Center for Analysis of Delaware's Economy & Government Spending

The Center's mission is critically important to Delaware because state policies continue to be an unfortunate catalyst for the clear decline of Delaware’s economy for far too long. For instance…

Over the past 20 years, Delaware’s per capita income has gone from the highest in the nation to below the national average.

According to the Delaware Department of Labor, employment is projected to grow at only 0.5% over the next decade, thereby trailing most of the nation.

Since 2009, Delaware has had five recessions compared to one in the rest of the country.

Including the variable Gross Receipts Tax, small business owners in Delaware often pay the highest personal income tax rates in America.

In partnership with other like-minded Delaware organizations, the primary goals of this Center are to develop bi-partisan strategies and alternative policy options that will bring transparency, regulatory reform, and improved effectiveness to the tens of billions of dollars spent by the State every year.

The reason Delaware's retail industry... | 11/28/2018

Retail trade in northern Delaware seems to be in a funk. Between 2007 and 2014 total inflation-adjusted retail sales in New Castle County decreased 11%. Retail trade employment is down by over 7% and the total number of retail trade establishments has dropped by almost 11%. What explains this...

A smarter economic pathway for Delaware | 2/19/2016

With a budget battle about to begin, what does the data suggest as the direction Delaware should take? Let’s start with a quick look back and compare the year 2005 to the year 2015. Since 2005 Delaware has added a total of 12,000 jobs. This is an employment growth r...

Government integrity in Delaware | 11/19/2015

This article first appeared at Delawareonline.com on November 18, 2015, and in the News Journal November 19, 2015. As noted by The News Journal, a recent report by the Center for Public Integrity and Global integrity rated Delaware State Government as 48th among the states in accountability...

Reviving Delaware Manufacturing | 10/12/2015

This article originally appeared on Delawareonline.com on October 11, 2015, and in the News Journal October 12, 2015. Despite their coordinated public relations splash on The News Journal’s Opinion pages, both Sen. Coons and Gov. Markell demonstrated a surprising lack of knowledge...

Delaware's Personal Income Problem | 4/30/2015

The Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis has released the first quarter 2015 personal income data for Delaware and the changes since 2005 are striking. Total personal income for Delawareans rose 39% over the latest 10 years. Adjusted for inflation, real personal income has averaged growth of 1...

Delaware's unrealistic look at its finances | 3/1/2015

On Jan. 14, Gov. Jack Markell issued an executive order establishing the DEFAC (Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Committee) “Advisory Council on Revenue.” The primary charge to the council is to evaluate whether the state’s principal revenue sources are adequate and appropr...

Delaware's Economic Outlook for 2015 | 1/6/2015

Delaware Business Times edition "Economy Watch," January 6, 2015. Dr. John Stapleford's article, "Delaware's Economic Outlook," is on Pages 4-5. He summarizes 2014 state economic data and makes projections for 2015.
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Why is Delaware's output flat? | 1/1/2015

This article originally appeared in the News Journal and at delawareonline.com. The total inflation adjusted output of goods and services in Delaware rose a mere 0.6% over the past 10 years. This contrasts to 8.2% in Pennsylvania, 16.6% in New York, 34.3% in Texas, and 12.1% across the nati...

If Delaware Adopts a Sales Tax... | 1/1/2015

Overall, Delaware has the 14th best 2015 business tax climate according to the Tax Foundation. Even more important, as jobs are far more likely to move between contiguous states, Delaware’s tax climate is far better than surrounding states in the region (see the tabe available in the download ...

Delaware's Fiscal Future Poor | 4/1/2014

A recent report from the Mercatus Center uses fourteen metrics to assess whether states can meet their short-term bills and long-term obligations. Delaware is poorly positioned with regards to its long-term obligations. The analysis in the report is based upon FY 2013 data from the Comprehens...