EFFICIENCY PROJECT TIP LINE
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Featured ArticlesSocial Services Drives 21st Century Spending(December 2019) Social services operating expenditures totaled $8.1 billion (FY2017), consuming nearly one-third (32%) of total state spending in this area. Only one other department--Education--topped $1 billion, records show.
CPI Cap Would Have Saved $900 Million(November 2019) Arkansas taxpayers would have saved $900 million if CPI had been linked to actual spending from FY 2015 to FY 2017. Policymakers do not possess a time machine but they could generate savings in future state budgets by establishing a CPI spending cap.
Pulaski County School Choice Market Surpasses Little Rock Enrollment(November 2019) More K-12 students are now enrolled in the Pulaski County school choice market than in the Little Rock School District, public records show.
State Employees Decline Nearly 1,600 Under Gov. Hutchinson(October 2019) The number of state executive branch employees has declined by 1,589 since Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson took office in January 2015, public records show.
Newsmaker Interview: Mike Carroll, C.P.A.(September 2019) Fort Smith accountant Mike Carroll has played an important role in Gov. Asa Hutchinson's plan to reorganize Arkansas state government. Mr. Carroll chaired the Transformation Advisory Board, a 15-member citizens panel that made policy recommendations to the Hutchinson administration.
All-Time Record Low Unemployment Rate(August 2019) Arkansas' unemployment rate hit consecutive all-time record lows this Summer, declining to 3.5% in June and 3.4% in July, preliminary jobs data from the state Department of Workforce Services (ADWS) shows.
How To Spot A Recession(August 2019) A near-daily barrage of media reports and political speculations claim the U.S. economy has either entered a recession or faces one in the near future. Recent events are reminiscent of 1992 when Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and others claimed economic conditions were contracting, though it was later revealed that the U.S. economy had expanded since March 1991.
Longest Economic Expansion In U.S. History(July 2019) The U.S. economy entered record territory this month as the economic expansion that began in June 2009 entered its 11th year, eclipsing the previous 10-year record (1991-2001) in the business cycle chronology compiled by economists at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).
School Choice Program Expands(July 2019) Two measures enacted this year by Arkansas policymakers take effect this month and expand school choice options for K-12 students.
State Policymakers Approve County Budget Transparency(June 2019) All 75 Arkansas counties will be required to post their annual budgets online starting in 2020, according to a measure approved unanimously by state legislators and signed into law by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Arkansas Taxpayers & Capital Gains(June 2019) Arkansas policymakers have reduced the state capital gains tax. Opponents claim the reduction only benefits a small group but public records show nearly one in eight Arkansas taxpayers pay annual capital gains taxes.
Tax Cuts Emerge as Public Policy(May 2019) The 92nd General Assembly of Arkansas will be remembered for advancing tax cuts as public policy, a unique development in a state better known for government attempts to generate economic activity.
Theory of Constraints(May 2019) The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is a management strategy that uses a focusing process to create efficient outcomes. TOC is one of several strategies that managers and employees can use to make state government more efficient. One scholar has described TOC as "understanding how to exploit constraints rather than surrendering to them ..."
The Transformation and Efficiencies Act of 2019(April 2019) A massive 2,047-page bill approved by the state General Assembly and signed into law this month by Gov. Asa Hutchinson is the foundation for the biggest Arkansas state government reorganization in nearly 50 years.
Half of Private School Market Outside Pulaski(April 2019) K-12 students enrolled at Arkansas Nonpublic School Accrediting Association-affiliated schools outside of Pulaski County compose 51.7% (9,812) of total ANSAA enrollment in 2018-19. Enrollment at ANSAA-affiliated schools is 18,987.These schools serve students in 22 of Arkansas' 75 counties.
One-Third of Efficiency Project Recommendations Adopted(March 2019) The Policy Foundation's Efficiency Project made 60 policy recommendations in Fall 2016. Twenty-one had been adopted as of early 2019.
Middle Class Value: Private School Tuition & The Arkansas Foundation Grant(March 2019) Critics argue school choice benefits only the wealthy but records show most Arkansas private schools serve the middle-class, charging annual tuition rates less than the $6,781 state K-12 student foundation grant.
Tomorrow's Fiscal Reforms(February 2019) Arkansas has made fiscal progress in the post-Clinton era. But policies that place it at a competitive disadvantage with other states must be answered with tomorrow's fiscal reforms if the goal is a stronger economy.
First in a series on how to advance Arkansas' fiscal progress.Arkansas State Government Reorganization(January 2019) Gov. Asa Hutchinson proposes reorganizing state government from 42 to 15 agencies, the most sweeping consolidation since 1971.
The Two-Four-Five Point Nine Plan(January 30, 2019) A fiscal proposal by Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state legislators is being described as the "two-four-five point nine" (2-4-5.9) plan because of the lower income tax rates it would levy on Arkansas taxpayers.
Job Creation States(January 2019) Only 17 states have job creation rates greater than the U.S. average in the current economic expansion that is in its ninth year.
Job Creation Lags States In Region(January 2019) Various factors such as a skilled work force, infrastructure and tax rates influence economic development. The current economic expansion started in mid-2009. How does Arkansas' performance fare versus the region?
