Louisiana’s fiscal health ranks 33rd best among the states and Puerto Rico, according to a 2016 report by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

A sophisticated analysis of freedom across state lines finds Louisiana the least free of the former confederate states and in the bottom third of the nation.

U.S. unemployment marches on as Mercatus Center finds no relationship between stimulus spending and employment While the latest claim from the White House is that the Recovery Act has generated or saved 3.6 million jobs, recent research fails to find a connection between stimulus projects and unemployment. In the case of Louisiana, the unemployment rate...

Situation is dire, but options are available By Daniel M. Rothschild A panel of leading academic experts and policy makers issued a warning to states last week: your unfunded pension liabilities are larger than you think, and they must be addressed now.

Spending beyond inflation and population growth accounts for budget gaps By Daniel M. Rothschild It didn’t have to be this way, with states slashing budgets, cutting services, hiking taxes and fees, all while peering into the crevasse of fiscal meltdown. That’s the conclusion of a new paper by Matthew Mitchell, an economist at the Mercatus...

Mercatus scholar warns that discrimination over business size lacks economic justification By Daniel M. Rothschild With the Senate set to create a $30 billion fund for small business lending and House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) praising small businesses as “the engine of job creation,” elected officials and their challengers of both parties are scrambling...

Dependence on federal aid places state revenue in precarious position By Daniel M. Rothschild With federal grants to states increasing by 73 percent over the last decade and totaling $654 billion in 2010, governors and legislatures are grateful for federal assistance in plugging budget gaps. They may rethink their decisions in the coming years; however,...