By Caleb Taylor How will unemployment insurance increases in the CARES Act affect the labor market in Arkansas? Jeremy Horpedahl, assistant professor of economics at the University of Central Arkansas, called the $600/week bonus unemployment benefit included in the law “the most significant support from the federal government for individuals suffering from the economic slowdown, […]
Greater Transparency in Faulkner & Other Arkansas Counties
By Caleb Taylor ACRE Policy Analysts Joyce Ajayi and Dr. Mavuto Kalulu spoke to the Faulkner County Tea Party on March 5 about their latest research on online transparency in Faulkner County and other county governments in Arkansas. Faulkner County climbed from the 8th most online-transparent county in 2018 to 6th in 2019. This comes […]
ACRE Student Spotlight: Zakree Massey
By Caleb Taylor Does expanding the scope of practice of nurse practitioners improve mental health outcomes in certain populations? ACRE Undergraduate Research Fellow Zakree Massey and UCA Associate Professor of Economics and ACRE Director Dr. David Mitchell answer this question and more in a forthcoming paper entitled “Expanding the Use of Nurse Practitioners and Young […]
How Arkansas Can Address Its Shortage of Primary Health Care
By Caleb Taylor How can Arkansas improve its access to medical care? Let nurse practitioners practice to the full extent of their education and training, according to ACRE Economic Policy Analyst Dr. Maryam Almasifard in an op-ed “Improve access” published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on March 9. Almasifard says: Residents in rural areas are even […]
Greater Sunshine: Benton County Becoming More Transparent
By Mavuto Kalulu Benton County ranks second in the state in terms of their web transparency. Only Washington County ranks higher. This is according to the 2019 report, “Access Arkansas – County Web Transparency” published by the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics (ACRE) on December 20, 2019. Benton County’s transparency score of 0.762 reflects […]
Student Behavior Improves with More School Options
By Caleb Taylor How do charter school options affect student discipline in traditional public schools in Arkansas? A research paper entitled “The Effects of Charter Schools on Disciplinary Infractions in Traditional Public Schools: Evidence from Arkansas,” by ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu, ACRE Scholar and UCA Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Thomas Snyder, and […]
ACRE Student Spotlight: Macy Scheck
By Caleb Taylor How did a 2009 state severance tax increase affect natural gas production in Arkansas? Not much, according to a forthcoming paper entitled “Examining the effect of Arkansas’s increased severance tax rate on natural gas production,” co-authored by ACRE Undergraduate Research Fellow Macy Scheck and UCA Professor of Finance Dr. Mike Casey According […]
ACRE Student Spotlight: Ryan Jackson
By Caleb Taylor Does the occupational licensing of nursing home administrators affect the quality of care of nursing home residents? A forthcoming paper by ACRE Undergraduate Research Fellow Ryan Jackson and ACRE Economic Policy Analyst Alex Kanode examines this question. Jackson is a part of ACRE’s Research Fellowship Program. In this program, students work with […]
ACRE Student Spotlight: Erica Smith
By Caleb Taylor Is there a connection between getting re-elected and which counties get economic development incentives? A new working paper entitled “Do Politicians Use Targeted Economic Incentives for Political Gains? Evidence from Arkansas Gubernatorial Elections” co-authored by ACRE Undergraduate Research Fellow Erica Smith, ACRE Affiliated Researcher and UCA Lecturer I of Economics Jacob Bundrick, […]