The Effects of Different State Policies on Rising Inequality and Costs in the States

Sean van Besouw* and William Franko

Department of Political Science, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Presentation Category: Behavioral & Social Sciences (Poster Presentation #74)

Student’s Major: Political Science

In the US, inequality is rising and states are taking their own measures to combat rising costs in housing, health care, child care, and education. This rising inequality created an affordability crisis for middle class Americans. Some states have done a better job than others at implementing innovative and effective policy to combat rising costs. The goal of this research is to examine new and innovative state policies on inequality and how they affect the residents living in those states. This research will look at the amount and effectiveness of policies passed to combat the rising inequality in all 50 states + Washington DC and determine which states pass the best and most effective, as well as which states have had the highest rising inequality over time. Using different means and measurements the impact of these state policies will be found and their outcomes can be seen. Next, this research will discuss how the residents of each state compare to each other in the four aspects of rising inequality, and which specific policies got the better states ahead of the lagging ones. The expected outcome is that states that passed more wide reaching redistributive policies will likely have better economic outcomes regarding inequality than states which did not pass these policies. If the expected outcome is found, this will shape state policy to include the successful policies from states that have experienced success in lowering economic inequality.

Funding: West Virginia University

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) & accompanying HONR 297-level course