Menu

News

Arkansas’ Alcohol Fight: Bootleggers, Baptists & Ballots

By Jeremy Horpedahl, Ph.D.

What can economics teach us about political coalitions? In a recently accepted paper, I use the example of dry county elections in Arkansas to shed some light on a type of coalition first identified by Economist Bruce Yandle in a 1983 article1.

Coalitions are often necessary to ensure passage or defeat of legal or regulatory changes. In some cases, political coalitions are composed of members that have little in common, other than their mutual position on one very specific issue. As Yandle (1983) suggests, coalition members also can play different roles in the political process, such as one member having a financial stake in the outcome and providing the majority of the funding (the “bootlegger” in Yandle’s framework), the other member serves as the moral voice (the “Baptist”).

As the saying goes, politics often makes for strange bedfellows.

In Arkansas, the metaphor has an almost-literal application: legalization of alcohol sales at the county level is opposed both by religious organizations and by liquor sellers in adjacent counties. In this paper, I examine how those two groups often marshal opposition to the legalization of alcohol sales in dry counties, although they rarely unite in formal coalitions. It contributes to literature following Yandle’s theory on the economics of political coalitions and supports many of the features of coalitions that Yandle suggested.

Arkansas’ Local-Option Alcohol Elections

My article first summarizes the history local-option alcohol elections in Arkansas. Here are several excerpts, with more detail in the paper itself.

Prior to statewide (1915) and nationwide (1919) alcohol prohibition, many Arkansas counties already were dry. In that era, local jurisdictions (townships and towns) were required to hold elections on alcohol prohibition every 2 years under an 1879 state law. In other words, elections were automatic: no signature gathering was required. In practice, once a county voted itself dry it never returned to wet status, although reversal legally was possible. When Arkansas went dry statewide after the 1915 Newberry Act, 66 of its 75 counties already were dry2.

After the end of national prohibition, alcohol regulation once again was returned to the states. In 1935, Arkansas passed the Thorn Liquor Law, which made all counties wet by default. Elections could be held to vote a county dry, but signatures of 35% of the registered voters in the county were required to place the issue on the ballot. Elections no longer were automatic; they could not be held more than once every 3 years2. Because of the high signature threshold, no county-wide elections to switch from wet to dry were held.

In 1942, Arkansas’s voters approved a lowering of the signature threshold to 15% of registered voters and allowed elections every 2 years rather than every 3 years3. Over the next 2 years, 21 counties held alcohol elections; 18 of the counties went dry, along with another 32 towns, townships and districts4.

In 1993, Arkansas’s legislature approved an increase in the signature threshold again, to 38% of the registered voters. The sponsor of the 1993 legislation stated that the changes were necessary because frequent local alcohol elections were so contentious that local communities were being polarized2.

In every election for which there is data since 1993, the signature requirement exceeded half of the actual votes cast in the next election.

Local-Option Elections & Petition Drives in Arkansas since 1993

The final section of my paper looks at the dynamics of the bootlegger-Baptist coalitions under the current rules for holding county alcohol elections. Liquor stores usually provide the funding, given that they are businesses with a big stake in the outcome. But what do religious organizations bring to the coalition? To answer this question, I had to go beyond the numbers and look to media sources, newsletters, and the archives of the Arkansas Ethics Commission. Here are a few more excerpts.

Since the 1993 rule changes, at least 21 attempts have been made to legalize alcohol sales in Arkansas counties, including multiple attempts in some counties, and one attempt to return a county to dry status. Of the 21 countywide attempts to legalize alcohol, only ten gathered enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot. In all ten of those cases, legalization was successful.

In the cases at hand, the metaphorical terms Yandle uses come very close to describing reality. The bootleggers primarily are the owners of liquor stores in bordering wet counties and bordering states, while the Baptists are churches and other religious groups (including many denominations, although Baptists are the largest religious group in Arkansas5).

Based only on the spending data, bootleggers appear to have a much higher willingness and ability to pay to stop alcohol sales in currently dry counties. Those differences could be explained by factors other than willingness to pay, such as differences in incomes of the two groups, but the differences are quite large. That gap also makes it important to investigate whether Baptists are contributing in non-monetary ways, which was found in almost every case.

While explicit coalitions are rare, examples can be found. When citizens attempted to change the status of the dry city of Jacksonville6 (located in wet Pulaski County), a local pastor formed an alliance with nearby liquor stores. After he couldn’t raise funds from local churches, the pastor told a local newspaper that he “utilized who was willing to help fight it. [The liquor stores] were honest with me, and I was honest with them.”

During one unsuccessful petition drive in Craighead County in 2014, officially registered opposition BQCs (“Local Citizens for Safety and Prosperity” and “Craighead Pride”) were funded fully by existing liquor stores in bordering Greene and Poinsett Counties. But the public face of the opposition that a local news station chose to interview was Bobby Hester, the State Director of the Arkansas Family Coalition, who called the signature gatherers “a bunch of greedy carpet baggers”7 and was the sole person quoted a month later in a story about the possibility of the county legalizing alcohol8. The Arkansas Family Coalition is a religious organization based in Jonesboro, the largest city in Craighead County and was organized by the Jonesboro Ministerial Fellowship9.

