Thomas H. Klier is a senior economist in the economic research department at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Klier’s research focuses on the effects of changes in manufacturing technology, the spatial distribution of economic activity and regional economic development. Since joining the Chicago Fed in 1992, Klier has written widely on the evolving geography of the auto industry. His current research includes the changing structure of the auto industry and the responsiveness of the demand for new vehicles to the price of gasoline.
Klier's research has been published in scholarly journals, including the Journal of Regional Studies, the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, The Industrial Geographer, Economic Development Quarterly, the Review of Regional Studies, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Public Choice and American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. Klier is co-author of a book on the auto supplier industry (joint with Jim Rubenstein, Miami University), published by the Upjohn Institute in 2008.
Klier received an M.B.A. from Friedrich-Alexander-Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg, Germany, an M.A. from Wayne State University and a Ph.D. in economics from Michigan State University.
Chicago Fed Letter
- Making Cars Smarter: The Growing Role of Electronics in Automobiles (Special Issue)
Thomas H. Klier, James Rubenstein | 2011 | No. 291a | October
Download - After the Perfect Storm: What's Next for the Auto Industry? (Special Issue)
Thomas H. Klier, Martin Lavelle, James Rubenstein | 2010 | No. 277a | August
Download - Raising Automotive Fuel Efficiency
Taft Foster, Thomas H. Klier | 2009 | No. 266 | September
Download - Who Really Made Your Car? (Special Issue)
Thomas H. Klier, James Rubenstein | 2008 | No. 255a | October
Download - Whose Part Is It?—Measuring Domestic Content of Vehicles
Thomas H. Klier, James Rubenstein | 2007 | No. 243 | October
Download - The Supplier Industry in Transition—The New Geography of Auto Production
Thomas H. Klier, James Rubenstein | 2006 | No. 229b | August
Download - The U.S. Auto Supplier Industry in Transition
Thomas H. Klier, James Rubenstein | 2006 | No. 226 | May
Download - Competition and Trade in the U.S. Auto Parts Sector
Thomas H. Klier, James Rubenstein | 2006 | No. 222 | January
Download - The Changing Relationship between Headquarters and Cities (Special Issue)
Thomas H. Klier, Yukako Ono, William Testa | 2005 | No. 212a | March
Download - Challenges and Prospects for Midwest Manufacturing
Thomas H. Klier, Rick Mattoon, William Testa | 2005 | No. 212b | March
Download - Caution Ahead—Challenges to the Midwest’s Role in the Auto Industry
Thomas H. Klier | 2005 | No. 211 | February
Download - Why Bank One Left Chicago: One Piece in a Bigger Puzzle
Robert DeYoung, Thomas H. Klier | 2004 | No. 201 | April
Download - Challenges to the U.S. Auto Industry (Special Issue)
Thomas H. Klier | 2004 | No. 200a | March
Download - Linkages across the Border (Special Issue)
Thomas H. Klier, William Testa | 2002 | No. 179b | July
Download - The Great Lakes Border and Economy (Special Issue)
Thomas H. Klier, William Testa | 2002 | No. 179a | July
Download - Is There Still an Investment Overhang, and if So, Should We Worry about It? (Special Issue)
Eric French, Thomas H. Klier, David Oppedahl | 2002 | No. 177a | May
Download - Higher Energy Prices in the Midwest
Thomas H. Klier, William Testa | 2001 | No. 168 | August
Download - Headquarters Wanted: Principals Only Need Apply (Special Issue)
Thomas H. Klier, William Testa | 2001 | No. 167a | July
Download - Structural Change and Cyclicality of the Auto Industry
Thomas H. Klier | 2000 | No. 159 | November
Download - What Can the Midwest Learn from California about Emissions Trading
Thomas H. Klier, Rick Mattoon, Michael A. Prager | 1997 | No. 120 | August
Download - Assessing the Midwest Economy: Looking Back for the Future - A Summary
Thomas H. Klier, Rick Mattoon, William Testa | 1997 | No. 118 | June
Download - Assessing the Midwest Economy — A Longer View
Thomas H. Klier | 1996 | No. 107 | July
Download - Complying with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990: A Progress Report
Thomas H. Klier, Rick Mattoon | 1995 | No. 89 | January
Download - Recent Developments in Clean Water Legislation
David Allardice, Thomas H. Klier, Rick Mattoon | 1994 | No. 82 | June
