Policy Research

November 2014) Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson will keynote the Policy Foundation's 20th anniversary Recognition Reception on Thursday, Dec. 17 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Little Rock Club on the 30th Floor of...

"State Line Road is the boundary that separates the Arkansas and Texas sides of Texarkana, a border town ... State Line, to the casual observer, is merely another road separating two states.  But for those in the neighborhood,...

Summary: Arkansas graduates benefit from a dynamic business climate that creates jobs and paychecks, not from political wishes that ignore economics.   (October 2014) An oft-stated goal of Arkansas public officials is to increase the...

Summary: A healthy state economy creates new jobs at rates greater than or equal to the U.S. average.  Public assistance is seen as short-term aid, not a multi-year entitlement.  Two metrics (employment growth, food stamp usage1) illustrate...

"The new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is a burden on Arkansas taxpayers, though executive branch officials are in denial about its budget exposure. Legislators need to understand that nationalized medical insurance, in...

  (September 2014) An amendment by Arkansas Medicaid expansion proponents is inadequate because it fails to estimate unfunded liabilities, according to a public comment submitted to state and federal authorities by the Policy Foundation.  The comment...

"Incorporate Activities Based Costing (ABC) into the state's accounting system with expenditures tied not only to costs but to measurable performance outputs. Adopt performance-based budgeting throughout state government.  Appoint a "performance management" director who works for...

“The most callused aspect of the current education monopoly in Arkansas 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...

(July 2014) Arkansas recently became the 25th state to enact a private school choice program, an idea originating with the late Dr. Milton Friedman (1912-2006), the 1976 Nobel laureate in Economics.   A speaker sponsored...

"There is significant evidence that reductions in marginal state tax rates encourage state economic growth ...Rates on productive behavior should be reduced."   “Reduce the state's income tax…repeal the state's capital gains tax.” Arkansas Policy...