The Family Coalition also used its newsletter to disseminate “statistical information” it encouraged readers to give to “your minister or pastor” so that “they would then share it with the full congregation in the form of handouts, or however they would see fit to educate their parishioners.”10

One interesting example is from 2014 Newton County. While no BQCs on either side formally were created, a movement on the part of some citizens arose to collect signatures to legalize alcohol sales. A pastor wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper telling the community that his church would be posting the names of everyone who had signed the petition and would make the list available for public viewing. His justification for doing so was to allow people to verify that their names weren’t added to the petition fraudulently, but another reason might be to discourage signers because of the public shame it would cause. The pastor informed readers that he had performed the same service in bordering Boone County in 2010, although, unlike Newton County, the petition drive was successful in Boone County11.

Conclusion

In the paper’s conclusion, I said:

Bootleggers and Baptists both have strong, but very different interests in keeping alcohol illegal in some Arkansas counties. The two groups work together explicitly to achieve that goal and point to many other examples of more spontaneously complementary activities. The parochial interests of the individuals joining one of those groups—the Baptists—can be harmed when the other group—the bootleggers—is less active. Without significant funding from liquor stores in adjacent counties, petition drives to legalize alcohol sales almost always succeed. The vocal opposition of religious leaders and spending by churches also explain some of the failed petition drives.

What is most important is the uncovering of an important feature of the bootlegger-Baptist coalitions described by Yandle1. As Smith and Yandle12 put it, the combination of economic interest and moral suasion represents a “winning coalition.” There is evidence in all but two Arkansas counties of the decisiveness a bootlegger–Baptist coalition in blocking an alcohol-legalization proposition from being placed on the ballot. And even for those two counties, local media suggested that religious organizations did provide some opposition, although the reports do not contain any details. Overall, the evidence supplies strong support for Yandle’s theory. Baptists operating alone often fail to prevent legalization of alcohol. Working together with bootleggers, however, the coalition usually is successful in achieving its goal (in the case of Arkansas, by keeping the issue off the ballot). And whenever a bootlegger exists to fund the opposition to alcohol legalization, we can usually find evidence of Baptists spreading the moral message and helping the coalition be successful.

My research gives us more detailed information on how political coalitions function and contributes to a broader research question in economics and political science. It also sheds light on a current public policy question in Arkansas. Opponents of legalizing alcohol sales statewide in 2014 argued that local control was better than the state telling counties what they must do. This shows that it is not the citizens of the county that are rejecting alcohol legalization, but rather a political coalition that receives most of its funding from outside the county, and sometimes outside the state.

Jeremy Horpedahl is an assistant professor of economics at the UCA College of Business and research scholar at the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics. His paper “Arkansas’ Alcohol Fight: Bootleggers, Baptists and Ballots” has been accepted for publication in the academic journal Public Choice. Click here to read it in its entirety.

  1. Yandle, B. (1983). Bootleggers and Baptists: The education of a regulatory economist. Regulation,7(3), 12–16.
  2. Johnson, B., III. (2005). John Barleycorn must die: The war against drink in Arkansas. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press.
  3. Harper, J. W. (2016). A spirited revolution: Local option elections and the impending death of prohibition in Arkansas. University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review,38(3), 527–557.
  4. Knoll, J. L. (1951). A partial fruition: A history of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of Arkansas. Little Rock, AR: Women’s Christian Temperance Union of Arkansas.
  5. Pew Research Center (2014) reports that 39% of Arkansans are Baptist (combining evangelicals, mainline, and historically black Baptist denominations). That’s about half of the 79% of Arkansans affiliated with any Christian denomination. https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/state/arkansas/.
  6. Hogan, L. (2014). Reports shed light on backers of wet, dry groups in Arkansas. Arkansas Business, June 19.
  7. KAIT. (2014b). Signatures being gathered for Craighead County to go wet. May 3. Retrieved August 16, 2019, from https://www.kait8.com/story/25418526/committee-poses-wetdry/.
  8. KAIT. (2014a). Crime rate: Wet vs. dry counties. June 12. Retrieved August 16, 2019, from https://www.kait8.com/story/25752589/crime-rate-wet-vs-dry-counties/.
  9. Arkansas Family Coalition. (2019). Who we are. Retrieved August 6, 2019, from https://www.arfamilycoalition.org/who-we-are.html.
  10. Arkansas Family Coalition. (2014). July/August/September 2014 newsletter. Retrieved August 6, 2019, from https://www.arfamilycoalition.org/uploads/5/8/5/5/5855148/2014_july_august_september_neswletter.pdf.
  11. Fraught, D. (2014). Baptist church to display liquor petition signatures. Newton County Times. May 8.
  12. Smith, A., & Yandle, B. (2014). Bootleggers and Baptists: How economic forces and moral persuasion interact to shape regulatory policy. Washington, DC: Cato Institute.
Posted in: COB News on May 24, 2020 Tagged: , , , ,

How will COVID-19 Change Our Everyday Lives?

