Policy Research

(June 2015) Twenty years ago a small group of business owners and investors concerned about Arkansas' economic future organized the Policy Foundation as a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit think tank.   The Foundation emphasizes the importance...

(May 2015) Setting the record straight against Arkansas capital gains tax proponents is a full time job.  The myth that only a handful of wealthy entrepreneurs pay capital gains taxes is rebutted by state Department of Finance and...

"States with lower marginal income tax rates have higher economic growth ... Dependence on revenues from taxpayers in high marginal tax brackets exposes the state government to revenue instability, which makes forecasting much more difficult." Policy...

"The most callused aspect of the (Arkansas) education monopoly is that it willingly and deliberately forces children--except those whose parents have wealth--to attend bad schools. And it does so with financial resources taken from parents...

"The most callused aspect of the (Arkansas) education monopoly is that it willingly and deliberately forces children--except those whose parents have wealth--to attend bad schools. And it does so with financial resources taken from parents...

"The most callused aspect of the (Arkansas) education monopoly is that it willingly and deliberately forces children--except those whose parents have wealth--to attend bad schools. And it does so with financial resources taken from parents...

  (January 2015) Forty (40)1 Arkansas counties--more than half of the state's 75 counties--have lost population since the 2000 Census, U.S. Census Bureau data2 show. The population losses illustrate the state's uneven economic development3, with...

Policymakers Ignore Liens, Raise Taxes, Can't House Criminals  (January 26, 2015) Documents1 obtained by the Policy Foundation from the state Department of Finance and Administration show total outstanding tax liens number 178,612 and total $735,470,927, while...

(January 2015) Fiscal action taken by the 90th General Assembly has focused on income and capital gains tax rates,1 while ignoring Arkansas' non-competitive top corporate tax rate, among the highest in the region.   Arkansas' top2 corporate...

Summary: Arkansas Medicaid spending is fiscally unsustainable.  Medicaid's unfunded liabilities must be identified. Strict program limits must be imposed.   (December 2014) Medicaid expansion has proven a contentious issue for Arkansas policymakers, with Republicans divided over...