Economics

Key Topics

  • Markets
  • Wages, Purchasing Power, and Economic Mobility
  • Economic Development
  • Labor, Employment, Interest, Money
  • Business
  • Healthcare

Our Publications on Economics

Over $16 billion in infrastructure help coming for Illinois

Congress has passed President Biden’s landmark $1 trillion infrastructure bill which will provide aid to states to help build bridges, maintain roads, construct broadband access, and much more. While it is still to be determined how much money Illinois will be exactly receiving, Senators Durbin and Duckworth have noted the following: It should also be…

by prairiestatepolicyllc

Eek! Gas prices

One national issue that normally hits home locally is gas prices. We feel the effect of these prices daily: commuting to work, traveling out of state, and driving to the grocery store and restaurants. These high gas prices cut into what goods and services we would otherwise spend money on. Economics aside, it goes without…

by prairiestatepolicyllc

Illinois’ Improved Fiscal Outlook (Through Charts)

This past legislative session was regarded as a major improvement to the fiscal condition of the State of Illinois. Many media organizations reported that with the help of the much needed American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds, as well as enhanced economic activity from the pandemic’s end in sight, Illinois (oddly) seems to (finally) be on…

by prairiestatepolicyllc

U.S. Treasury’s COVID debt rule is a bleak situation for Illinois

The following is an update from the piece How Federal Stimulus Money will be Allocated in Illinois, which was published March 15 and another piece published on April 17. A major wrench was thrown at the state earlier this month when the federal government announced that American Rescue Plan (ARP) money cannot be used to pay off…

by prairiestatepolicyllc

How Federal Stimulus Revenue will be allocated in Illinois [update]

The following is an update from the piece How Federal Stimulus Money will be Allocated in Illinois, which was published March 15. State leaders recently convened on how to allocate the $7.5 billion the state will receive under President Biden’s stimulus plan. According to Gov. Pritzker, Senate President Don Harmon, and Speaker Chris Welch, the state…

by prairiestatepolicyllc

Illinois’ First Minimum Wage Law

Overview The U.S. Federal minimum wage was first implemented in 1938 under the Roosevelt administration with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLA). However, FLA did not mandate a universal minimum wage for all industries and were subject to exceptions. By the early 1970s, many state legislatures convened to address these issues by passing legislation to…

by prairiestatepolicyllc

Illinois’ GDP

A Look at the State’s GDP Performance Overview The state of Illinois is currently the sixth most populous state, is the economic engine of the Midwest, and has the fifth highest GDP in the Union. Moreover, Illinois’ economy is so big that is the equivalent to that of Switzerland. This blog provides a snapshot of…

by prairiestatepolicyllc

Analyzing State Population Growth Among Various Income Tax Structures

Abstract While it was previously argued that gradual income taxation did not decrease population growth in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, some still remain fixated that graduated income taxation will result in an outmigration of individuals to other states. This brief study analyzes population growth for each state from 2010 to 2019 and then seeks to…

by prairiestatepolicyllc
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