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Jeremy Horpedahl, Ph.D.

ACRE-Seize-the-Daisies-Photography(HighRes)(20of209)
Email: jhorpedahl@uca.edu

Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl is the Director of ACRE and an associate professor of economics at the University of Central Arkansas. He received his PhD in economics from George Mason University in 2009, concentrating in public choice, public finance, and economic history. His research has been published in Econ Journal Watch, Constitutional Political Economy, the Atlantic Economic Journal, Public Choice, and Public Finance and Management. Dr. Horpedahl has also published op-eds in a variety of regional and national publications. Prior to taking on the role of Director, Dr. Horpedahl has been a researcher with ACRE since joining the UCA faculty in 2015.

 

 

Taxes and Spending

ACRE Working Papers:

Arkansas: The Road Map To Tax Reform

by ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl and Tax Foundation Economists

The last comprehensive tax reform in Arkansas was in 1971. Before that, in 1929. With the creation of the Arkansas Tax Task Force, Arkansas is ready to challenge the status quo and pass tax reform. Prior to the creation of this task force, the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics partnered with the Tax Foundation to publish Arkansas: The Road Map to Tax Reform. Co-written by ACRE Scholar and Associate Professor Jeremy Horpedahl, this report looks at the state of taxation in Arkansas. This includes understanding Arkansas’s strengths, discussing the challenges Arkansas faces, and exploring possible solutions. This report makes several suggestions to improve the tax code, in areas such as the individual income tax, corporate income tax, sales tax, and property tax.

Learning from Other States’ Successes and Failures in Tax Reform 

by ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl and Nicole Kaeding

After Arkansas: The Road Map to Tax Reform was published, many Arkansans wanted to know: are these reforms even possible? Have any other states tried these reforms? The answer to that question resulted in this research paper, which goes into detail on the many reforms other states have done that are very similar to what was written about in Arkansas: The Road Map to Tax Reform and what is being debated in Arkansas. These other states include Utah, North Carolina, Indiana, the District of Columbia, and Kansas. The details and stories from this research paper describing what other states have experienced when passing tax reform culminate in several important lessons that can help Arkansans understand the possible results of tax reform. This research paper, Learning from Other States’ Successes and Failures in Tax Reform, was written by ACRE Scholar and UCA Assistant Professor Jeremy Horpedahl and Tax Foundation Director of Special Projects Nicole Kaeding.

There’s Nothing Natural about the State of Government Spending in Arkansas by ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl and ACRE Policy Analyst Jacob Bundrick

Despite being one of the poorest states in the nation, Arkansas has a high state government spending level, even in comparison to similar states. Arkansas has higher state spending per capita than its bordering states and other regional “competitor states,” specifically Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. When federal transfers are subtracted from state government spending, Arkansas still has far higher spending than its competitor states. In “There’s Nothing Natural about the State of Government Spending in Arkansas,” Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl and Mr. Jacob Bundrick undertake a comprehensive analysis of how Arkansas got to where it is today as well as the reforms necessary to put Arkansas on a more sustainable path. Arkansas’s spending trends are very similar to those of other states, but the magnitude of Arkansas’s spending and the institutional environment that has shaped it are unique. Given Arkansas’s history of state spending growth, it would be wise to consider some limits to future increases in spending. You can read a one-page infographic of their work here.

Radio/TV:

  • Capitol View: Governor’s Tax Cut Plan – UCA Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl was on Capitol View on February 4th, 2019. He discussed the Governor’s tax cut plan and what it means for Arkansas, as well as other potential tax changes for Arkansas during the 2019 session.
  • Pros and cons of Issue 5 minimum wage hike – UCA Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Jeremy Horpedahl discussed Issue 5 in a segment on THV on October 30th.
  • Arkansas Week – UCA Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Jeremy Horpedahl discussed the consequences of raising the minimum wage in Arkansas on AETN’s Arkansas Week on October 19th.
  • Arkansas Tax Task Force Refines Recommendations for 2019 Legislation – On August 7, ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremey Horphedahl was interviewed by KARK Local News after an Arkansas Tax Task Force meeting in which the task force refined their recommendations to the legislature.
  • On May 29, ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl was a guest on the Dave Elswick Show on 101.1 FM discussing tax reform.
  • On February 18, 2018, ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl was interviewed on Capitol Hill by Jessi Turnure, KARK Political Correspondent, about the book he co-authored with the Tax Foundation concerning the state’s tax code as well as the upcoming fiscal session. You can watch the full interview here.
  • On February 15, 2018, ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl was a guest on Inside Arkansas Politics, a podcast hosted by Curtis Lanning of KNWA News, where he discussed the overall state of the Arkansas economy.
  • On December 22, ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl and ACRE Policy Analyst Jacob Bundrick were guests on Newsradio 102.9 KARN talking with Dan Harpool about occupational licensing (including the new Institute for Justice report), Bundrick’s study of the Quick Action Closing Fund, and all the latest in tax reform news (for both Arkansas and the nation).
  • ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl was a guest speaker on NPR’s Marketplace discussing SALT deductions on October 27, 2017. If you weren’t one of the 12 million tuning in, you can stream the full segment here!
  • ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl and Policy Analyst Jacob Bundrick were guests on the Paul Harrell Program on August 16, 2017. They discussed their new Mercatus working paper, “There’s Nothing Natural about the State of Government Spending in Arkansas.”
  • ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl and Policy Analyst Jacob Bundrick spoke in an hour-long segment on the 96.5 FM Dave Elswick Show on August 10, 2017. They discussed state spending and their new Mercatus paper, “There’s Nothing Natural about the State of Government Spending in Arkansas.”
  • ACRE Director Dr. David Mitchell, Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl, and Policy Analyst Jacob Bundrick were guests on Newsradio 102.9 KARN on May 1, 2017 where they discussed Arkansas tax reform and other state issues.
  • ACRE Director Dr. David Mitchell and ACRE Scholar Jeremy Horpedahl were guests on the Paul Harrell Program on January 4, 2017. They discussed the complexity of Arkansas’s tax system and possibilities for tax reform.
  • On December 28, 2016, ACRE policy analyst Jacob Bundrick and ACRE Scholar Jeremy Horpedahl were on Newsradio 102.9 KARN discussing tax reform in Arkansas.

Op-eds/Commentary:

  • House’s Bill 1402 would narrow days for special elections – UCA Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl was quoted in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on February 14th, 2019, regarding testimony he gave on Capitol Hill regarding research he has done on special elections. He was quoted giving the statistics of that research – that special elections have 19% turnout and a 77% pass rate.
  • The Impact of Tax Cuts on Arkansas Households – UCA Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Jeremy Horpedahl wrote an article for the Tax Foundation on December 21, 2018. In the article, Horpedahl and Tax Foundation Director of Special Projects Nicole Kaeding show how the proposed tax cut changes would affect 7 different examples of income.
  • Tax cut for thee? What changes mean for Arkansas – Op-ed published September 13, 2018, by ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl and Tax Foundation Director of Federal Projects Nicole Kaeding in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
  • Arkansas Business Status and Future Under The Trump Era Economy transcript of panel discussion on September 28, 2018, featuring ACRE Scholar and UCA Assistant Professor of Economics Jeremy Horpedahl at the 66th Annual Conference of Arkansas College Teachers of Economics and Business. Panel moderator was ACRE Scholar and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Tom Snyder.
  • Reform taxes now – op-ed published May 21, 2018 by ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl and Tax Foundation Director of Federal Projects Nicole Kaeding in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
  • To Tax or Not to Tax? op-ed published October 29, 2017 by ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl in the Log Cabin Democrat.

Blog Posts:

Making Cents of $18 Million by ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl, posted on The ACRE Review February 29, 2016.