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Mavuto Kalulu, Ph.D.

Email: MKalulu@uca.edu

Dr. Mavuto Kalulu is an Assistant Professor of Economics at UCA and an affiliated ACRE scholar. He was a full-time policy analyst with ACRE from 2014 to 2022 before joining the UCA faculty. He is also an affiliated member of the graduate faculty in the Interdisciplinary PhD in Leadership Studies program at the University of Central Arkansas. He received his PhD in economics from the University of Mississippi in 2014, concentrating in public choice and industrial organization. His research interests include governmental transparency, good governance, and K–12 education. He also holds an MBA from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. His work has been published in the Journal of Development and Communications, the eJournal of Education Policy, Southern Business Journal, Midwestern Business and Economic Review, the Southwest Business and Economic Journal, and Citizenship, Democracies, and Media Engagement among Emerging Economies and Marginalized Communities (Palgrave Macmillan). His writing has been featured in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Jonesboro Sun, and the Log Cabin Democrat.

 

 

 

Transparency

Transparency Index:

Access Arkansas: County-Level Web Transparency by Dr. Mavuto Kalulu and Terra Aquia

This inaugural index produced by ACRE Policy Analyst Mavuto Kalulu and Program Coordinator Terra Aquia ranks all Arkansas counties by how much financial, political and administrative information their websites contain.

Arkansas counties earned an F grade in the  2013 Transparency Report Card produced by the Sunshine Review. Kalulu and Aquia hope the index will motivate Arkansas counties to improve access to this important information for their constituents.

Radio:

  • On September 26, 2018, ACRE Policy Analyst Mavuto Kalulu and Program Coordinator Terra Aquia were on Conduit News Radio discussing their recently released Transparency Index.

Op-ed’s/Commentary:

  • Open the books: Can’t catch it if you can’t see it – An op-ed by ACRE Policy Analyst Mavuto Kalulu was published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on January 28th. In the op-ed, Kalulu discusses the benefits of transparency to county governments – particularly how beneficial the improved management of tax dollars can be. He points out that a great way to get this benefit is to publish county budgets online.
  • Open the books! – An op-ed by ACRE Policy Analyst Mavuto Kalulu was published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on November 19th. In the op-ed, Kalulu explains the results of a recently- released Transparency Index by ACRE and the reasons why county officials should care about improving their fiscal transparency.
  • For Transparency – op-ed published September 29, 2018 by ACRE Policy Analyst Mavuto Kalulu and Program Coordinator Terra Aquia in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
  • Open the Books – op-ed published July 8, 2018 by ACRE Policy Analyst Mavuto Kalulu and Program Coordinator Terra Aquia in the Log-Cabin Democrat.
  • Out in the Open: Transparency Keeps Us Honest op-ed published November 16, 2017 by ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu and ACRE Research Assistant Terra Aquia in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Education

ACRE Research Papers:

Charter Schools’ Impact on Traditional Public School Performance: Evidence from Arkansas by Dr. Mavuto Kalulu, Dr. Thomas Snyder, and Saliou N. Ouattara

This study estimates the effects of open-enrollment charter schools on student performance in traditional public schools in Arkansas. The paper examines the change in Iowa Assessment scores for first and second graders across Arkansas school districts between the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 school years. The ordinary least-squares regression estimates demonstrate a positive and statistically significant relationship between elementary charter school enrollment and traditional public school Iowa Assessment scores across districts, controlling for relevant factors. Improvements in traditional public schools’ math, reading, and language test scores were greater in school districts that had a larger percentage of students enrolling in charter schools. The most influential impact of charter schools on predicted test scores was in math, where a 1% increase in elementary charter school enrollment led to a 0.13 predicted improvement in normal-curve-equivalent test scores across Arkansas school districts.

Policy Reviews:

Arkansas Charter Schools: Myths and Facts by Dr. Mavuto Kalulu

This policy review addresses some common myths and misconceptions that many Arkansans have about charter schools in Arkansas. This review debunks five of the major myths used by opponents of expanding access to open enrollment charter schools: Open enrollment charter schools don’t enroll many black or Hispanic students, Education outcomes at open enrollment charter schools are worse than those at traditional public schools, Open enrollment charter schools hire underqualified teachers, Open enrollment charter schools receive more public funding than traditional public schools, and that traditional public schools will be forced to shut down because they can’t compete with open enrollment charter schools.

Op-eds/Commentary:

  • Shortage Solution op-ed published September 23rd, 2016 by ACRE policy analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu. Arkansas Democrat Gazette and Arkansas Online.
  • More to Choose op-ed published July 30th, 2016 by ACRE policy analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu. Arkansas Democrat Gazette and Arkansas Online.
  • Celebrate School Choice op-ed published February 13, 2016 by ACRE policy analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu. The Jonesburo Sun.
  • Lower the Screen op-ed published December 3, 2015 by ACRE policy analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu. Arkansas Democrat Gazette and Arkansas Online.
  • Nothing to Show op-ed published September 28, 2015 by ACRE policy analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu. Arkansas Democrat Gazette and Arkansas Online.
  • Happy Birthday, Sir. op-ed published July 31, 2015 by ACRE policy analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu. Arkansas Democrat Gazette and Arkansas Online.

Blog Posts:

Myth 5: Traditional Public Schools will be Forced to shut down Because they can’t Compete with Open Enrollment Charter Schools  by Dr. Mavuto Kalulu – posted on the ACRE Review on February 10, 2017.

Myth 4: Open Enrollment Charter Schools Receive more Public Funding than Traditional Public Schools by Dr. Mavuto Kalulu – posted on the ACRE Review on February 2, 2017.

Myth 3: Open Enrollment Charter Schools Hire Underqualified Teachers by Dr. Mavuto Kalulu – posted on the ACRE Review on January 20, 2017.

Myth 2: Education Outcomes at Open Enrollment Charter Schools are Worse than Those at Traditional Public Schools by Dr. Mavuto Kalulu – posted on the ACRE Review on January 13, 2017.

Myth 1: Open Enrollment Charter Schools Don’t Enroll Many Black or Hispanic Students by Dr. Mavuto Kalulu – posted on the ACRE Review on December 16, 2016.

Dispelling Myths About Open Enrollment Charter Schools in Arkansas by Dr. Mavuto Kalulu – posted on the ACRE Review on December 8, 2016.

Charter School Myths and Facts by Dr. Mavuto Kalulu  – posted on the ACRE Review on March 29, 2016.

School Choice Gives Your Child $200,000 by Dr. Mavuto Kalulu – posted on the ACRE Review on July 10, 2015.