Download - How Regions Can Benefit from Flexible Environmental Compliance
Thomas H. Klier, Rick Mattoon | 1993 | No. 73 | September
Download - Lean Manufacturing: Understanding a New Manufacturing System
Thomas H. Klier | 1993 | No. 67 | March
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Economic Perspectives
- From Tail Fins to Hybrids: How Detroit Lost Its Dominance
Thomas H. Klier | 2009 | Vol. 33 | 2nd Quarter
Download - The Geographic Evolution of the U.S. Auto Industry
Thomas H. Klier, Daniel McMillen | 2006 | Vol. 30 | 2nd Quarter
Download - Determinants of Supplier Plant Location: Evidence from the Auto Industry
Thomas H. Klier | 2005 | Vol. 29 | August | 3rd Quarter
Download - Estimating U.S. metropolitan area export and import competition
Thomas H. Klier, William Testa, Alexei Zelenev | 2003 | Vol. 27 | November | 4th Quarter
Download - Location trends of large company headquarters during the 1990s
Thomas H. Klier | 2002 | Vol. 26 | May | 2nd Quarter
Download - Effect of auto plant openings on net migration in the auto corridor, 1980-97
Kenneth M. Johnson, Thomas H. Klier | 2000 | Vol. 24 | November | 4th Quarter
Download - Agglomeration in the U.S. auto supplier industry
Thomas H. Klier | 1999 | Vol. 23 | February | 1st Quarter
Download - Reversal of Fortune: Understanding the Midwest recovery
Thomas H. Klier, Rick Mattoon, William Testa | 1997 | Vol. 21 | June | 4th Quarter
Download - The geography of lean manufacturing: Recent evidence from the U.S. auto industry
Thomas H. Klier | 1995 | Vol. 19 | November | 4th Quarter
Download - The impact of lean manufacturing on sourcing relationships
Thomas H. Klier | 1994 | Vol. 18 | July | 3rd Quarter
Download - How lean manufacturing changes the way we understand the manufacturing sector
Thomas H. Klier | 1993 | Vol. 17 | May | 2nd Quarter
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Working Papers
- Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards and the Market for New Vehicles
Thomas H. Klier, Joshua Linn | 2011 | No. 2011-01 | January
Download - The Price of Gasoline and the Demand for Fuel Economy: Evidence from Monthly New Vehicles Sales Data
Thomas H. Klier, Joshua Linn | 2009 | No. 2009-15 | November
Download - New Vehicle Characteristics and the Cost of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standard
Thomas H. Klier, Joshua Linn | 2008 | No. 2008-13 | July
Download - Evolving Agglomeration in the U.S. Auto Supplier Industry
Thomas H. Klier, Daniel McMillen | 2006 | No. 2006-20
Download - Clustering of Auto Supplier Plants in the U.S.: GMM Spatial Logit for Large Samples
Thomas H. Klier, Daniel McMillen | 2005 | No. 2005-18
Download - Comparing location decisions of domestic and foreign auto supplier plants
Thomas H. Klier, Paul Ma, Daniel McMillen | 2004 | No. 2004-27
Download - Where the Headquarters Are – Evidence from Large Public Companies 1990-2000
Tyler Diacon, Thomas H. Klier | 2003 | No. 2003-35 - Location of Headquarter Growth During the 90s
Thomas H. Klier | 2002 | No. 2002-19 - Geographic Concentration in U.S. Manufacturing: Evidence from the U.S. Auto Supplier Industry
Thomas H. Klier | 1998 | No. 98-17
Download - A Mixed Bag: Assessment of Market Performance and Firm Trading behavior in the NOx RECLAIM Program
Thomas H. Klier, Rick Mattoon, Michael A. Prager | 1996 | No. 96-12
Publications at Academic Journals
Klier has had articles published in a number of books and academic journals. His most recent publications (available for a fee at the publishers' web sites) include:
With Daniel P. McMillen, 2008, Clustering of Auto Supplier Plants in the United States: Generalized Method of Moments Spatial Logit for Large Samples, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 460–471.
With Daniel P. McMillen, 2008, Evolving Agglomeration in the U.S. Auto Supplier Industry, Journal of Regional Science, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 245–267.
Authored Book
With James Rubenstein, 2008, Who Really Made Your Car? Restructuring and Geographic Change in the U.S. Auto Industry, Kalamazoo, MI: W. E. Upjohn Institute.
Looks at where the parts in cars are made and where they are assembled.
Research Interests
Research Interests
Empirical micro; effects of changing manufacturing technology; economic geography
Interview
Interview
March 11, 2009, interview on The Bottom Line segment of WTTW's Chicago Tonight program.