By Doug Voss, Ph.D.

Change. There are innumerable clichés, anecdotes, and books about it. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus wrote, “Change is the only constant in life.”

“Who Moved My Cheese” was a best-selling book about how to cope with it. Paradoxically, most of us crave the spice of variety but have difficulty dealing with change.

About a week into quarantine, my lovely wife and I were watching TV when it struck me: life was normal just a few days ago. In disbelief at this reality, I remarked as much. She nodded and said, “Hard to believe.”

Vladimir Lenin said a great many things, and I disagree with almost all of them, but he had a great quote on the timing and rapidity of change.

Doug Voss, Ph.D., professor of logistics and supply chain management

“There are decades when nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen.”

Someday, this will come to an end but there will be many fits and starts along the way. It’s unlikely that some miracle of modern medicine will occur that allows us to flip a switch and completely do away with COVID-19 overnight.

The fits and starts — repetitious exhaustion, joy, frustration, and exuberance — will help us transition to whatever new normal lies ahead. Nobody can be sure how our world will change once the pandemic is over but myself and many others who pontificate for a living try to predict. Here are mine.

Technology adoption will increase. Otherwise uninterested people have shown up at the tech party during the pandemic and will likely stay a while. Grandma and grandpa are part of a vulnerable population and have taken advantage of online shopping with home delivery during the pandemic. In supply chain management, we use the term “final mile” to describe the delivery of goods to their final destination. This frequently involves delivering items to a residential location and can involve everything from delivering groceries to installing washers and dryers to setting up a treadmill. More people will take advantage of these services after the pandemic is over simply because they now know they’re available and incredibly convenient.

Consolidation in the final-mile sector. Many final-mile delivery companies are relatively small. There will be consolidation in this sector for several reasons. First, it’s often the natural order of things. The small are often eaten by the large. Second, customers won’t want 10 deliveries every day. They will want fewer deliveries but larger quantities delivered in each one. This not only reduces the number of doorbell disruptions but also the number of potentially sick people coming into the home.

Inflation. Supply chain costs will increase and the price of goods will as well. After many years, firms will finally come to grips with the need to insulate their supply chains against major disruptions. They will diversify their supplier base away from riskier countries like China. This doesn’t mean they won’t manufacture goods in China. Just that they will also manufacture goods elsewhere. This way, if geopolitical or biological problems occur in China, the firm’s supply chain is not completely broken. Some of this manufacturing may even come back to America. Firms will also hold more inventory of critical goods. Some industries may even face government mandates that they hold more inventory similar to how the government regulates bank liquidity levels. The U.S. consumer will not tolerate an inability to quickly access critical items such as PPE, pharmaceuticals, and ventilators in the future.

More contactless transactions. There will be less contact with people going forward. For instance, you may not have to speak with someone the next time you drop your car off for service. You may simply call to schedule your appointment (or do it online), describe your problem, then, drop your car off without ever coming in near another person at the dealership.

This isn’t too different from how it’s often done today but tomorrow it may be the only way to do it. Amazon and Walmart have been working for years to allow customers to check themselves out and had prototype stores with this capability even before the pandemic. They will perfect it. Your items will be scanned when you place them in your cart or RFID tags will be scanned as you walk out of the store without ever having to work with a cashier.

Cashiers demand wages to work, they can sue the company if they get sick from a customer, and a customer can sue the company if they get sick from a cashier. Further, customers don’t like waiting in line to check out. Along similar lines, pun intended, more retailers will implement drive-thru or drive-up service. Drive-thrus may be an order qualifier to operate in some restaurant sectors. Customers may not feel comfortable going in stores and restaurants as often as they did pre-pandemic and retailers will have to accommodate this desire.

Increased focus on hygiene. Hand sanitizer dispensers were commonplace before the pandemic but get ready to see them on every door jam. Americans living in large, metropolitan areas will wear masks more frequently. I’m not convinced those of us in rural areas, who have not yet been as severely impacted by COVID-19, are ready to wear masks daily but big city denizens will.

Changes in workforce, work-life, and work location. The number of baby boomers in the workforce may decline precipitously after the pandemic. Many who are close to retirement won’t return to work. They may decide the health risks of being in an office are too great or they may simply enjoy staying home. Either way, boomers won’t return to the workforce in the same numbers. After taking time to reflect on life during quarantine, others will return to work but don’t want it to be the same. They may realize that they actually have a spouse and kids or that a three-hour, round-trip daily commute isn’t worth it. Commuting via public transportation will be a non-starter for many. Commuter trains are Petri dishes and people can be packed in like sardines. More employees will want to work from home. Some employers will welcome this.

Office space is expensive and reducing the lease payment will be attractive during the post-pandemic recovery. Frankly, a change toward telecommuting would do wonders for our government’s budget. The federal government hasn’t raised the fuel tax to pay for roads since 1993. Consequently, the Highway Trust Fund is chronically underfunded. The feds might consider tax incentives for companies who ask employees to telecommute just to take traffic off underfunded and congested interstates.

