The Department of Revenue’s Wisconsin Economic Outlook, released last week, details a noticeable deterioration in forecasted economic performance, in just the past eight months.
Category Archives: Wisconsin
Some Observations on the Wisconsin Employment Outlook
The Walker Administration’s Economic Outlook forecasts private employment in January 2015 will be 115 thousand below the goal set forth by Governor Walker in August 2013. Wisconsin nonfarm payroll employment will not reattain prior peak levels until 2015Q2.
Arkansas ahead of Wisconsin
On progress in implementing the minimum wage.
Philadelphia Fed: Wisconsin and Kansas Growth Gaps Forecasted to Increase
And California and Minnesota surge ahead of the US. I know this sounds like a broken record, but the numbers are the numbers. And reader Patrick R. Sullivan suggests I move to Kansas, based on a Tax Foundation analysis (the same Patrick R. Sullivan who refuses to admit that his assertion that the depth of the downturn in Canada was less than that in the US during the Great Depression is wrong.) Here’s at least one reason why I don’t plan to. From today’s release of leading indices by the Philadelphia Fed, combined with last week’s release of coincident indices.
Philadelphia Fed Coincident Indices: Kansas and Wisconsin Continue to Lag Nation
Low ranked by ALEC-Laffer, California and Minnesota continue to power along, as shown in data released today by the Philadelphia Fed.
Has Wisconsin Employment Growth Really Been Normal over the Last Four Years?
Integration, cointegration and the evaluation of time series data for public policy analysis. As my first economics teacher said, “ya gotta be careful”.
Wisconsin Employment: 108.6K below Trend Required to Hit Walker’s 250K Target
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development released without fanfare (well, there is no press release I see on the DWD media website as of 3pm CDT today) the last figures to be available before the election. They indicate September private nonfarm employment 108.6 thousands below the trend consistent with the Governor’s target (recommitted to a mere year ago) of 250 thousands net new jobs.
Governor Walker Answering a Question Regarding the Wisconsin Living Wage
Or, not answering, as the case may be.
Here is the video; see the question asked about 16 minutes in.
Did States that Raised the Minimum Wage Have Faster or Slower Employment Growth?
The answer is faster…so contra the arguments of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, and Wisconsin Manufacturers Association, it seems unlikely that there are large negative employment impacts from minimum wage increases. Oh, also contra Sabia for the Employment Policies Institute (who has still not responded to my repeated requests for his data, after six months).
A Fiscal Tale of Two States: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin
The two neighboring states of Wisconsin and Minnesota share a similar economic structure and size; and yet their fortunes have diverged over the past three years. One correlate of Wisconsin’s growth deficit is state and local government spending.