Should Oklahoma Be More Like Texas? A Taxing Decision

This paper considers whether Texas should serve as the economic policy model for Oklahoma, particularly in terms of reducing or eliminating the state income tax. I compare Oklahoma’s recent economic performance to that of Texas and other adjacent states. Comparisons are made at both the state and county levels, for different time periods, and for several economic indicators. County level regression analysis, of all counties, and separately for only border counties, both explicitly and implicitly controls for potential non-policy growth influences. Overall, I conclude that there is not sufficient evidence to warrant Oklahoma emulating Texas economic policies.