Recent empirical literature finds that greater economic freedom at the state level tends to have a positive effect on entrepreneurial activity and economic growth generally. However, state boundaries are relatively arbitrary, and the level of economic freedom in local economies can vary widely...

Housing rents and home prices in many areas of the nation, including Florida, have increased much faster than the cost of construction since the 1990s, squeezing the household budgets of middle- and lower-income families. In this study we examine local impact fees and land-use regulations in...

Affordable housing is on the minds of voters and state and local officials across the country. One policy often proposed to temper high rents is rent control. In its most basic form rent control is a government-imposed cap on rent and using it as a means of keeping rents below the market rate is...

In this paper we create an index that measures the growth of the 50 state governments and the District of Columbia's expenditures relative to the growth of their private sector economies. In a state where government expenditures grow faster than the private sector economy as a whole, the amount...

This paper provides an overview of economically efficient tax policy for state and local policy makers and contains a short literature review of papers that analyze the economic effects of state and local taxes

This paper contributes to the literature on the effect of individual-level characteristics on urban location choice by examining whether young people aged 25-34 with a bachelor's degree or higher are more likely to live in central cities in 2011 than in 1990. When I control for individual-level...

Several states administer grant programs that provide funding to businesses that relocate to the state or expand existing operations within the state. This study analyzes one such program administered by Pennsylvania, the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). Over the life of the...

The Mississippi laws preempting local control of minimum wages and Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) reasserted the authority of state government to overrule local regulations. This raises the question: What circumstances should motivate the use of state authority to interfere with local...

Like many former industrial cities, Scranton is struggling. A 75-year population decline has eroded its tax base, and city officials have been unable to control costs a combination that threatens to bankrupt the city. Scranton was classified as a distressed municipality under Pennsylvania Act 47...

Houston is known for its lack of Euclidean-style zoning, but the city still has various ordinances that control land use. In 1998, Houston reformed its subdivision rules to allow for parcels smaller than 5,000 square feet city-wide. In this paper we discuss the unique land-use rules in place in...