Economic growth is driven by new ideas, innovation, and technology. Since 1981, the research and development (R&D) tax credit has attempted to lower the cost of these activities through subsidies in the tax code. Theory often predicts benefits from subsidies for R&D, but policymakers are not...

In this policy brief we discuss what economists know (and don’t know) about fiscal spending multipliers. We then review the growing economic literature on the relationship between the fiscal position and the size of the fiscal multiplier. In addition, we explore the inflationary risks that...

This study replicates the research of economist Richard Vedder, who conducted a study in 1987 (and subsequently updated the data in 1991, 2007, and 2010) which reviewed four decades of empirical data on the relationship between tax increases and government expenditure. The original study...

Proposals for raising the maximum statutory tax rate to 70 percent, with dual objectives of generating additional revenue for new spending and curtailing inequality, are gaining attention among both academics and media commentators. While the idea might be superficially attractive, there is...

This policy brief will assess the underlying problems with the United States' budgetary process and the issues that arise as a result of the country's current fiscal trajectory. We explore the role that spending rules play in restraining the growth of government spending wherever they are...