By Mavuto Kalulu Public corruption exists at all levels of government. The impact of the abuse of public services may be strongly felt at the local government level because of the direct contact these government officials have in the provision of services. In Arkansas, for example, county governments are responsible for emergency medical services, fire […]
The ACRE Review
Better Health By Empowering Nurse Practitioners
By Caleb Taylor Could Arkansans get better healthcare and save money with a simple regulatory change? Dr. David Mitchell, an associate professor of economics at UCA and director of the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics, told the legislature that the answer is yes — and all Arkansans would have to do is let nurse […]
How Markets Protect You from Bad Haircuts
By Alex Kanode Last month, a bill was filed in the Arkansas Senate that would delicense barbers and make them pay a $50 fee and a $2,000 surety bond to the Department of Health. A surety bond is an agreement between the practitioner and the board that the practitioner will follow the rules. This agreement […]
ACRE Fellow Receives Award at SOBIE Conference
By Caleb Taylor Dango Kumwenda, an ACRE Fellow and UCA MBA student, was awarded a “Student Presentation Award” at the 2019 Society of Business, Industry and Economics (SOBIE) conference on April 11th. Kumwenda is a part of ACRE’s Research Fellowship Program. In this program, students work with a professor to write a publishable research paper […]
ACRE Scholar Quoted on State Tax Code Changes
By Aaron Newell Comprehensive reforms – not special tax incentives – are key to making Arkansas a more economically competitive state says Jeremy Horpedahl, ACRE Scholar and UCA Assistant Professor of Economics, who recently discussed Act 822 with Paul Williams at Law360. This act, sponsored by Sen Bart Hester (R-Cave Springs) and signed by the […]
Arkansas’s Tax Code Gets an Update
By Caleb Taylor What were the major tax reforms passed by Arkansas legislators during the 2019 session? ACRE Scholar and UCA Assistant Professor of Economics Jeremy Horpedahl and the Tax Foundation’s Vice President of Federal and Special Projects Nicole Kaeding outlined the recent “series of tax reforms to improve the competitiveness of the state’s tax […]
Investing More in Student Instruction? Students Improve
By Caleb Taylor How should public schools allocate funding to get better student outcomes? Morgan Burke, an ACRE Fellow and UCA biology student, recently wrote an op-ed for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette titled “Rethink spending: Focus school funds on instruction,” arguing that Arkansas is misallocating its spending on administrative funding when the money could be better […]
Misallocated Incentives: How Arkansas Could Be Better
By Aaron Newell Where should state governments’ target economic incentives? Should they attempt to boost already thriving counties, or should they focus on developing poorer counties? Dango Kumwenda, an ACRE Fellow and UCA MBA student, recently wrote an op-ed for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette titled “Bad incentives: Rich counties benefit most,” arguing that Arkansas is misallocating […]
ACRE Analyst Quoted in Article About Incentives and Land-Based Salmon Farms
By Aaron Newell Policy makers trying to create a better environment for businesses have many different options – but some are better than others. ACRE Policy Analyst Jacob Bundrick recently discussed some of these options with John Evans and Rachel Sapin of IntraFish.com. In an article published on March 12th, “Could incentives power more US […]
Arkansans’ Occupational Licensing Burdens May Lighten
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas’s lower income workers face some of the heaviest licensing burdens in the country. That hurts job seekers, entrepreneurs, and consumers. These regulations also disproportionately harm military spouses, ex-offenders, minorities and immigrants. But new legislation could lead to better rules and more opportunities for Arkansans. House Bill 1527, or the Red […]