A return to formal attire. If you have had small children in recent history then you have heard of pajama day. Elementary schools allow kids to occasionally wear pajamas to school. It’s a fun activity. During a trip to a local discount retailer a few years ago, the number of shoppers in pajamas prompted my then 5-year-old to ask if it was pajama day at the store. I cynically replied that every day was pajama day at that particular establishment. People used to dress up to go out in public. They worked hard and got dirty all week so dressing up was a welcome change.

I’m guilty, too. I wear nice jeans, a sport coat, and boots to almost any business meeting. It’s a fashion that’s part Silicon Valley but also very Arkansan (my fashion sense is highly questionable, though, so don’t take that as the gospel). People have the luxury of being in sweatpants and blue jeans all day when they stay home. Post-pandemic, people may again relish the opportunity to get dressed up.

Change has come and will continue. I’m not a sociologist, psychologist, or a psychic (but I do have “ESPN”), and my Otterbox crystal ball case protector didn’t prevent any number of scratches and cracks. However, I am certain post-pandemic life will not be the same.

Some changes will be good while others will be bad. Some changes will be fads while others will be trends. Everything will be fine in the end. We will adapt to post-pandemic life and the next generation won’t know anything changed at all if we don’t fill them with stories beginning with “When I was a kid…”

Doug Voss, Ph.D., is a professor of logistics and supply chain management at the University of Central Arkansas College of Business, director of the college’s Center for Logistics, Education, Advancement & Research, and holds the Scott E. Bennett Arkansas Highway Commission Endowed Chair. He serves on the Arkansas Trucking Association Board of Directors.

Posted in: COB News on May 22, 2020 Tagged: , , , ,

Supply Chain Professor Eric Hurley Named to Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 List

Eric Hurley, recently hired as an adjunct professor of supply chain management in the UCA College of Business, has been named to Arkansas Business’ 2020 40 Under 40 list.

Eric Hurley, adjunct professor of supply chain management

The annual list recognizes leaders in business, nonprofits, community service and government who are making a significant impact in Arkansas.

“This is a well-deserved honor for Eric,” said Doug Voss, Ph.D., professor of logistics and supply chain management and director of the Center for Logistics, Education, Advancement & Research. “He is a great addition to our logistics and supply chain management faculty and we are lucky to have him.”

The 2020 class will be recognized at a July 22 luncheon at DoubleTree Little Rock.

Hurley is a former senior manager of business excellence at Welspun Tubular. He worked for the company, a manufacturer of steel pipes for the oil and gas industry, for more than six years. He began as a production planner in 2013 and has also served as project manager and head of department planning and contract management.

Hurley holds a bachelor’s in civil engineering with an emphasis in structural design and an MBA with an emphasis in economics.

He will teach Logistics Strategy this fall.

Posted in: COB News on May 18, 2020 Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Is the Food Supply Chain Breaking Down?

By Doug Voss, Ph.D.

Tyson Foods Chairman John Tyson made news with a full-page ad published recently in The New York Times, The Washington Post and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that warned “the food supply chain is breaking” and “millions of pounds of meat will disappear” from the supply chain as COVID-19 continues to spread and food processing plants are forced to close.

It is true some production facilities in the meat supply chain are being strained by COVID-19. Meat companies are taking incredible steps to protect their hard-working employees who are trying to feed their own families and yours.

Doug Voss, Ph.D., professor of logistics and supply chain management

But is the food supply chain truly breaking down as a result of COVID-19? We’ll take it claim-by-claim in a good news, bad news format. Want the bad news first? OK, here goes.

BAD NEWS: Yes, multiple meat processing facilities have been taken offline to protect employees. These facilities will generally only be offline for two weeks but this causes supply chain issues.

The supply chain functions best when we remove variability in supply, production, delivery, and demand. Supply chain costs increase, delivery service decreases, and inventory availability suffers when there are big spikes in demand, late deliveries, or manufacturing interruptions. Shutting down the meat processing facilities puts a kink in the supply chain, and there will be local impacts.

GOOD NEWS: Nobody has to go without meat.

Our protein supply chain is robust. The United States produces incredible quantities of pork, beef, chicken, turkey, and fish. After processing, consumable protein is generally directed into consumer or business-oriented channels. Some of it will be refrigerated and some will be frozen.

To give some perspective on how much inventory is held in the meat supply chain, we have enough frozen chicken in storage to feed every American at their average consumption levels for about 21 days. We have large frozen quantities of other protein types as well.

BAD NEWS: While this is encouraging, it’s not quite that simple. Frozen product destined for business-oriented channels (i.e. restaurants and foodservice organizations who sell product to restaurants and institutional customers) is packaged differently and in larger quantities than that destined for consumer-oriented channels (i.e. dominated by retailer buyers that sell the product with little to no further processing). Further processing would be necessary to bring it to consumers.

GOOD NEWS: Most meat processing plants are still running. COVID-19 has hit some areas harder than others and meat processing plants are generally located in fairly close proximity to farms and ranches where animals are raised. When an outbreak occurs in an area where a meat processing plant is located, that plant will be impacted.

