By Caleb Taylor Faulkner County is the latest Arkansas county to follow ACRE recommendations to increase their transparency and public accessibility. ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu discussed his research on the benefits of transparency at a Faulkner County Quorum Court meeting on August 20th. Faulkner County Justices of the Peace were deciding whether to […]
The ACRE Review
Horpedahl Talks Trade War, Tarrifs
By Caleb Taylor How are Arkansans being affected by the trade war between the United States and China? UCA Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl was a guest of Steve Barnes, host of Arkansas Week on AETN recently to discuss this and more. Horpedahl was joined on the panel by Harrison […]
Enlightenment and Revolution
By Caleb Taylor Are you a UCA student interested in history, new friends, thoughtful discussions, a free weekly meal, and a $500 scholarship? Then apply now for ACRE’s history reading group, “Enlightenment and Revolution.” The deadline to apply is Monday, September 2nd. Students in this reading group will spend eight weeks exploring the intellectual, political, […]
How To Reduce Corruption in Arkansas
By Caleb Taylor How can Arkansas reduce government corruption? ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu discussed solutions to this question and four steps officials can take to improve transparency in an op-ed published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on August 5th. Kalulu begins by noting the size and scope of corruption at all levels of government […]
Landmark Supreme Court Cases
By Caleb Taylor Are you a UCA student looking for engaging ideas, new friends, thoughtful discussions, a free weekly meal, and a $500 scholarship? Then apply now for ACRE’s law reading group, “Landmark Supreme Court Cases.” The deadline to apply is Monday, September 2nd. The Supreme Court is a co-equal part of our federal government […]
The Past, Present, and Future of Work
By Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl Are you a UCA student looking for engaging ideas, new friends, thoughtful discussions, a free weekly meal, and a $500 scholarship? Then apply now for ACRE’s economics reading group, “The Past, Present, and Future of Work.” The deadline to apply is Monday, August 12. The history of paid work and labor […]
Why does Arkansas have such a high sales tax rate?
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas is tied with Tennessee for having the highest average state and local sales tax rate at 9.47 percent, according to a midyear 2019 state and local sales tax report by the Tax Foundation. ACRE Scholar and Assistant Professor of Economics Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl discussed the relationship between Arkansas’s high sales tax […]
What’s causing the decline in rural, state-chartered banks?
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 […]
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 […]