All Publications
Kentucky Annual Report
Michael T. Childress
This report is one of the important ways that the Center for Business and Economic Research fulfills its mission as specified in the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS 164.738) to examine various aspects of the Kentucky economy. The analysis and data presented here cover a variety of topics that range from an economic forecast for Kentucky in 2019 to a broad presentation of factors affecting the economy.
PDF:
2019 Kentucky Annual Economic Report.pdf
Christopher R. Bollinger, William Hoyt, David Blackwell, Michael T. Childress
This report is one of the important ways that the Center for Business and Economic Research fulfills its mission as specified in the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS 164.738) to examine various aspects of the Kentucky economy. The analysis and data presented here cover a variety of topics that range from an economic forecast for Kentucky in 2018 to a broad presentation of factors affecting the economy.
PDF: Kentucky Annual Economic Report 2018.pdf
Christopher R. Bollinger, William H. Hoyt, David Blackwell, Michael T. Childress PDF:
Kentucky Annual Economic Report 2017.pdf
Christopher R. Bollinger, William H. Hoyt, David Blackwell, Michael T. Childress PDF:
Kentucky Annual Economic Report 2016.pdf
Research Report
Michael W. Clark, Kenneth Tester
This study compared school construction costs before and after the 2015 changes to the prevailing wage laws in West Virginia. The study uses data provided by the School Building Authority of West Virginia (SBA). The data suggests that school construction costs increased in the years prior to the legislative changes and decreased after. Comparing projects bid with and without prevailing wages since 2013 suggests construction costs per square foot decreased by 7.3 percent since the removal of the wage requirement. However, the magnitude of the decrease depends on the time-period examined and the individual schools included in the analysis. States that border West Virginia did not experience similar decreases in the costs of school construction during this time.
PDF: WV_Prevailing_Wage_Report.pdf
Christopher Bollinger, William H. Hoyt, Michael W. Clark
Every five years, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government’s Planning Commission adopts a comprehensive plan detailing goals and objectives that guide the city’s land use planning. Maintaining the city’s urban service area and preserving its rural and agricultural areas are integral parts of this plan. Within the urban service area, land is zoned to permit various types of urban uses such as residential, commercial, and industrial use. Land outside the urban service area is subject to several land use policies designed to preserve the rural characteristics of these areas. This report examines the effects of Lexington’s land use policies and specifically its urban service area.
PDF: LBAR_Report.pdf
Issue Brief
Michael T. Childress
This issue brief explores the links between obstacles students face and educational outcomes.
PDF: Kentuckys Educational Performance & Points of Leverage.pdf
Christopher R. Bollinger
Economists and other researchers have long demonstrated the relationship between education and earnings. In this brief, we focus on the relationship between educational attainment and earnings in the state of Kentucky. Our results, in many ways, are unsurprising, as the old ad campaign said, “Education Pays.” What may be surprising is that we demonstrate that education pays not only in the big cities of Lexington and Louisville, but also in the more rural parts of the state, such as eastern Kentucky and western Kentucky.
PDF: Education Pays Everywhere!.pdf
Christopher R. Bollinger
While it is well known that a positive relationship exists between educational attainment and earnings for those who are in the labor market, an important part of how education impacts the well-being of families in Kentucky is the access to employment that it provides. In this brief, we examine the relationship between education and two measures of employment status: unemployment and labor force participation. What we find is quite striking: not only do those with higher education experience less unemployment, they are far more likely to be participating in the labor market. Education leads to better access to employment.
PDF: Want a Job? Get a College Degree.pdf
Christopher R. Bollinger, Bethany L. Paris
Crime impacts the lives of Kentuckians in myriad ways. It has direct costs to victims and indirect costs through property values and business activity. Citizens and policymakers alike desire to reduce and limit crime. In this brief, we investigate the link between crime rates in Kentucky’s counties and the aggregate level of education. Perhaps surprisingly, higher education, and specifically the percent of the population with a Bachelor’s degree, is associated with lower crime. We find that increasing educational attainment in Kentucky to the U.S. levels could reduce the costs of crime by over $3 million annually.
PDF: Crime and Punishment and Education.pdf