by - September 7, 2025 9:33 am
Governors’ lead on efficiency
Gov. Sarah Sanders is the latest Arkansas governor to lead on efficiency, which is the idea that services can be provided to the people in a more cost-effective manner. Support…
Author: Greg Kaza
by - July 20, 2025 1:06 pm
The ‘Yes, but’ expansion
The monthly indicators relied upon by economists to determine the state of the economy reveal it has entered the sixth year of an economic expansion that began in May 2020….
by - January 30, 2025 5:00 pm
Northwest Arkansas’ market-based housing reforms
There is a shortage of affordable housing in Northwest Arkansas, a fact noted by consumers, foundations, public officials and in media reports. Every city in the region is affected by…
by - May 30, 2024 3:25 pm
Year five of the U.S. economic expansion
The U.S. economy has entered the fifth year of an economic expansion that began in May 2020, according to employment, income, sales and production metrics. This overlooked development is unlikely…
by - December 3, 2023 4:21 pm
The fourth year of the U.S. economic expansion
The U.S. economy is well into the fourth year of an economic expansion that began in May 2020, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research’s (NBER) Business Cycle Dating…
by - March 29, 2023 2:24 pm
A top 10 Arkansas metric
Arkansas isn’t 48th or 49th. We’re in the Top 10 in the United States in one charitable metric. A broad-based coalition of Arkansans have distributed more than 13,000 dictionaries to…
by - May 8, 2022 10:26 am
U.S. economic expansion, year three
The U.S. economy is about to enter the third year of an economic expansion that began in May 2020, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research’s business cycle dating…
by - August 18, 2021 1:49 pm
The shortest recession
The recent announcement by a National Bureau of Economic Research panel that last year’s recession lasted a mere two months is another reminder postwar recessions tend to have short durations….
by - April 18, 2021 11:21 am
Fort Smith’s niche
Last year’s recession is a reminder the business cycle has not been repealed. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) declared that a…
by - May 10, 2020 6:40 pm
Most postwar recessions did not exceed 10 months
The recent national payroll employment report for April, which showed a decline of 20.5 million jobs and a 14.7% unemployment provides additional evidence a recession is underway. Coupled with peaks…
by - September 8, 2019 2:36 pm
Recession call is premature
Significant attention has focused recently on the inverted yield curve. The yield curve for U.S. treasuries is said to invert when a short rate such as the three-month Treasury bill trades…
by - March 27, 2019 1:49 pm
Notes on a high-performing Delta county
A long-standing goal of Arkansas policymakers has been achieving 100% income parity with the U.S. average. A release this week from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows how far…
by - October 16, 2018 8:47 pm
Reorganization and ‘Shared Services’
“Shared services” is an important component of Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s proposed government reorganization, the first serious effort to reorganize state agencies since 1972. “The proposal will improve management control throughout…
by - June 17, 2018 1:56 pm
Culture, economics and Hot Springs
Tourism plays an important role in Arkansas’ economy. Total travel expenditures exceeded $8.2 billion last year, according to a preliminary state Department of Parks and Tourism report that estimates nearly…
by - November 25, 2017 12:10 pm
A better economic policy than simply avoiding last place
‘Thank God for Mississippi’ or National Contender? What is your perception of Arkansas’ economy? Last week’s local personal income release from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis is a powerful…
by - September 4, 2017 6:18 pm
Measuring Arkansas’ high-tech employment
Entrepreneurs, public officials and academics have worked in the 21st Century to increase market awareness that Arkansas’ economy includes a growing “high-tech” component. One way to illustrate this development is…
by - March 16, 2016 8:32 pm
Government efficiency project seeks to identify cost savings
Editor’s note: Greg Kaza is executive director of the Arkansas Policy Foundation, a nonprofit think tank founded in 1995 in Little Rock. His organization is spearheading Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s Efficiency…