Medical savings accounts (MSAs) belong to a larger class of incentive-based health care plans. Using a model that allows the consumer to invest in healthy activities, we examine the efficiency properties of incentive plans and compare them to traditional full- coverage and deductible plans,...

Connecticut public officials periodically worry about the state’s migration patterns. After all, labor is the key ingredient in most productive activities, and a sustained population loss may signal a stagnant economy, or at least one that is falling behind its competitors.

The murder of 26 students and staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, shocked the nation and the world, drawing renewed attention to the hot-button issue of gun control. Connecticut legislators quickly enacted new laws that require background checks for gun purchases, ban certain types of...

Humorous quotes about the ill effects of taxes abound, but just try to find one about the benefits of government spending or public employment. We also seldom see data-driven measures of public program benefits in the media, but let’s see if we can remedy that by assessing the economic impact...

Between 1950 and 1978, per capita real dental expenfitures in the U.S. grew at an average annual rate of 3.33%. Between 1978 and 1989 there was virtually no net growth in this measure of dental care utilization. This sharp curtailment of utilization growth has prompted debate about the sources...

Property taxes are rising, taking a bigger bite out of household incomes than ever before, and local public spending is out of control—right? Well, maybe…at least that seems to be the view of many Connecticut taxpayers. But is the perception accurate? The only way to really tell is to take a...

Economists have long recognized the role of education in promoting economic growth and wellbeing. As the U.S. and other economies have become more “knowledge-based,” the links between education and economic activity have become even stronger. Once regarded as intellectual islands with...