Timothy F. Slaper
Director of Economic Analysis
Dr. Slaper {slay-per} leads a research team engaged in industry and workforce analysis, economic impact studies, regional economic analyses, demographic estimates and projections, trade and foreign investment analysis, measuring innovation, measuring educational performance and researching economic growth.
In the last several months, the IBRC released the report "Global Positioning" that documents Indiana's export growth over the last decade and the state's track record for attracting foreign direct investment.
The team Timothy leads released a report on the economic impact of the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security has on the Hoosier state. In the last year, the research team also concluded research on measuring the economic impact of technology transfer from Naval labs like the Crane Navel Weapons Support Center. The team is also looking forward to measuring the economic impact and contribution of community healthcare centers in the state of Indiana.
In the fall of 2011, the team also wrapped up research on green jobs in the state and developing alternative career pathways for displaced autoworkers. The project—"Driving Change"—was a part of a collaboration with the labor information office in the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and sister agencies in Michigan and Ohio.
Other analysis pertaining to workforce development is the "tipping point" study. This research determines the number of college credits for which an adult student at a community college would, on average, earn higher wages than adults over 25 years of age that did not continue their education.
The IBRC, in collaboration with Purdue University, will update the Innovation in American Regions website in early 2012. In addition to providing data for measuring innovation in regions across the country, this website also presents industry and occupation cluster data at a regional level. Like the majority of IBRC work that Timothy oversees, the goal of this project is to put analytical tools and practical research into the hands of economic development practitioners to help them answer the fundamental questions underlying economic development in today's rapidly changing world.
For a complete listing of the work done by the IBRC research and analysis team, please go to http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/analysis/reports.asp
Before joining the IBRC, Timothy served as Senior Economist on the Joint Economic Committee of Congress researching topics such as the effect of high energy prices on economic output and the effectiveness of investment incentives in encouraging economic growth.
