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 […]
Art Carden on the Unintended Consequences of Well-intentioned Policies
By Aaron Newell Prices are the conductors of the economic orchestra that guide resources from places where they have relatively low value to places where they have relatively high value. When these prices are interfered with, people are left worse off than if the prices had been left alone. Art Carden, Associate Professor of Economics […]
Could Arkansas’s New Minimum Wage Increase Poverty?
By Aaron Newell How is the new minimum wage increase going to affect Arkansans? After passing with 68% of the vote in November, the minimum wage will rise to $11 an hour by 2021. Some say it will provide Arkansans with a living wage. Others say it will force businesses to lay off employees. But […]
Are Arkansas’s Burdensome Licensing Laws Increasing Crime?
By Caleb Taylor In an op-ed entitled “Let them work” in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on March 4th, UCA Associate Professors of Economics David Mitchell and Thomas Snyder say some licensing laws hinder ex-offenders from being able to get honest work and also burden Arkansas taxpayers with the added costs of incarceration. Mitchell and Snyder write: […]
ACRE Releases New Data Guide for Arkansas Citizens
By Jeremy Horpedahl It can be tough to figure out what’s really happening in Arkansas’s economy. If you follow the news, you hear reports about the latest economic data all the time: Employment is up this month! Wages are stagnant! Poverty declined last quarter! This focus on the most recent data can be confusing or […]
Updated regulations could mean a fresh chance for Arkansans to thrive
By Alex Kanode The Arkansas Department of Corrections reports that there are almost 18,000 prisoners in the state. For a state of our size, this is a huge number. One reason is that released prisoners are more likely to reoffend here than in other states. This is known as our “recidivism rate”. One cause of […]
A prescription for Arkansas’s primary care shortage
By Caleb Taylor ACRE Director and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. David Mitchell recently discussed the role of nurse practitioners in increasing access to care in Arkansas. Arkansas currently ranks 46th on the physician per capita list produced by the Association of American Medical Colleges, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Mitchell stated in an […]
Would a Minimum Wage Increase Help or Hurt Workers?
By. Dr. David Mitchell and Aaron Newell Would a higher minimum wage be a win for the little guy? Would it help families struggling to earn a living? Would companies let workers go? These are the questions in front of voters in November. A minimum wage is a price floor for low-skilled workers. Businesses must […]
How high should the minimum wage be in Arkansas?
By Caleb Taylor How high is too high? That’s the question UCA Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Jeremy Horpedahl considers in two recent media appearances regarding raising the minimum wage in Arkansas. Arkansans will vote on whether to continue to increase the minimum wage in Arkansas to $11 per hour in 2021. Arkansas […]
How do state licensing rules affect property crime rates?
By Caleb Taylor When occupational licensing laws make it hard for people, especially young people, to get jobs, that may lead to the “motive and opportunity” to commit property crimes. That’s the groundbreaking research result from UCA Associate Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Dr. Thomas Snyder and UCA graduate student Saliou N. Ouattara in […]