by Michael Pakko | Apr 3, 2023
As this year’s legislative session winds down, a new tax cut proposal is on the agenda of the state legislature this week. The proposal would reduce the top marginal tax rate from 4.9% to 4.7%. This essay considers some of the features of the proposal. Arkansas...
by Michael Pakko | Jan 25, 2023
Many economists have been predicting weakening economic conditions as the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates to fight inflation, but the impact on labor markets has not yet materialized. The data for the final month of the year (released yesterday) revealed stable...
by Michael Pakko | Nov 10, 2022
Thank you to all the attendees of the Arkansas Economic Forecast Conference this morning. Special thanks to the participants in our panel discussion: Randy Zook, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce Bert Greenwalt, Arkansas State University Shannon Newton, Arkansas...
by Michael Pakko | Sep 28, 2022
At a press conference today, the results of a study by AEDI on the economic impact of the proposed Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment were presented. Here is a link to that article: https://arkansaseconomist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Adult-Use-FINAL.pdf...
by Michael Pakko | May 20, 2022
Although the unemployment rate ticked up a tenth of a point in April, the employment report for Arkansas was generally positive. Both the household and payroll surveys showed employment growth, and labor force participation rose for the fourth consecutive month. The...
by Michael Pakko | Mar 14, 2022
The latest data on Arkansas employment and unemployment was released today, including the annual “benchmark revisions” of the payroll employment data. The information from the household survey showed a slight drop in the unemployment rate. After the...
