Browsing: Economy

Scholars like Morris Kleiner at the University of Minnesota have found that licensing creates barriers to entry into the field, especially for low-income aspirants; reduces employment and competition; inflates prices and the wages of licensed workers; stifles innovation; and limits mobility.

Wisconsin’s per capita GDP in comparison to other Midwest states is troubling. Even more troubling: we’re trending in the wrong direction. In 2011, Wisconsin was the 4th most productive of seven Midwestern states per capita. We’re now second from the bottom.

Why would a citizenry want its government to require, by law, higher prices? At anytime, it’s a good question but, as veteran journalist Ken Wysocky points out, at a time of raging inflation, it takes on a new urgency.

In a joint brief with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, we lay out the problems with occupational licensing in Wisconsin and what meaningful reforms can be enacted.

A statewide and county-by-county analysis

What is occupational licensing, how does it affect employment and consumer costs, and what options exist for reform?

(and the real-world stories of Wisconsinites cheated out of their livelihoods)

Research and stories show the need for occupational licensing reform in Wisconsin. Authors include Ike Brannon, Logan Albright, Scott Niederjohn, Mark Schug and Jan Uebelherr.

Wisconsin conservatives or Minnesota liberals?
Report compares the growth and distribution of Income in Wisconsin and Minnesota after the Great Recession.

As Wisconsin’s population ages, we will need immigrants in our future workforce to keep our economy vibrant.

As Wisconsin’s debt load continues to grow, the tax burden for Wisconsin families and businesses will grow right along with it

Why you’ll pay more at the pump

Wisconsin should be careful when it comes to limiting new technology

The impact of state taxes

Encouraging Growth Companies in Wisconsin

Education and training under Wisconsin Works

Why building a “new” Milwaukee economy matters to Wisconsin

When then Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson introduced the Wisconsin Works (W-2) proposal in November of 1994, he cited this principle…

The 1990s were growth years for the United States and for Wisconsin. The Wisconsin economy added 461,748 jobs, growing by a remarkable 21 percent over the 1991-1999 period, far surpassing the U.S. growth rate of 13 percent. Unfortunately for some, growth was not uniform across all areas of the state. Employment in Brown County (Green

Over the next several years, there may be no more important issue in Wisconsin than the rebuilding of the Marquette Interchange

Who is leaving the state? Where are they going?