How Louisiana’s Occupational Licensing Requirements Reduce Opportunity and Prosperity

08/02/2016

The burden of attaining an occupational license makes it harder for job seekers to enter the workplace. This results in fewer workers, and thus fewer options for consumers, which is the perfect environment for prices to rise.

TAGS: Institute for Justice, Mercatus Center, occupational licensing

Report Finds Louisiana’s Fiscal Health “Below Average”

07/11/2016

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.

TAGS: Mercatus Center, Ranking the States by Fiscal Condition

Commentary: Mercatus Pension Study Demonstrates Advantages Of Defined Contribution System

By Jamison Beuerman

10/05/2011

'A defined contribution system is one no longer supported by taxpayers, but, rather by the responsible investment choices of individuals.'

TAGS: Mercatus Center, Pension Reform, public pensions

Louisiana the Most Over-Governed State in the South

By Fergus Hodgson

06/07/2011

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.

TAGS: Freedom in the 50 States, George Mason University, Liberty, Louisiana, Mercatus Center, State Ranking

Commentary: Where Are All the Jobs?

By Fergus Hodgson

02/04/2011

Kate Martin, of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, examines why unemployment has remained so high for more than two years. She believes a stable economic and political environment, rather than deficit spending, would foster job growth through greater employer confidence and certainty.

TAGS: Bruce Yandle, Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Financial Markets Working Group, Mercatus Center, Unemployment Rate

New Study: Stimulus Spending No Cure for Louisiana’s Unemployment

By Fergus Hodgson

10/01/2010

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...

TAGS: deficits, federal government, Mercatus Center, spending, Unemployment

Panel Warns the States on Forthcoming Crisis

By Fergus Hodgson

09/30/2010

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.

TAGS: Daniel Rothschild, Fiscal Policy, Mercatus Center, pensions, spending

State Budget Crises: Where to Go from Here

By Fergus Hodgson

09/27/2010

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...

TAGS: Daniel Rothschild, Mercatus Center, State Spending

Government Boost to Small Business Could do More Harm than Good

By Fergus Hodgson

09/17/2010

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...

TAGS: Daniel Rothschild, employment, Mercatus Center, small business

Study Finds Federal Grants Lead to Increased State Taxes

By Fergus Hodgson

09/10/2010

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,...

TAGS: Daniel Rothschild, federal aid, Mercatus Center, Taxes

A Tax Plan for Our Brighter Future

A Tax Plan for Our Brighter Future paper-digital In Louisiana’s Comeback: A Tax Reform for Our Brighter Future, the Pelican Institute identifies the state’s significant tax problems and proposes a path to set the state in a brighter direction, including flattening the personal and corporate income taxes to 3.5% rates, reducing the number of tax preferences, eliminating...

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