Arkansas Center for Research in Economics

After facing donor challenges that left the program with less funding, the center will no longer employ full-time researchers. read more >

Arkansas has challenges, but the state is positioned to increase economic freedom with the right approach. read more >

Better economic freedom isn’t about bragging rights. It brings better outcomes for society. read more >

The Economic Development Incentive Quick Action Closing Fund disbursed almost $134.8 million between October 2007 and June 2019, state figures show. With such money being spent, we should ask if this program is worth its cost. read more >

A generation ago Arkansans paid a sales tax of just 3 percent on the goods they purchased. Today, the state average is more than triple that. A few cities are over 12 percent. What happened? read more >

The Tax Foundation, a national Washington-based nonprofit, releases "Arkansas: A Road Map for Tax Reform," a report on the state's tax code and recommendations for how to change it. read more >

A region’s workforce is vital to economic growth. Yet with such a consensus about the importance of the workforce, it is incredible to find that Arkansas has a shortage of qualified, skilled job applicants. read more >

Nurse practitioners, or NPs, have different cost structures than physicians and are more likely to be drawn to rural areas as a result. Yet the current practice environment restricts the ability of NPs to provide care. read more >

Arkansas legislators are fully aware of the state’s tax problem. In fact, they freely admit it. Yet legislators continue to throw away opportunities to correct Arkansas’ onerous manufacturing taxes. read more >