The virus has impacted areas where pork and beef processing occur. The impacts have not been as severe in areas where chicken processing occurs. For instance, Arkansas food processing plants have remained open throughout the pandemic. Some meat processors have increased the production of chicken to compensate for decreased pork and beef production.

BAD NEWS: You won’t starve, but you won’t have as much variety to choose from, either. When someone says meat shortage, you probably think of an empty meat cooler. There will be less meat, particularly pork and beef, in the cooler. However, impacted meat processors also produce meat used in many other products you buy in the store such as frozen pizzas.

GOOD NEWS: In some ways, the meat processing plants are easier to start up than they are to shut down. If you’re impacted by fewer protein choices at the store, your situation will not last long.

In sum, the situation is real but nobody is going to starve as a result. At this point, the worst-case scenario is restricted variety at your local meat cooler and for products with pork and beef ingredients. To conclude with good news, would it be the worst thing if we took the time to be thankful for all of our blessings and had a few turkey dinners in May, then, another in late November?

Doug Voss, Ph.D., is a professor of logistics and supply chain management at the University of Central Arkansas College of Business, director of the college’s Center for Logistics, Education, Advancement & Research, and holds the Scott E. Bennett Arkansas Highway Commission Endowed Chair. He serves on the Arkansas Trucking Association Board of Directors.

Posted in: COB News on April 28, 2020 Tagged: , , , , , ,

Anthony McMullen Named IPDA Debate Coach of the Year

Anthony McMullen, J.D., assistant professor of business law

Anthony McMullen, J.D., assistant professor of business law in the Department of Accounting, has been named Coach of the Year by the International Public Debate Association.

In addition to his position in the UCA College of Business, McMullen is director of forensics in the School of Communication and coaches the UCA Debate and Forensics Team.

This year’s team finished fourth overall in the IPDA and won the Arkansas Championship competition in January.

“I have had the honor and privilege to compete and coach alongside Anthony for many years and this award is certainly a reflection of all of his hard work and commitment to his students and this organization as a whole,” said Keith Milstead, IPDA president. “It is well deserved and we could not be happier for him.”

Posted in: COB News on April 17, 2020 Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Internal Drive, Supportive Faculty Helped Ericka Gutierrez Be Successful in COB

Attaining her master’s in business administration was going to be a daunting task, but Ericka Gutierrez was up for it.

Most days began around 5 a.m. for her. She finished up tasks and assignments she hadn’t the night before at the library, prepared for another day and saw her 5-year-old daughter, Aryana, off to school. She was at her desk by 8 a.m., working as outreach coordinator for the UCA Office of Diversity & Community.

From there, she either worked several hours at her part-time job or attended night class. That was followed by a few hours in the library each night to work on assignments. Then, she tried to get a few hours of sleep before the next day began.

“It’s difficult to be in school at the post-graduate level and have all those moving parts,” said Gutierrez. “But I never doubted that no matter what happened, I could reach out to my professors and they would support me. I knew from my undergraduate in the College of Business I could take all this on and have the support I needed.”

Gutierrez first came to UCA in 2012 as a transfer student from the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton.

MORE: Transferring from UACCM? Check UCA’s 2+2 Transfer Agreements

“I was a first-generation college student in my family so I needed a little extra help in navigating through college, finding my bearings and navigating the next steps,” said Gutierrez. “My professors were the best throughout that process and impacted me tremendously.”

After she settled on a management degree with an emphasis in logistics and supply chain management, Gutierrez said Scott Nadler, Ph.D., associate professor of management, walked her through her first career fair, introducing her to his contacts in the industry.

“That first career fair can be intimidating,” she said. “There are a lot of people and recruiters, and it’s hard to know what to say and how to present yourself. Dr. Nadler diffused the tension and helped me through it.”

That type of support and encouragement continued throughout her undergraduate with other professors including Doug Voss, Ph.D., associate professor of logistics and supply chain management, and Michael B. Hargis, Ph.D., dean of the UCA College of Business and then-associate professor of marketing and management.

LEARN MORE: Logistics & Supply Chain Management

“It was unheard of to have that type of support,” said Gutierrez. “I felt at home with a group of professors who were willing to walk with me through my education. It was great to have that type of support from people I looked up to.”

When she graduated in 2014, Gutierrez had various opportunities in logistics and supply chain, but the pull to work at UCA was too strong to ignore. She accepted a position as an admissions counselor and began recruiting throughout central and northwest Arkansas.

“I loved UCA, and the position sounded great,” said Gutierrez. “The more I learned about it, the more I knew that was where I needed to be. As a Hispanic woman and first-generation college student, it was incredible to connect with so many students who were like me and reassure them they could achieve the educational goals they had and have the support at UCA to do so.”

Her previous experiences in the college, along with an opportunity she saw to grow personally and in her career, Gutierrez returned to the College of Business in 2016 to pursue an MBA.

“I wanted to continue to learn about myself and see what area of business I wanted to enter eventually,” said Gutierrez. “It was an amazing experience.”

Gutierrez immediately saw the benefits of the program. Concepts in Organizational Behavior helped Gutierrez better address and counsel students in a new position as coordinator for Hispanic and Latino outreach initiatives in the Office of Diversity & Community. Now, Gutierrez is a recruiter at Pediatrics Plus, and the things she learned continue to be beneficial.

