News

Op-Ed by Charles Courtemanche, Associate Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise, Gatton College of Business of Economics, University of Kentucky

Congrats to our director Charles Courtemanche and co-authors Rahi Abouk, Dhaval Dave, Bo Feng, Abigail Friedman, Catherine Maclean, Michael Pesko, Joseph Sabia, and Samuel Safford on their paper “Intended and Unintended Effects of E-cigarette Taxes on Youth Tobacco Use” being accepted for publication in the Journal of Health Economics!

This paper was previously released as ISFE Working Paper No. 41

Aaron Yelowitz, ISFE Affiliate, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship in a hearing entitled "Small Business Franchising: An Overview of the Industry, SBA's Role, and Legislative Proposals."

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Econ Games, an annual data competition, co-founded by Dr. Darshak Patel (University of Kentucky, ISFE Affiliate) and Dr. Abdullah Al-Bahrani (Northern Kentucky University).

1st place: University of Southern Indiana - $1,500 & 5-year Stata licenses

2nd place: University of Kentucky - $1,000

3rd place: University of Kentucky - $500

4th place: Northern Kentucky University

The prize money was sponsored by University of Kentucky's Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise and Stata

Rob Gebelhoff of the Washington Post shares his view regarding the ecig research conducted by Chuck Courtemanche, our director, and co-authors. 

Research conducted by our director Chuck Courtemanche & co-authors about the effect of new e-cig taxes on youth tobacco use is featured in an ABC6 article by Stephen Loianconi. 

An article by Tax Foundation discusses the taxes on e-cigarettes and mentions the new study by our director, Chuck Courtemanche, & co-authors about the effects of e-cigarette taxes on youth tobacco use. 

Chuck Courtemanche, our director, & co-authors recently had their new study about how teens will be effected by new e-cig taxes mentioned in a CNS News article. 

It's that time of year! Abdullah Al-Bahrani from NKU is welcoming all educators interested in trying out Danny Dollar Academy to teach Economics, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade educators join us.

Register for a teacher info session at https://dannydollar.academy/teachers

If you want to be a regional partner and sponsor schools in your area you can join on regional partner program https://www.dannydollar.academy/regional-partners

The study by Chuck Courtemanche, Aaron Yelowitz, Anh Le, and Ron Zimmer is mentioned a KXAN article. 

Congratulations to the winners of the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship 2nd Annual "Wildly Possible" Virtual Startup Contest!

1st place - $5,000 - Fresh Eyes Solutions

2nd place - $4,000 - Rave On Sports

3rd place - $3,000 - ReBegin

4th place - $2,000 - My Vocal Health

5th place - $1,000 –  ZKaKa

Darshak Patel, our associate director, and co-authors Abdullah Al-Bahrani and Jamie Weathers have a paper in the Financial Services Review about financial literacy education. 

*Can be found on page 303*

This study was funded by an Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise summer research grant.

The research by our director, Chuck Courtemanche, affiliate, Aaron Yelowitz, and co-authors is mentioned in Yahoo News.

The research conducted by our director Chuck Courtemanche and affiliate Aaron Yelowitz on COVID-19 and life insurance markets, is mentioned in this The Wall Street Journal article by Telis Demos.

The Morning Consult published an op-ed by Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise director, Chuck Courtemanche, Mike Pesko, and Catherine Maclean, regarding how to beat the tobacco smoking epidemic.

The University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information is producing a new podcast pioneered by UK students Trace Williams, Michael Morgan and Trevor Payne. The podcast, “Breaking the Boundary,” emphasizes the need to shift the focus of unsolved global issues to a solution-oriented approach.

ISFE is funding the students to produce this new podcast.

Along with dozens of other outlets, Marissa Martinez of Chron reports on the NEW research by our director Chuck Courtemanche, affiliate Aaron Yelowitz, Ron Zimmer, and Anh Le.

Along with dozens of other outlets, the Washington Post includes the new study by Chuck Courtemanche, Aaron Yelowitz, Anh Le, & Ron Zimmer in a recent article thanks to reporters Hannah Denham, Taylor Telford, and Andrew Van Dam. 

New study by Chuck Courtemanche, Aaron Yelowitz, Anh Le, and Ron Zimmer is covered by Alison Durkee of Forbes.

The most recent study on COVID-19 and school reopenings by our ISFE Director Chuck Courtemanche, Aaron Yelowitz, Anh Le, and Ron Zimmer was featured in the most recent UKNow.

The new study by our director, Chuck Courtemanche, affiliate Aaron Yelowitz, Anh Le, and Ron Zimmer, finds a link between school reopening and the spread of Covid is featured in Chalkbeat.

