emphasis on manufacturing, has steadily lost ground. In this thought-provoking book, Charles L. Ballard provides a detailed analysis of Michigan's current economic situation, and points the way to a brighter future. Although manufacturing will continue to play an important role for years to come, the economic conditions of the mid twentieth century have changed, and the brightest prospects for the future are in the high-skill, high-technology sectors of the economy. Thus, education is the key to success in tomorrow's economy. Michigan's foremost challenge is to provide the highly educated, highly skilled workforce that the future economy will demand. This is a daunting challenge, since the educational attainment of Michigan's population lags behind the national average. Ballard demonstrates that a single-minded focus on cutting taxes and public services will not take Michigan where it needs to go. The level of taxation in Michigan is far lower than it once was, and Michigan's archaic tax system is increasingly unable to provide enough resources to make necessary investments for the future. Education policy and public finances take center stage in Michigan's Economic Future, but Ballard also explores other critical policy issues such as transportation, land use, environment, corrections, health care, and anti-poverty programs. Michigan's Economic Future is essential for anyone interested in economic policy for the Great Lakes State.

Contains extensive coverage of the tax issues faced by all types of contractors, including large and small contractors, homebuilders, and other specialty trades, provides you with the clear, concise guidance you need to expertly address your tax issues.

Exploring the School Choice Universe: Evidence and Recommendations gives readers a comprehensive, complete picture of choice policies and issues. In doing so, it offers cross-cutting insights that are obscured when one looks only at single issue or a single approach to choice. The book examines choice in its various forms: charter schools, home schooling, online schooling, voucher plans that allow students to use taxpayer funds to attend private schools, tuition tax credit plans that provide a public subsidy for private school tuition, and magnet schools and other forms of public school intra- and interdistrict choice. It brings together some of the top researchers in the field, presenting a comprehensive overview of the best current knowledge of these important policies. The questions addressed in Exploring the School Choice Universe are of most importance to researchers and policy makers. What do choice programs actually do? What forms do they take? Who participates, and why? What are the funding implications? What are the results of different forms of school choice on outcomes that matter, like student performance, segregation, and competition effects? Do they affect teachers’ working conditions? Do they drive innovation? The contents of this book offer reason to believe that choice policies can further some educational goals. But they also suggest many reasons for caution. If choice policies are to be evidence-based, a re-examination is in order. The information, insights and recommendations facilitate a more nuanced understanding of school choice and provide the basis for designing sensible school choice reforms that can pursue a range of desirable outcomes.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Roundtable on Population Health Improvement has been focused on the subject of dependable resources for population health since its inception in 2013. On December 7, 2017, the roundtable convened a workshop to explore tax policy as it relates to advancing population health, health equity, and economic prosperity. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.