By Gianni Vasquez BetterWorldBooks, a self-sustaining, triple-bottom-line company promotes and advocates for literacy around the world. Their online book-selling platform enables consumers to be participants in the company’s Book for Book™ initiative which was launched in 2011. Via this program, purchases made on the company’s site have supported the distribution of 28 million books to … Continue reading BetterWorldBooks Promotes Literacy Through Enterprise
Economic Freedom Key to Cities’ Success
By Matt Kelly Economic freedom is the unrestricted ability of people in a country to associate and transact with one another. Measuring economic freedom has become a growing area of academic research. Probably the best known measure is the index constructed for the “Economic Freedom of the World” annual report on 159 countries published by … Continue reading Economic Freedom Key to Cities’ Success
Defunding Florida’s Film Industry Incentives was Example of Evidence-Based Policy
By Marisa Lupica and Matt Kelly States have been competing fiercely for movie productions with tax incentives since the early 2000s. Such incentives include cash grants, income tax credits, sales tax rebates, or payroll tax credits. Today, 37 states offer tax incentives for film productions. However, recent economic research shows that film tax incentives fail … Continue reading Defunding Florida’s Film Industry Incentives was Example of Evidence-Based Policy
Preparing Florida’s Government Policy for The Next Big Hurricane
by Chad Thomas Political and economic conditions in New Orleans before 2005 left the city unprepared for Hurricane Katrina. The government bureaucracies responsible for levee maintenance were mismanaged and corrupt officials diverted needed funds. Weak economic performance before Katrina also set up affected areas for slow recovery afterward. New Orleans’ experience shows how government can … Continue reading Preparing Florida’s Government Policy for The Next Big Hurricane
Despite Problems, Florida’s Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund is Best Performing Incentive
By Marisa Lupica The Qualified Target Industry (QTI) tax refund is offered to attract high wage jobs in target industries to Florida. The program is administered by the Department of Economic Opportunity, Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI), and the Department of Revenue. Among Florida’s tax incentive programs, QTI is the largest and has the highest return … Continue reading Despite Problems, Florida’s Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund is Best Performing Incentive
Targeted Industry Tax Incentives in Florida
By Marisa Lupica Tax incentives are a significant but ineffective part of states’ economic development policy. As of 2012 states spent an estimated $80.4 billion annually on tax incentives for businesses. Yet, most economic research on the subject finds that targeted tax incentives are ineffective at attracting businesses, creating jobs, or improving a state’s economic … Continue reading Targeted Industry Tax Incentives in Florida
Special Districts in Florida
By: Matt Kelly and Tyler Worthington Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Tip O’Neil once said, “all politics is local,” meaning that politicians must appeal to local constituents to succeed. Yet political economy is arguably most opaque and complex at local levels. Local governments have grown as numerous as they are multifaceted. Over … Continue reading Special Districts in Florida
Regulations mislead, unfairly question safety of small food producers
State regulations often impose unnecessary burdens on small businesses, including the cottage-food industry