By Caleb Taylor What’s killing community banks in rural states? A new paper “Decline in State Chartered Banks: Causes, Concerns, Conclusions” published in the May, 2019 edition of Studies in Business and Economics attempts to answer this question. The paper is co-authored by Hannah James, a former ACRE research fellow, UCA Associate Professor of Economics […]
ACRE Review
Is the sun setting on Arkansas’s high occupational licensing burden?
By Caleb Taylor ACRE Policy Analyst Alex Kanode was quoted in a recent article and wrote an op-ed in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette discussing a recent change in how the state evaluates its licensing laws. Act 600, also known as The Red Tape Reduction Sunrise and Sunset Act, passed both the House and Senate with no […]
The Next Steps for Arkansas’s Tax Code
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas legislators made many improvements to the tax code during the 2019 legislative session, but is there more to be done? ACRE Scholar and UCA Assistant Professor of Economics Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl and the Tax Foundation’s Vice President of Federal and Special Projects Nicole Kaeding answer in the affirmative in “Talk about […]
The Hidden Costs of Arkansas’s Economic Development Incentives
By Caleb Taylor What are the costs of Arkansas’s economic development incentives? ACRE Policy Analyst Jacob Bundrick discussed this and more with the Faulkner County Tea Party on Thursday, May 9th at Larry’s Pizza in Conway. During his presentation, Bundrick discussed the fiscal costs, opportunity costs and the “crowding out” of existing businesses that arise […]
How Can County Officials Improve Transparency?
By Caleb Taylor How can Faulkner County officials improve transparency? ACRE Policy Analyst Mavuto Kalulu discussed solutions to this question and steps officials have already taken in an op-ed published in the Log Cabin Democrat on April 16. Kalulu mentioned Faulkner County Circuit Clerk Crystal Taylor (no relation to the author) as an example of […]
Measuring Public Resource Abuse in Arkansas
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 […]
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 […]