In 2006, West Virginia established Mountain Health Choices, a key component of the state’s Medicaid redesign efforts. The program offers low-income parents and children the choice of two benefit plans. Beneficiaries receive additional benefits when they follow basic rules that are designed to...

Venture capital has been identified by many as a vital element in the rapid economic growth of certain regions. The lack of access to capital, especially equity capital, has been identified as a major constraint to the economic growth of rural areas (i.e., venture capital access, as a...

Knowing more precisely how zoning affects housing value would allow policy-makers to improve long-term policy decisions. Previous studies have concluded that local zoning regulations affect residential option value. These studies, however, do not specify the magnitude of the effect for varying...

The focal area for this study is Fayette County, West Virginia. Using a qualitative semi-structured interview process, information was gathered so as to present a clear overview of what both the private and public sector are doing with regard to energy and/or water efficiency within the county....

A regional economy consists of industries with a variety of economic potentials. A growth or decline in any of these sectors affects the overall growth of the economy. Analysis of economic growth by sector of a particular region helps policy makers, community leaders and researchers in better...

Entrepreneurship variables constructed from county-level proprietorship and firm birth data were included in an endogenous growth model to determine the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth in West Virginia. The empirical estimates using weighted least squares (WLS) and...

In this paper new evidence is presented of cross-border shopping in response to sales taxation. While several instructive studies provide estimates of the cross-border shopping effect, a unique opportunity is utilized to evaluate the effect of a large discrete change in sales tax policy. Using...

To prevent the loss of farmland in West Virginia, the Voluntary Farmland Protection Act (VFPA) was passed in 2000. This act gives counties and the State authority to develop and fund local farmland protection programs, which typically involve a voluntary sale by a landowner of the right to...

Moving forward with a strengthening economy and its lowest unemployment rate in almost 20 years, West Virginia is attracting new business.