As the coronavirus crisis shows, 'low-skilled' and 'important' are not mutually exclusive terms.
Poor tax policy repels high wage earners.
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
The morality of the issue aside, making price gouging illegal poses serious consequences on people. What we call price gouging is demand and supply interacting to signal market conditions. Prices…
Prognosticators say the Coronavirus outbreak will likely transform how we work and live in lasting ways. It’s the ultimate test of the remote workplace and digital world that allows us…
Small businesses are essential to the American economy. Apart from making up the majority of all American businesses, they employ close to half of the labor force and are responsible…
The “convergence,” which is supposed to explain Minnesota’s slow rate of economic growth relative to the US average, has not been happening over the period covered in our report.
The effect of regulation on small businesses have bigger effects on the economy. Because regulations prevent small firms from growing and also surviving, the economy is affected. Small businesses make…
How far would you go to avoid inheritance tax?
A total of 24 states have increased or plan to increase their minimum wage mandates. However the data shows wages have been rising even before the fight for higher minimum…
There’s been a run on surgical safety masks since concerns over COVID-19 began spreading almost as fast as the virus itself. The face masks generally sold for roughly $1 apiece…
Over a longer or a shorter period, data shows that Minnesota's economy is growing at a slower rate than the US generally.
In anticipation of the possible widespread proliferation of COVID-19 in Minnesota, economist John Phelan outlined risk factors for the state economy, as well as bright spots where Minnesota may fare…
Coronavirus is a human tragedy. It illustrates, once again, the need for a strong economy to provide the resources to cope.
The state of Nevada passed a law to increase its minimum wage gradually to $11 by 2024 for employees who get health insurance through their employer, and $12 for those…
Even with conservative estimates of revenue growth, there is scope for tax cuts if we decide to put a cap on per person government spending, in real terms, at the…
Getting high school students out of the classroom and onto a job site isn't just a field trip.
But up until yesterday many European airlines had been flying empty planes in order not to lose their allocated take-off and landing slots at bug airports. Under European guidelines airlines…
It isn't quite true that Minnesota's economy is "outperforming its neighbors", and we shouldn't forget that our competition isn't just the states next door, but every state in the union.
The Minnesota Distiller’s Guild continues their years-long struggle for deregulation in Minnesota with the introduction of their newest bill, H.F. 3246, to the state legislature. The bill, which was introduced…
A state government can influence the state's macroeconomic performance in two areas: fiscal policy (taxes and spending) and regulatory policy.
A round-up of the last week’s economic news stories in Minnesota.
A program pioneered by the countertop manufacturer Cambria to offer English language classes to help immigrant workers better succeed at work and in society has become a model for both…
There is good reason that 81% of economists agree that rent controls are bad policy. The harmful consequences of Berlin's rent controls are just one more example.