A NEW paper is out our by our director Chuck Courtemanche, Aaron Yelowitz, Ron Zimmer, and Anh H. Lee, in NBER.

That's a wrap for Bootcamp 2.0!! Great job to all participants and congrats to our winners!

1st place - $2,500 - Cameron Adams, Founder of Connect

2nd place - $1,500 - Daniel Gorash, Founder of Badland Wolves

3rd place - $1,000 - Monica Stewart, Founder of Transitions Caregiver Solutions

4th place - $500 - Fara Williams, Founder of The Foundation for Unifying Networks

The paper about social distancing & lockdowns, by Chuck Courtemanche & Aaron Yelowitz, is mentioned in this Vox article.

A round of applause to ISFE affiliate, Darshak Patel, for receiving the 2020 Outstanding Professor Award from UKY Greek for his contributions to the growth and development of University of Kentucky students!

ISFE affiliate, Aaron Yelowtiz was quoted in this California Healthline article regarding the measuring the impact of outdoor dining and COVID-19.

Director Charles Courtemanche, affiliate Aaron Yelowitz and Timothy Harris wrote an op-ed for IZA World of Labor on how COVID-19 made a minimal impact on the life insurance market as a whole.

Founder and affiliate, John Garen co-authored an op-ed in the Courier-Journal based on his K-12 education paper.

This op-ed appeared in several papers around the state of Kentucky over the past couple of weeks. Check them out below!

A big congratulations goes to our very own Director Chuck Courtemanche and co-authors, ISFE Affiliate Aaron Yelowitz, Joseph Garuccio, Anh Le and Joshua Pinkston for their social distancing study being the third most read paper in Health Affairs last year!

The social distancing study by Chuck Courtemanche & Aaron Yelowitz, originally published in Health Affairs, is quoted in this recent article by Chris Nichols of PolitiFact.

The University of Kentucky community now has access to the Wall Street Journal for free with a big thank you to The Institute, Gatton College of Business and Education, University of Kentucky Office of Student Organizations and Activities SGA, and The Wall Street Journal!

ISFE Afiliate Ken Troske spoke with Chris Ott, a reporter with WDRB television station in Louisville, regarding his paper on COVID with Paul Coomes of Louisville. This talk turned into an hour long podcast you can listen to here.

Vox discusses the Health Affairs study on Coronavirus by Director Charles Courtemanche and Affiliate Aaron Yelowitz.

The Institute's affiliate Ken Troske and Paul Coomes of the University of Louisville recently published data that Kentucky coronavirus numbers are much higher than what is reported. Troske was interviewed by Jacqueline Pitts of The Bottom Line: Kentucky Political News.

- What is the state of #inclusion and diversity in entrepreneurship research?

- How does #race, gender, and class affect the entrepreneurship researcher pipeline?

Register NOW for this event with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation today at 1pm and submit YOUR question about diversity and inclusion in the entrepreneurship research community!

Another article by German Lopez in Vox, quotes information from a study by director Charles Courtemanche and affiliate Aaron Yelowitz regarding social distancing and government mandates.

The study conducted by our director, Charles Courtemanche, and affiliate, Aaron Yelowitz, regarding strong social distancing measures, was cited in this PolitiFact article.

On September 25th VACE co-sponsored with SOPS a one-minute pitch competition. Each participant had one minute to pitch their research to the audience and the winners of the pitch competition were selected by audience vote.

Below are three of the winners that are being sponsored by VACE/ISFE. These awards are $200 each. These funds are being provided by ISFE. Two of the awardees are UK students and the other one is a Harvard student.

Nataliya Timoshevskaya
Ãngela Crespo
Taylor Elsey

Aaron Yelowitz, an ISFE affiliate has his work mentioned by Bill McCarthy in PolitiFact.

Bradley Hardy and Trevon D. Logan reference Aaron Yelowitz and Chuck Courtemanche's newest paper on racial inequality in COVID.

Ronald Bailey's article in Reason Magazine refers to the study done by Chuck Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz.

The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship has announced the winners of their startup contest. The Institute was pleased to co-sponsor the contest and congrats to the Top 5 finalists out of over 150 applicants!

Rachel Muenz of Lab Manager mentions the research by Chuck Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz.

German Lopez included the research about social distancing and the coronavirus done by Charles Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz in this Vox article.

Research about social distancing and the Coronavirus by Chuck Courtemanche & Aaron Yelowitz is mentioned in the in the article by PRESSFROM.

The study that was published in Health Affairs by Charles Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz on social distancing and how lockdowns worked during COVID-19, is covered by German Lopez of Vox.

Jihan Myers of MSN writes about public places doctors avoid during Coronavirus. This article includes the research done by Director Chuck Courtemanche and professor Aaron Yelowitz that was originally published by Health Affairs.

