By Caleb Taylor What’s the latest news on taxes and spending policies in Arkansas? ACRE Director and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. David Mitchell and ACRE Legislative Research Associate Dr. Nathan Smith joined the Dave Elswick Show on 101.1 FM in Little Rock to answer this and more on Monday, April 26th. Smith recommended […]
Tax Incentive Bill Unwise Use of Funds, Says ACRE Researcher
By Caleb Taylor ACRE Legislative Research Associate Nathan Smith recently testified against legislation expanding tax credits for some businesses in Arkansas. Smith said the bill would be “basically just a giveaway of millions of dollars a year to shareholders of these companies.” Senate Bill 543 sponsored by State Sen. David Wallace and State Rep. Joe […]
Arkansas Economics Challenge Winners Announced
By Terra Aquia Who were the winners of the 2021 Arkansas Economics Challenge? Twenty-seven students from seven Arkansas high schools met virtually on April 8th to compete in the Arkansas Economics Challenge. Winning teams from this competition are eligible to advance to additional stages with other high school students from all over the U.S. The […]
Kanode Testifies on Licensing’s Effect on Low-Income Arkansans
By Caleb Taylor Should Arkansas exempt low-income residents from initial licensing fees? ACRE Economic Policy Analyst Alex Kanode testified on how occupational licensing in Arkansas can serve as a barrier to opportunity for low-income workers at a Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Labor committee meeting on March 17th. Committee members were deliberating on whether to […]
ACRE Experts Featured in “Believe in Arkansas”
By Caleb Taylor Three ACRE experts recently appeared in “Believe in Arkansas” segments hosted by Americans for Prosperity. UCA Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl discussed state government spending and Arkansas’s tax rates on March 25th. For more on Horpedahl’s recent research and testimony on sales taxes in Arkansas, check out […]
Transparency: Everyone Has a Role to Play
By Joyce Ajayi A popular adage says, “Many hands make light work.” This means things are done quickly and efficiently when people work together. Transparency is a way to get more hands to lighten the work of making government accountable. Transparent governance creates platforms and initiatives for sharing information freely and openly. Many sets of […]
Special Elections: How Arkansas’s Sales Taxes Got So High
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas legislators will make another attempt to rein in local special elections that have contributed to Arkansas having the third highest state and local sales tax rate in the nation at 9.51%. House Bill 1368 by State Rep. David Ray R-District 40 would limit special elections to primary and general election dates […]
Kanode Discusses Automatic Licensure With Senate Committee
By Caleb Taylor Should new Arkansans with occupational licenses in their previous residence be given automatic licensure in the Natural State? Senate Bill 78 by State Sen. Ricky Hill R-District 29 would do just that for some Arkansans. The bill expands automatic licensure to military members, military spouses and widows who move to Arkansas who […]
Denial of Economic Opportunities: The Case of Barber Licensing
By Caleb Taylor What was the motivation and reasoning behind the original state regulation of barbers in Arkansas? ACRE Research Fellow Tanner Corley explored this question and more in an op-ed, “Hairy regulations,” published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on December 11. According to Corley, Arkansas barbers were able to appeal to fears of unsanitary barber […]
What Changes Will Arkansas See to Occupational Licensing?
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas legislators just wrapped up their first round of sunset reviews of Arkansas’s occupational licenses. What changes are in store? A just-released policy statement, “Occupational Licensing and Arkansas’s Act 600,” by ACRE Economic Policy Analyst Alex Kanode discusses the reforms and missed opportunities of the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Occupational Licensing Review Subcommittee’s […]