He developed a method of isolating local labor demand changes that is referred to as the Bartik instrument.
Prior to joining the Upjohn Institute in 1989, Bartik was assistant professor of economics at Vanderbilt University (1982–1989), and legislative assistant for housing and urban policy for U.S.
Bartik's research includes work in the following areas: Bartik is also the creator of the "Panel Data on Incentives and Taxes database", a free online tool that offers the most comprehensive information available to date on incentives to business for economic development provided by state and local governments in the United States.
Accompanying the database is a report (and detailed appendices)[5] that explains how the database is constructed while offering preliminary analyses that begin to answer questions about how incentives vary.
He has also authored numerous working papers, reports, and presentations and delivered testimony to several legislative bodies.