National Review picked up Charles Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz' research on social distancing when discussing if the lockdowns worked.

The study by Chuck Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz, regarding the spread of COVID-19 would have been 35 times greater in the U.S. without policies like shelter in place orders, is covered by Umair Irfan of Vox.

ICYMI, below is a link the webinar about how strong #socialdistancing measures helped reduce #coronavirus cases.

Thank you to Gatton College of Business and Economics at the University of Kentucky, University of Kentucky College of Public Health, Chuck Courtemanche, Aaron Yelowitz, Teresa Waters, and James Ziliak.

There's been a lot of discussion regarding immigration and COVID19. Listen as our Research Associate, Daniel Di Martino and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance Director of Policy, Ross Marchand, discuss the H-1B program and immigration.

Director, Charles Courtemanche talks with WalletHub and discusses how the Coronavirus Pandemic has impacted the economy, when we can expect to see an economic rebound.

WLEX-TV mentions Charles Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz on their social distancing measures and the spread of COVID-19.

Aaron Yelowitz is interviewed with KET on discussing restarting Kentucky's economy based of of the study by him, Charles Courtemanche, and team. 

Professor Aaron Yelowitz speaks with KTNV Channel 13 Action News regarding his research with Chuck Courtemanche, that areas where social distancing was not encouraged by government officials, faced 35 times more cases of coronavirus.

Inverse picked up the new study by Charles Courtemanche, Aaron Yelowitz, and co-authors on how effective social distancing has been in the spread of COVID-19.

Which social distancing measures work best? Summer Lin of the Miami Herald picks up the study conducted by Charles Courtemanche & Aaron Yelowitz.

Charles Courtemanche, Aaron Yelowitz, and team have a new study out about social distancing measures and the growth rate of COVID-19 that is covered in The Washington Post.

The new study by Charles Courtemanche, Aaron Yelowitz, and team on how social distancing policies reduced COVID-19 growth rate is featured in HealthDay.

New Study by Charles Courtemanche, Aaron Yelowitz, and team on COVID-19 and social distancing is featured on Vox.

WebMD picks up the new study by Charles Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz.

The Lane Report mentions the new study on social distancing and COVID-19 cases by ISFE Director Charles Courtemanche and professor Aaron Yelowitz.

Charles Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz' new study suggests areas that fail at social distance, face 35 times more virus cases.

Charles Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz and co-authors new study is mentioned in this U.S. News article.

New OP-ED in Washington Times. Daniel Di Martino, research associate, discusses how we can reopen America's economy based on the new University of Kentucky ISFE study by Charles Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz.

Charles Courtemanche, Aaron Yelowitz and co-authors' new study on social distancing is featured in The Washington Post.

Study by ISFE Director, Charles Courtemanche, professor Aaron Yelowitz, and co-authors, examines the impact of social distancing regulations on the daily growth rate of COVID-19 cases.

Both Courtemanche and Yelowitz new study on Healthy at Home is featured in the BG Daily News.

The new study by Charles Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowitz gets another mention in the Lexington Herald Leader.

The new study on COVID-19 by Courtemanche and Yelowitz is featured in the Lexington Herald Leader.

ISFE's Charles Courtemanche and Aaron Yelowtiz' new paper on COVID-19 was featured on LEX 18 News, including an interview with Yelowitz.

ISFE affiliate Darshak Patel, a passionate and accommplished educator is a 2020 Great Teacher Award recipient. 

The Institute's faculty affiliate, Dr. Ken Troske, gives his insight to Bloomberg Businessweek on the massive virus relief fund, due to his experience on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) oversight panel.

ISFE's reserach associate, Daniel DiMartino had his latest op-ed published in the Washington Examiner about anti-price gouging laws leading to shortages during the coronavirus crisis.

ISFE Affiliate Aaron Yelowitz has an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal.

ISFE's Director Charles Courtemanche and co-authors have a new study out saying imposed taxes on e-cigarette leads to more smoking of traditional cigarettes which is featured in the National Review.

ISFE's Director, Charles Courtemanche's new e-cigarette study suggesting raising taxes on them could encourage traditional smoking is featured on Forbes.com.

ISFE Affiliate Aaron Yelowitz was interviewed on NPR about improper Medicaid enrollment. 

ISFE Working Paper #18, “Nominal GDP versus Price Level Targeting: An Empirical Evaluation”, by ISFE affiliate Jim Fackler and Doug McMillin, has been accepted for publication at the Journal of Economics and Business. This project was supported by an ISFE summer research grant.

New research by Dr. Courtemanche on the connection between maternal employment and childhood obesity was published in the Journal of Human Capital.

Research by Dr. Yelowitz on improper Medicaid enrollment in New York City is mentioned in the New York Post.

