Studies modeling the dynamic fiscal and economic effects of phasing out or repealing Texas' business margin tax find substantial economic benefits. These include potentially tens of thousands of net new private sector jobs created and billions in net new investment and personal income across...

This paper examines which petroleum prices best explain changes in gasoline and diesel prices during three distinct periods of fuel price volatility during the 2003 to 2010 period. The results indicate that spot retail fuel prices are best explained by their futures prices over most periods,...

Texas has a proven record of financial stability. Ranking 16th nationwide in fiscal health, 7th in lowest state debt per capita, and with historically high population growth rates accompanied by economic growth, these factors have kept Texas steadfast even during times of economic uncertainty....

Expanding education choice is a smart and sound investment that Texas can make to grow the state's economy and build a stronger society. Creating better matches between students and their education will likely lead to fewer dropouts, which would improve social and labor market outcomes. By...

There remain questionable fundamental issues about the way carbon dioxide affects the climate. Observed temperatures by sophisticated technologies greatly and consistently conflict with today's widely accepted, although highly questionable, scientific consensus about the effects humans have on...

The 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a trilateral trade deal between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada designed to reduce transaction costs among Americans, Mexicans, and Canadians. Critics argue that NAFTA is a bad trade deal that impoverishes Americans by giving an unfair...

Given that public school districts employ roughly 90 percent of teachers in Texas, teachers have little negotiating power in today's labor market. Budget reallocations at public school districts and private schools from ESAs could increase teacher salaries in the first year, with some increasing...

In this paper, we examined monetary policy from August 2007, when the Fed engaged in its first unconventional action, through December 2009, when most of the Fed's special lending facilities became inactive. However, the monetary base remained in excess of $2 trillion which was more than double...