By Caleb Taylor Do occupational licensing regulations affect the amount of business establishments within states? The answer is “yes,” according to a forthcoming paper entitled “Occupational Licensing Effects on Business Establishments” co-authored by ACRE Undergraduate Research Fellow Elsa Mattson. According to the abstract of the paper: This paper investigates the effects of state occupational licensing […]
Bundrick Questions Benefits of Economic Development Incentives
By Caleb Taylor Are economic development incentives a cost or benefit to Arkansas? ACRE Affiliated Researcher and UCA Lecturer I of Economics Jacob Bundrick was quoted in an article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette titled “Tax incentives audit cites impact on state; critics doubt programs key to luring firms,” published on December 14. The article focuses […]
Legislators Examine Acupuncture, Sprinkler Fitter Licenses
By Alex Kanode Occupational licensing has increased dramatically in the past 70 years. In the 1950s, only 5% of the US workforce had to have a license before they could work, while today 25% have a license. Occupational licensing is when the government sets a list of requirements, such as education, experience and fees, that […]
To Lure Businesses, Lower Burdens, Economist Says
By Caleb Taylor The costs of getting government permission slips to work affect where businesses in certain industries set up shop, said Dr. Alicia Plemmons at an ACRE Speaker Series event on Nov. 19. Plemmons is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Economics & Finance Department at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She is also an […]
Should Pope County gamble with the transparency of its casino deliberations?
By Caleb Taylor ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu says no in an op-ed entitled “In public view,” published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on September 20th. A proposed casino in Pope County has generated much debate between residents and state and local officials in recent months. Arkansas voters approved Issue 4 in 2018, which allowed […]
Horpedahl Talks Trade War, Tarrifs
By Caleb Taylor How are Arkansans being affected by the trade war between the United States and China? UCA Assistant Professor of Economics and ACRE Scholar Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl was a guest of Steve Barnes, host of Arkansas Week on AETN recently to discuss this and more. Horpedahl was joined on the panel by Harrison […]
How To Reduce Corruption in Arkansas
By Caleb Taylor How can Arkansas reduce government corruption? ACRE Policy Analyst Dr. Mavuto Kalulu discussed solutions to this question and four steps officials can take to improve transparency in an op-ed published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on August 5th. Kalulu begins by noting the size and scope of corruption at all levels of government […]
Why does Arkansas have such a high sales tax rate?
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas is tied with Tennessee for having the highest average state and local sales tax rate at 9.47 percent, according to a midyear 2019 state and local sales tax report by the Tax Foundation. ACRE Scholar and Assistant Professor of Economics Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl discussed the relationship between Arkansas’s high sales tax […]
The Next Steps for Arkansas’s Tax Code
By Caleb Taylor Arkansas legislators made many improvements to the tax code during the 2019 legislative session, but is there more to be done? ACRE Scholar and UCA Assistant Professor of Economics Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl and the Tax Foundation’s Vice President of Federal and Special Projects Nicole Kaeding answer in the affirmative in “Talk about […]
The Hidden Costs of Arkansas’s Economic Development Incentives
By Caleb Taylor What are the costs of Arkansas’s economic development incentives? ACRE Policy Analyst Jacob Bundrick discussed this and more with the Faulkner County Tea Party on Thursday, May 9th at Larry’s Pizza in Conway. During his presentation, Bundrick discussed the fiscal costs, opportunity costs and the “crowding out” of existing businesses that arise […]