Her Innovation Leadership course with Jeff Standridge, Ph.D., adjunct instructor of finance and member of the College of Business Advisory Board, “changed my perspective in my personal life, motherhood and in my career,” said Gutierrez.

“It’s a do-and-learn class,” said Gutierrez. “It’s about implementing new products or ideas in effective ways. It presents a process you can follow and implement whatever you’re doing, get feedback, adjust and reapply. It’s something I’ve been able to apply in my career and it’s been rewarding to see how it’s helped.”

LEARN MORE: Master of Business Administration

While many of the days were long, Gutierrez said smaller class sizes, paired with helpful professors and hybrid courses helped her tremendously.

“I was able to take face-to-face classes when I felt I needed to do that, but I had the flexibility to take online classes, too,” she said. “Having that option was amazing and makes it possible to achieve.”

Ultimately, her time in the MBA program was transformational for Gutierrez.

“I took a lot of self-development and growth out of that program,” she said. “I was able to explore my strengths and weaknesses which is invaluable. Whether it is personally, academically or professionally, if you’re able to see your strengths and weaknesses, you can be strategic in those areas.”

Posted in: COB News on April 6, 2020 Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How Does the CARES Act Impact You?

By Ashley Phillips, Ph.D.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act addresses the economic impact of the COVID-19. The CARES Act provides tax relief to individuals through direct cash payments. Here’s how it could help you.

Who will receive the direct cash payments and in what amounts?

Ashley Phillips, Ph.D.

The direct cash payment will be $1,200 for each adult, $2,400 for a married couple filing jointly and $500 per child age 16 and younger.

Single individuals with adjusted gross income (AGI) over $75,000 will have their checks reduced by $5 for every $100 over the amount of $75,000, and married couples who file joint returns will have their checks reduced by $5 for every $100 over the amount of $150,000. Individuals who file as head of household will have their checks reduced by $5 for every $100 over the amount of $112,500. The payments phase out at $99,000 for individuals, $198,000 for married couples, and $136,500 for heads of household.

Most payments will be based on the taxpayer AGI as reported on a 2019 federal income tax return if it has already been filed. If the 2019 federal income tax return has not yet been filed, then AGI will be based on the 2018 federal income tax return.  If a retiree did not file a tax return in 2018 or 2019 due to their only source of income being Social Security benefits, the payments will be based on any Social Security benefits statement. For individuals who do not receive Social Security benefits and who do not typically file taxes because they do not have a filing obligation, they will need to file a tax return to receive a stimulus check. Individuals in this situation may take advantage of the IRS free file program. Details may be found here.

Is anyone ineligible to receive direct cash payments and in what amounts?

Parents will not receive a $500 payment for dependent children ages 17 or 18. Furthermore, college students and adults who can be claimed as a dependent will not receive a payment. Moreover, individuals must have a Social Security number to receive direct cash payment.

Is the payment taxable income and will the payment amount be reduced if back taxes are owed?

The payments will not be considered taxable income. The payment will not be reduced if you owe back federal or state income taxes. However, the payment may be reduced if an individual owes back child support.

When will the payments be made?

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated that individuals can expect a direct deposit into their bank accounts within 3 weeks. If the IRS does not have an individual’s bank account information, then a check will be mailed and there will likely be a delay.

Ashley Phillips is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the University of Central Arkansas College of Business.

Posted in: COB News on April 3, 2020 Tagged: , , , , ,

Understanding Economic Data in the COVID-19 Crisis

By Jeremy Horpedahl, Ph.D.

As the country continues to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, accurate data is one of our most important tools for understanding what is happening in our country and the world. In particular, economic data can tell us a lot about how the virus and public policy response is playing out. Accurately interpreting the data is crucial so that we understand what it means.

Last year, I co-authored a book designed to help Arkansans better understand economic data. In this blog post, I will highlight a few data sources you can follow to better understanding what is happening in our country and economy.

Unlike most economic downturns, the current crisis is a largely planned economic slowdown used to encourage people to reduce contact with others. We have not seen an economic downturn like this. Even so, our conventional economic data provides a way of seeing what is happening in the world, as long as we understand what the data is telling us.

What does the stock market crash tell us?

Since Jan. 1, the S&P 500 is down about 21% through March 27. The S&P 500 is a good, broad gauge of the 500 largest publicly traded companies, and much better than the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which only covers 30 companies and is calculated strangely.

The stock market crash tells us investors are worried about the future profitability of U.S. companies. Stock prices are based on the perception of how profitable a company will be in the long run. Stock prices provide us a real-time snapshot of how the economy is doing, updated not only every day but every minute. As opposed to some of the other economic data I’ll be describing, which can take weeks or months to collect and report, the stock market gives us some information in real-time.

But stock markets can also overreact, especially in a time of great uncertainty like the present. For example, earlier in the week of March 23, the stock market was down 30%, rather than the 21% it closed out at March 27. That’s a big change in a week. Expect more big changes over the coming weeks and months. This means you can’t always depend on the stock market to tell you what is happening in the economy. It’s a noisy measurement.