A study on the Affordable Care Act and how it has impacted Insurance Coverage accross America by Dr. Courtemanche and Dr. Yelowitz is mentioned in the NBER Digest.

Dr. Yelowitz's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal based on joint research with Dr. Courtemanche.

Drs. Facker and McMillin present evidence that a path target for NGDP may be preferable to a path target for the price level. In addition, they also find that the NGDP path target would have been superior to a continuation of the implicit FIT policy pursued by the Fed before and after the Great Recession.

Curious about the impact on menu labeling laws?  Check out what Dr. Yelowitz says about this law in the CQ Researcher. 

/sites/ISFE/files/Fast-Food%20Shakeout_CQR_1.pdf

This report examines the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP) test scores for Kentucky students for the roughly 25-year time span from the 1990s forward, as well as changes in funding (inclusive of state, local, and federal) of K-12 in the Commonwealth during that period. Changes in the racial gap in test scores are also examined, along with the gap between the scores of students from low-income families and students from other families.

Is the Medicaid work requirement to blame for people losing their healthcare?  Dr. Yelowitz told MedPage Today that this report draws some unfounded conclusions.

This op-ed by Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise affiliate, Dr. John Garen, was published by the Lexington Herald-Leader on November 15, 2018 

Sept 7: Op-Ed - Dr. John Garen in the Lane Report

Conflict over public school financing arose again in the last legislative session, continuing the long-standing concern about the funding and performance of public schools.  Dr. John Garen is a co-author of a recent report that was released by the Pegasus Institute that speaks to these issues by presenting several facts and patterns regarding Kentucky’s K-12 system over the past two-and-a-half decades. 

June 27: Dr. Courtemanche's paper was referenced in MarketWatch: Living closer to a Walmart will improve a household’s food security — meaning they will have better access to safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs — according to a new working paper distributed Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research. (Walmart did not immediately return a request for comment.)

April 1-4: Dr. John Garen organized and moderated two sessions for the Association for Private Enterprise Education annual conference: 

“Labor Markets and Healthcare Markets”

“Empirical Studies of Government Intervention and Its Effects”

https://www.apee.org/2018-conference/

June 1st: Dr. John Garen was on Kentucky Tonight to discuss the economy and trade.  

https://www.ket.org/episode/KKYTO_002523/

March 8: Dr. Aaron Yelowitz & Dr. Tim Harris's article in the Public Health Post: African Americans Own More Life Insurance, Not Less

The UK Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise would like to congratulate Ph. D. student and 2017 Institute Summer Fellowship winner, Samuel Ingram, for being invited to present “Occupational Licensing and the Earnings Premium: A Border Approach” at the International Symposium on the Regulation of Occupations taking place at the London School of Economics. 

Dec 15: Dr. Aaron Yelowitz quoted in the Houston Chronicle about Bitcoin 

NOV 15th: Dr. Yelowitz's work discussed in the New York Post

OCT 20, Dr. Ken Troske was a guest on "Behind the Blue" talking about Economic Perspectives 

OCT 19, Dr. Yelowitz was quoted in the Healio Special Report: Health Care and Politics 

On October 9th, Dr. John Garen spoke about tax policy on KET's Kentucky Tonight

On September 28th, Dr. John Garen spoke with Eleanor Klibanoff of WFPL about the University of Louisville basketball scandal and how it'll affect finances at the University.

On September 7th, 2017, the Schnatter Institute hosted a tax policy panel with Dr. Arthur Laffer. The Herald-Leader discusses Dr. Laffer's ideas and includes a video from the event on their page. The panel also included UK economists Dr. Bill Hoyt and Dr. Chris Bollinger and Kentucky Center for Economic Policy's Jason Bailey.

On July 5th, 2017, Gatton College Dean Blackwell announced the appointment of Dr. Aaron Yelowitz to be director of the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise.

Schnatter Institute Associate Director Dr. Aaron Yelowitz’s was interviewed by Wallethub about state and personal financial independence.

Schnatter Institute Associate Director Dr. Aaron Yelowitz’s research on interest in Bitcoin was cited on May 16, 2017, for a CBC News piece.

Schnatter Institute Associate Director Dr. Aaron Yelowitz was a guest on Breaking down the News (a feature of WKYT News on the CW) on May 9, 2017, where he discussed healthcare issues and the American Health Care Act.

Schnatter Institute Director Dr. John Garen and Associate Director Dr. Aaron Yelowitz were interviewed by Louisville Public Radio 89.3 WFPL on April 22, 2017, where they discussed rising home values and the economy.

Schnatter Institute Associate Director Dr. Aaron Yelowitz was a guest on Breaking down the News on WKYT on December 30, 2016, where he discussed healthcare and premium hikes in 2017.