By Caleb Taylor How can Arkansas improve its health and access to medical care throughout the state? In “Addressing Arkansas’s Health Services Shortages By Empowering Nurse Practitioners” by UCA Associate Professor and ACRE Director Dr. David Mitchell, notes that Arkansas doesn’t have enough primary care health service providers to keep up with demand. HPSAs are […]
Faulkner County Takes Another Step Forward on Transparency
By Joyce Ajayi and Mavuto Kalulu Faulkner County continued its transparency progress in 2020. On October 20, 2020, the Faulkner County Quorum Court passed into law the County Board Transparency Report Ordinance, Ordinance 20-21. Kris Kendrick, Justice of the Peace (Dist. 9), introduced this legislation to help enhance county government transparency. The ordinance will increase […]
Key Economic Questions for 2021 in Arkansas
By Caleb Taylor Will next year bring better economic times or more of the same? ACRE Scholar and UCA Assistant Professor of Economics Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl was a guest on Arkansas Week on Arkansas PBS over the weekend to discuss the future of Covid-19 and the economy for 2021. The discussion also included University of […]
How to Minimize Corruption in Pandemic-Related Programs
By Caleb Taylor How can corruption be minimized in pandemic-related government programs? Incentivize whistleblowers and improve online transparency. Programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or the Ready for Business Grant Program need greater scrutiny, according to ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu in “Be vigilant,” an op-ed published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on […]
Did GDP Really Fall by 32.9 Percent?
By Caleb Taylor How bad were the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers for the second quarter of 2020? The data shows an “immense amount of economic pain” from April through June compared to the first quarter but it’s much less than the “headline” number of -32.9 percent released in July, according to UCA Assistant Professor […]
Barber Licensing in Arkansas Could Use a Cut
By Tanner Corley We all hate when we get a bad haircut, but should the State of Arkansas be mandating that barbers receive 1,500 hours of training, pass an exam, and pay a fee? In Arkansas, anyone who would like to cut hair must meet these requirements. In March of 2019, State Sen. John Cooper […]
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 […]
Are Arkansas’s “Quick Action” Business Subsidies Actually Creating Jobs?
By Caleb Taylor ACRE Policy Analyst Jacob Bundrick and ACRE Scholar Dr. Tom Snyder discussed the unintended consequences and opportunity costs of Quick Action Closing Fund (QACF) spending at the State Agencies & Governmental Affairs – Senate Constitutional Issues Subcommittee on February 5th. Bundrick and Snyder explained the conclusions of their working paper titled “Do […]
Dr. Mitchell Explains AR’s Economic Freedom Ranking In Jonesboro Sun Op-Ed
By Caleb Taylor In an op-ed published in the Jonesboro Sun on December 19th, ACRE Director and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. David Mitchell discussed Arkansas being ranked 35th in economic freedom in the “Economic Freedom of North America 2017” report released on December 14th. The report measures the economic freedom in U.S. States, […]
Bundrick talks data use and integrity
By Caleb Taylor ACRE Policy Analyst Jacob Bundrick participated in a panel on November 4th on how data can shape community development. The panel was part of an event entitled “Community Development Basics: How To Strengthen Arkansas Communities” hosted by UCA’s Center for Community & Economic Development. Bundrick spoke about how data can be used […]