And not all companies have seen their stocks decline. Zoom, a video conferencing company that many are using to stay in touch while we practice social distancing, is up 120% this year. Blue Apron, a company that delivers fresh food to be prepared at home, is up about 80% this year. Investors expect these companies to be much more profitable than they expected before the crisis hit.

It is also worth noting that stock markets are declining across the world. The U.S. is not an outlier. Stocks in Europe are down about 27% this year. Even in Japan and South Korea, which have handled the crisis relatively well, stocks are down 18% and 22% this year (all figures are through March 27). We are not alone, and not noticeably worse than any other democratic, market-based economies.

Your retirement portfolio probably looks a lot worse than it did on Jan. 1. That’s a difficult thing to see. But the overall stock market is roughly where it was in 2017, so we have not gone back to the dark ages. I recommend following the stock market as a way of seeing what is happening in the economy, but I don’t recommend checking your 401(k) balance daily.

What is the best overall measure of how the economy is doing?

Gross Domestic Product is widely viewed as the best measure of the overall economy. It is a measure of the market value of all the goods and services produced in our economy. Knowing what is happening with GDP can tell us a lot about how the economy is doing and how bad the partial shutdown of the economy has been. It’s also sometimes used to determine whether the economy is in a recession or not.

But there’s a major problem with GDP: It is only reported quarterly and takes time to compile. While the first-quarter of 2020 will be ending in a few days, we won’t have the first GDP estimate until April 29. And that is only considered an “advance” estimate, with the final estimate coming June 25. Plus, only one month of the first quarter, March, was seriously hit by the economic slowdown in the U.S.

The second-quarter is expected to be the hardest hit, but right now, we can only speculate. I’ve seen lots of estimates of how bad it will be, including the president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve saying that GDP could decline by 50%. That would be bad. The worst quarterly decline on record was in 1958, when GDP fell by 10%, also during a flu pandemic. Quarterly estimates don’t cover the Great Depression, which was much worse.

We won’t have an estimate of second-quarter GDP until July. It’s not helpful for watching what is happening in real-time.

There are economic indicators that provide some glimpse of the economy faster than GDP, and might even tell us what will happen with GDP. For example, the Conference Board produces an index that uses 10 “leading” economic indicators, such as the stock market performance and unemployment claims, to give a picture of how the economy is performing. The Conference Board releases its index monthly, and the March report is scheduled to be released on April 17.

The Federal Reserve Board’s Industrial Production Index is also released monthly and tells us how many goods the industrial sector is producing. It is narrower than GDP, since it does not include services, but it will still give us some idea of the extent of the economic downturn. The March report is scheduled for release on April 15.

How bad has the labor market been hit?

One of the most immediate impacts of the economic slowdown is that many individuals have been laid off or had their hours significantly cut back. The unemployment rate is one of the best measures of how the labor market is performing. It is released as part of the monthly Employment Situation Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate is not a perfect measure since it only counts those looking for work as unemployed, but along with the other information in the employment report, it provides a good picture of the health of the labor market. Currently, the unemployment rate is near record lows at 3.5%, but, of course, this will be changing soon. The question is how much.

We will get a report for March on April 3. However, BLS uses a “reference week” to conduct the survey, and that reference week was March 8-14. As you may recall, that was the week before most of the U.S. began shutting down businesses and practicing social distancing. We won’t have a report for April until May 8.

How bad the unemployment rate will get is anyone’s guess. The same St. Louis Fed president that predicted GDP will decline by 50% also guessed that unemployment would hit 30%. Economists at the St. Louis Fed have produced estimates that 46% of US workers are at “high-risk” for becoming unemployed in the current crisis. These are some of the highest guesses I have seen, but remember, they are just that — guesses. We’ll have to wait for the real data to see how bad it truly is.

One measure of the labor market that is available more frequently is the new filings for unemployment insurance claims. National data are released every week, a timely measure. While this measure is not perfect, since not everyone unemployed qualifies, and not everyone eligible applies, it is useful due to how often that data is released.

On March 26, we had the release of this data for March 15-21, the first week significantly impacted by the slowdown. And it was record-breaking bad news: around 3 million Americans applied for unemployment insurance. For reference, there were fewer than 6 million total unemployed Americans before the crisis started.

The prior week, fewer than 300,000 had applied for unemployment insurance, so we had 10 times as many new unemployment claims in one week. During previous recessions, such as 1982 and 2008-2009, the weekly number never got above 700,000. Three million in one week is historic and historically bad. The next weekly report is scheduled to be released on April 2 and could be just as bad.

One of the major parts of the economic stabilization bill just passed by Congress provides support to the newly unemployed. Unemployed workers would get $600 per week from the federal government in addition to the state benefits they already qualify for, which can be as much as $451 per week in Arkansas. In a future blog post, I’ll discuss this economic stabilization bill in more detail and what it could mean for the labor market and economy.

Jeremy Horpedahl is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Central Arkansas College of Business and Research Scholar at the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics. Read The Citizen’s Guide to Understanding Arkansas Economic Data here .

