woman writing on a whiteboard

Charter Schools Outperform Traditional Public Schools in STEM Subjects

By: Lauren Winslow The availability of school options in a given location significantly influences home purchases. In 2021, approximately 13% of all homebuyers in Florida reported that the quality of the school district was a factor in choosing the location of their future home.  The passing of House Bill 1 (HB-1) expanded school choice to … Continue reading Charter Schools Outperform Traditional Public Schools in STEM Subjects

Does Digital Learning Level the Economic Playing Field for Marginalized Groups?

By Andje Louis The internet and related technologies–smartphones, computers, search engines, social media platforms–have become ingrained tools in everyday life. As more services and resources are made available online, digital inequality has come to mirror income and healthcare gaps among the world’s more marginalized populations, such as low-income and underrepresented groups.  While most people use … Continue reading Does Digital Learning Level the Economic Playing Field for Marginalized Groups?

Expanded Voucher Programs May Lead to Greater Neighborhood Diversity

By Danielle Waidley Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation (H.B. 7045) greatly expanding Florida’s already pioneering school choice programs at the end of the state legislature’s 2021 session. This expansion will likely be a boon for parents and children looking for alternatives to conventional public schools. But more attention should be given to another unintended … Continue reading Expanded Voucher Programs May Lead to Greater Neighborhood Diversity

Interview with Dr. Keith Ihlanfeldt

Introduction & interview by Matthew Wykoff My name is Matthew Wykoff and I am a senior at FSU finishing my undergraduate degree in Economics. As a DMC researcher interested in Tallahassee’s local urban development, I interviewed Dr. Keith Ihlanfeldt about his recent paper, Impact of Rental Housing on Neighborhood Integration. Dr. Ihlanfeldt’s official title is … Continue reading Interview with Dr. Keith Ihlanfeldt

Microfinancing: Good for the Poor?

By Logan Shewmaker Many businesses start on loans. Traditionally, the loan process works by allowing a business owner or individual to approach a bank, receive the money upfront, and then pay back the amount loaned out over a period of time. Bank loans range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to millions. Eligibility criteria usually … Continue reading Microfinancing: Good for the Poor?

Gender Wage Gap in Florida

By Tyler Worthington, Tian Ma, and Igor Lukashevich One of the hottest topics in the 2016 presidential race is income inequality. Income inequality between the genders has been of particular interest. According to the White House, full-time working women are paid 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man. However, the labor market in … Continue reading Gender Wage Gap in Florida

Florida Facing the Wrong Direction on Immigration Reform

By Selene Capparelli The US immigration system has been badly broken for many decades.  Mass deportation, enhanced border security, and keeping undocumented workers in perpetual illegal status have been proven to be very costly and ineffective methods to handle the constant influx of new immigrants.These policies result in hundreds of border-crossing deaths each year, abject … Continue reading Florida Facing the Wrong Direction on Immigration Reform

Top  2% of state employees see faster rise in income than bottom 98% since the Great Recession

By: Igor Lukashevich In 2014, the world was abuzz with talk of Thomas Piketty’s treatise on global economic inequality, Capital in the Twenty-First Century. The rising global disparity of income, the author argued, will inevitably result in social and economic instability across the world. It is interesting to note that income inequality also exists, and … Continue reading Top  2% of state employees see faster rise in income than bottom 98% since the Great Recession

New Study Sheds Light on Ridesharing’s Labor Market

By Matt Kelly Few economic issues have been more talked about this year than the disruptive forays into the taxi market by ridesharing technology companies like Uber and Lyft. It seems reasonable to assume ridesharing drivers are of the same ilk as traditional taxi drivers, yet little academic research has been done...until now. A recent … Continue reading New Study Sheds Light on Ridesharing’s Labor Market