On Friday, our MDLF Fellows were fortunate to meet virtually with IEDC Chief of Staff Luke Bosso and Dr. Michael Hicks, Professor and Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University. We spent an afternoon with them, poring over data, trends, and analysis as we learned about the state of Indiana’s economy.

After our discussion, our Fellows shared their top takeaways - the facts, trends, or insights they found most important. We then condensed them into five items:

1. The economy and education system are so intimately connected they’re fundamentally two halves of the same issue. Strong schools don’t just create a prepared workforce - they also act as amenity magnets to draw and keep people here. There’s a virtuous cycle between a well-educated workforce and a prosperous state economy.

2. Indiana is uniquely vulnerable to outsourcing and automation because we have the most manufacturing-intensive economy in the nation. Meanwhile, all net new job growth has gone to those with college degrees. We aren’t producing enough high-skilled labor to match these trends.

3. We should move our investment and interventions in the economy AND education further up the pipeline. For example, anti-poverty spending in Indiana has risen faster than education spending over the last decade. With the caveat that increased spending doesn’t necessarily equal improved services, we’d get more bang for our buck by moving investments in people earlier in their lives.

4. Today, there are multiple different “Indianas,” not one. Cities across our borders in other states (with different economic policies) have far more impact on the economic success of cities like Gary and Evansville than Indianapolis does. Rural vs. urban, liberal vs. conservative, college vs. non-college, and racial divisions create different problem environments and opportunities for improvement.

5. Complicating all the above is the fact that we don’t have a uniform definition of successful education and a high-quality job. What does “great” look like? What’s a great job - one that pays well, or one that pays less but makes you happier? Is the best education in the world the one which prepares you for your exact future job? Or is it one that gives you generalist skills like critical thinking and problem-solving? When it comes to policy, is there another state we should try to beat? Are we willing to do what it takes to change and become like them? Or is there a uniquely Indiana way we can approach excellence? Do Hoosiers want excellence, or will we settle for “just good enough?”

Our Fellows will answer these questions and more at our next discussion in July.

How would you answer them? Do these findings match what you’ve learned about our economy? What would you add to the list?