People Have To Eat(January 1, 2019) The state grocery tax--6.0% as recently as mid-2007--is being reduced to 0.125% as Arkansas joins 36 states with similar policies. A small group of Arkansans have advanced repeal for at least a quarter-century.
Little Rock Charter Enrollment, Zip Codes & Median Household Income(January 2019) Sixty-five percent (65%) of the nearly 4,800 K-12 students enrolled in Little Rock open-enrollment public charters in 2018-19 attend schools in zip codes with median household incomes less than $62,258, Arkansas Department of Education and U.S. Census Bureau data show. Three percent (3%) of students attend a charter in one of Little Rock's three most affluent zip codes. By contrast, 31 percent (31%) of students attend charters in Little Rock's three poorest zip codes, ADE and Census data show.
Mission StatementThe Arkansas Policy Foundation is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization that analyzes the impact of public policy on Arkansas and makes recommendations. 
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Arkansas Entrepreneurs Create HopeA significant number of Arkansas' best-known entrepreneurs started their businesses in recessions.Click Here. AccomplishmentsThe Policy Foundation's research has informed the Arkansas public policy debate for a quarter-century:
Click Here. Visibility: Media Highlights"Arkansas jobless rate up to 3.6% in November, jobs up 1.07% year-over-year" Talk Business December 20, 2019
"State jobless rate stays rooted at 3.5%" Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette November 20, 2019
"Arkansas' jobless rate remains steady at 3.5%; more than 1,600 new jobs added last month" Talk Business November 19, 2019
"State's jobless rate creeps up to 3.5%" Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette October 19, 2019
"Arkansas' jobless rate edges up to 3.5% as state labor pool sheds workers" Talk Business October 18, 2019
"Fort Smith accountant plays role in government reorganization" Booneville Democrat Southwest Times Records October 13, 2019
"Accounting and Reorganization" Jonesboro Sun October 10, 2019
"More of Arkansas' schools graded A in year evaluation: Also, fewer F's handed out" Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette October 10, 2019
"How low can it go? (Arkansas' Unemployment Rate)" Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette September 30, 2019
"Recession Call Is Premature" Talk Business September 8, 2019
"Unemployment rate in state dips to 3.4%" Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Benton County Daily Record Northwest Arkansas Times August 17, 2019
"Jobless rate falls in state to 3.5%, lowest on record" Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Benton County Daily Record Northwest Arkansas Times July 20, 2019
"State's jobless rate steady at 3.6%" Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Benton County Daily Record Northwest Arkansas Times June 22, 2019
"Arkansas jobless rate holds at 3.6%, nonfarm payrolls at record levels" Talk Business June 21, 2019
"New era for performance measures" Jonesboro Sun May 23, 2019
"For efficiency: agency will define reorganization" Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Benton County Daily Record Northwest Arkansas Times May 6, 2019
"Reorganizing state government" Arkansas Business May 6, 2019
"The Texas school choice market" Abilene Reporter-News April 6, 2019
"Notes on a high-performing Delta county" Talk Business March 27, 2019
"State jobless rate up: industry gains" Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Benton County Daily Record Northwest Arkansas Times March 23, 2019
"Tax liens an overlooked problem in Arkansas" Batesville Daily Guard March 22, 2019
"State's jobless rate holds in January" Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Benton County Daily Record Northwest Arkansas Times March 12, 2019
"Speakers Circuit" El Dorado News-Times March 10, 2019
"Citizenship informs efficiency" El Dorado News-Times March 9, 2019
"Incentives to Pander" Regulation Spring 2019
"Give Families Freedom to Choose" Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Benton County Daily Record Northwest Arkansas Times February 5, 2019
"Arkansas manufacturing sector faces dearth of skilled workers with tight labor pool, low unemployment" Talk Business February 2, 2019
"Senate panel takes up governor’s transformation plan, asks for financial impact analysis" Talk Business January 22, 2019
"Arkansas joblessness rate stays put at 3.6%" Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Benton County Daily Record Northwest Arkansas Times El Dorado News-Times January 19, 2019
Arkansas Charter SchoolsA 1996 Policy Foundation study played a key role launching the Arkansas charter school movement.Click Here. Arkansas Property Tax Appeal InformationSocialism Doesn't WorkFriedrich A. Hayek taught at the Univ. of Arkansas-Fayetteville in the early 1950s. He was awarded the 1974 Nobel Prize in Economics. His insight? Socialism doesn't work due to the lack of a price system. Making A Difference In ArkansasThe Arkansas Council on Economic Education (ACEE) is a private, non-profit, non-partisan, educational organization founded in 1962 to promote economic literacy in Arkansas. Journal Publications“Michigan’s MEGA Tax Credits: Hayek’s Insight” Economic Development Quarterly Cleveland: Sage Publications 2012 "Wolverines, Razorbacks and Skyscrapers" Transaction Periodicals Consortium, Rutgers University Winter 2010 "The Austrian School in the NBER's Business Cycle Studies" QJAE Summer 2010 'Regulation of financial derivatives in the U.S. code' Non-Profit Resourceswww.foundationcenter.org |
