Teacher Pay, Child Care Costs, and Unemployment Insurance

Education |

James Shuls, Aaron Hedlund and David Stokes join Zach Lawhorn to discuss teacher pay in Missouri, the case for and against reforming child care policies, and a new report on modernizing the state’s unemployment insurance system.

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Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

Aaron Hedlund

About the Author

Aaron Hedlund is an associate professor with tenure in the Mitch Daniels School of Business at Purdue University, as well as a research fellow at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. From 2020 to 2021, Hedlund was the Chief Domestic Economist and Senior Adviser at the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Before joining the CEA, he was also the Acting Director of Academic Outreach and Senior Fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity. His other public policy experiences include stints at the Heritage Foundation and the International Trade Commission as well as service in senior state-level advisory roles. Hedlund's research focuses on the intersection of macroeconomics, finance, real estate, and labor. Some of the topics he has studied extensively include the causes and consequences of housing booms and busts, the forces driving up college tuition and student debt, and the macroeconomic implications of China's economic transformation. He has also written and spoken extensively on market-oriented reforms to the tax code and healthcare system. In addition to appearing in peer-reviewed academic journals, Hedlund's work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and National Review, has been used as expert testimony in state-level policy initiatives, and has been presented at numerous think tanks, academic institutions, and central banks both in and outside of the United States. Hedlund received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelor's in economics and mathematics from Duke University. Aaron is currently on a leave of absence and serving as the Chief Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
James V. Shuls

About the Author

James V. Shuls is an associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Missouri St. Louis. His work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including Phi Delta Kappan, Social Science Quarterly, Education Week, The Rural Educator, Educational Policy, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He earned his Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Arkansas. He holds a bachelors degree from Missouri Southern State University and a masters degree from Missouri State University, both in elementary education. Prior to pursuing his doctorate, James taught first grade and fifth grade in southwest Missouri.
David Stokes

About the Author

David Stokes is a St. Louis native and a graduate of Saint Louis University High School and Fairfield (Conn.) University. He spent six years as a political aide at the St. Louis County Council before joining the Show-Me Institute in 2007. Stokes was a policy analyst at the Show-Me Institute from 2007 to 2016. From 2016 through 2020 he was Executive Director of Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, where he led efforts to oppose harmful floodplain developments done with abusive tax subsidies. Stokes rejoined the Institute in early 2021 as the Director of Municipal Policy. He is a past president of the University City Library Board. He served on the St. Louis County 2010 Council Redistricting Commission and was the 2012 representative to the Electoral College from Missouri’s First Congressional District. He lives in University City with his wife and their three children.
Zach Lawhorn

About the Author

Zach Lawhorn joined Show-Me Opportunity in 2018. He earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Missouri. Prior to joining SMO he worked in marketing and strategic communications for the University of Missouri School of Health Professions and was a senior media producer at Mizzou Video Production.

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