Posted in: COB News on March 30, 2020 Tagged: , , , ,

COB Alumni, Advisory Board Member Win Chamber Awards

Two UCA College of Business alumni and an advisory board member are among the honorees for the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting awards.

Jeff Standridge, Ed.D., adjunct professor of finance and COB Advisory Board member, received the Guy W. Murphy Distinguished Service Award. The award is the highest honor given each year to an individual or group for special service for the benefit of the community who has taken a leadership role in business, civic and social service organizations.

“Dr. Jeff Standridge is a catalyst behind many initiatives and organizations in Conway,” said the chamber in its release announcing this year’s honorees. “He is an advocate for the community and a driver of the economy.”

Standridge’s work as managing director at Conductor, a public-private between the University of Central Arkansas and Startup Junkie, which provides assistance, mentorship and coaching to entrepreneurs, innovators and small businesses in Arkansas.

“Standridge works to propel innovation and entrepreneurship in Conway and central Arkansas,” said the chamber’s release. “He is an innovator at his core, but his true talents lie in his ability to connect and inspire those around him and to help others develop and perform as highly as possible.”

Standridge and his wife, Lori, established the Dr. Jeff and Lori Standridge Innovation & Entrepreneurship Scholarship in 2019. The award benefits an upperclassman majoring in innovation and entrepreneurship in the College of Business. The scholarship was the first endowed scholarship in innovation and entrepreneurship at UCA.

Drew Gainor (BBA ’10) was named Business Executive of the Year. The award recognizes the top leader at a business who is a driving force and works to maintain an enriched business climate and enhanced quality of life in Conway.

Gainor is managing director at Northwestern Mutual.

“Gainor’s leadership within Northwestern Mutual has been instrumental at a local, regional, and national level,” said the chamber, which also commended Gainor’s development of other advisors to “flourish in the community.”

READ MORE: Up Close with Drew Gainor

“He does this by casting a vison for others and helping them build the roadmap to achieve success.” said the chamber. “His vison and leadership extend well beyond the Conway location, where he consults and participates in joint partner work with advisors nationally to help them better serve their clients.”

Gainor and his wife, Lauren, established the Drew Marshall Gainor Scholarship in the College of Business on UCA Day of Giving in 2018. The scholarship benefits minority Hispanic students who are studying economics, finance, insurance and risk management, or innovation and entrepreneurship.

Paul Bradley (BBA ’06, MBA ’10) was named Young Business Leader of the Year. The award recognizes a community business leader under 40 who has helped create a more vibrant business and social environment in Conway.

READ MORE: ‘COB Gave Me Advantage in Career’

Bradley is the director of marketing at Conway Regional Health System.

“He has brought innovation and creativity to the organization,” said the chamber. “He has developed strong peer relationships and has been effective in building and empowering a new marketing team.”

For a full list of Chamber award winners, click here.

Posted in: COB News on March 27, 2020 Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

How To Approach the Tax Extension

Ashley Phillips, Ph.D.

In response to COVID-19, the Internal Revenue Service has extended the due date for filing 2019 federal income tax returns and remitting federal income tax payments until July 15.

This relief applies to federal income tax payments — including the payment self-employment income tax — and federal income tax returns due on April 15. The July extension is automatic. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson extended the deadline for filing state income tax returns to July 15, as well. However, the deadline for Arkansas’ estimated tax payments has not been extended.

To understand how Arkansans should approach the federal and state tax deadline extension, we spoke with Ashley Phillips, Ph.D., assistant professor of accounting, who was a tax attorney with the IRS for five years before joining the UCA College of Business in 2016.

When should a return be filed?

“Everyone should file their federal and state income tax returns as soon as possible rather than waiting until July 15. One important reason for filing your return as early as possible is to reduce the risk of tax identity theft. Filing tax returns prevents an identity thief from later electronically filing a return using your personal information to claim a fraudulent refund. The IRS is encouraging taxpayers who expect a refund to file their return as soon as possible. For those expecting a refund, filing a tax return electronically with direct deposit is the quickest way to receive the refund.

If a tax payment is due, the return may still be filed now and the tax due may be remitted closer to July 15. If you are concerned that you will not have the ability to pay the tax due, then a payment plan with the IRS should be considered. The IRS has short-term (120 days or less) payment plans and long-term (more than 120 days) installment plans. More information on these payment plans can be found on the IRS website. It is important to remember interest, penalties and additions to tax for postponed federal income tax filings and payments will begin to accrue on July 16 for returns not filed or tax payments not remitted by July 15.

If an extension of time beyond the July deadline is needed, then an application for extension should be filed on Form 4868 by July 15.”

What is the impact of the extension on estimated payments?

“All first-quarter estimated income tax payments for the 2020 tax year due on April 15 are now due July 15. The extension of time does not apply to the second-quarter estimated income tax payments due on June 15.”

What is the deadline for 2019 IRA contributions?

“The deadline for making IRA contributions for 2019 has also been extended until July 15.”

Posted in: COB News on March 25, 2020 Tagged: , , , , , , , ,