There are a number of possible explanations for the seemingly irresponsible financial behavior of many Americans. In this paper we argue that an important explanation is simply ignorance: consumers often make poor financial decisions because they do not know how to make good ones. In particular,...

To date empirical studies of the economic effects of changes in state corporate income tax apportionment policies have used only highly aggregated, state-level data. This study uses data at the individual firm level, which is provided by a population of corporate income tax returns from the...

Nonbusiness bankruptcy filing rates have increased very rapidly over the last couple of decades.  In 1980, roughly 15 of every 10,000 Americans filed for bankruptcy protection. By 2004, that number had reached 54 of every 10,000 Americans.  These alarming increases in bankruptcy filing rates...

This paper modifies a model proposed by Anand and Sansing (2000) to explain why states have chosen different formulas for corporate income apportionment.  I demonstrate that nexus assumptions and allocation rules can have significant effects on the outcomes of the model, and are important...

Workers’ Compensation reforms have been on the table in virtually every state over the last several years, and many states have launched comprehensive reforms.  At least nine states undertook major reforms of their workers’ compensation systems in 2004 alone, and the reforms were driven...

This paper sets out to evaluate the role that entrepreneurs and small businesses play in economic development.  How important are entrepreneurs and small businesses in creating jobs, and are these the types of jobs that should be encouraged?  How important are entrepreneurs and small...

Increasingly, economic development experts are abandoning traditional approaches to economic development that rely on recruiting large enterprises with tax breaks, financial incentives, and other inducements. Instead, they are relying on building businesses from the ground up and supporting the...

Current tax policies, while commonly thought to promote homeownership, have generally left low-income homeowners behind other homeowners. Using a number of simplifying assumptions, our estimates of lifetime homeowner tax subsidies suggest that the average homeowner in the lowest-income quintile...