State Budget

Corporate Welfare in Governor Shapiro’s 2026–27 Budget Proposal

• May 20, 2026

Summary High taxes and burdensome regulations continue to drive outmigration. Rather than improving the state’s tax and regulatory environment, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2026–27 budget proposal seeks to…

Fact Sheet

State Budget

Pennsylvania’s Economy is Struggling to Compete Nationally

• January 28, 2026

Overview Over the past few months, Gov. Josh Shapiro and his administration have routinely touted Pennsylvania’s supposed economic success, portraying the commonwealth’s economy as “…

Fact Sheet

State Budget

Corporate Welfare in Governor Shapiro’s Fiscal Year 2025–26 Budget Proposal

• September 8, 2025

Summary Pennsylvania’s economy lags behind other states, hindered by high taxes and burdensome regulations. As a result, the state suffers from continued outmigration, with residents leaving for better opportunities in…

Fact Sheet

Pennsylvania Labor Policies Rank Low Nationally

• June 16, 2025

Pennsylvania labor policies rank among the lowest nationally, according to a new report. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) published States That Work: A Labor Policy Roadmap Across America,…

Blog

Regulation

Cutting Red Tape in Pennsylvania

• James Broughel
• September 18, 2023

This report presents findings from Mercatus Center’s State RegData database, analyzing regulations in the  Pennsylvania Code as of 2022. The report provides an overview of state regulations, how Pennsylvania’s regulatory…

Executive Summary

Energy

Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Mandates in Pennsylvania

• Gordon Tomb
• August 24, 2023

Key Points Studies show adopting Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) criteria is not associated with better labor or environmental regulatory compliance. Emerging studies show ESG criteria are associated with lower…

Backgrounder

Education

Education Opportunity Accounts in Practice

• May 18, 2023

Key Points Education Opportunity Accounts (EOAs) are transformative, flexible-use accounts funded by state tax dollars.Program Administration: The Pennsylvania Treasury is the ideal administrator at the state level and may contract…

Backgrounder

Welfare

Unwinding Medicaid Continuous Enrollment

• Elizabeth Stelle
• April 10, 2023

Summary On April 1, Pennsylvania returned to normal Medicaid eligibility rules and began a year-long process of redetermining eligibility for all 3.68 million beneficiaries.Medicaid spending grows faster than our state…

Fact Sheet

Energy

Assessing Gov. Tom Wolf’s Tenure

• Nathan Benefield
• January 12, 2023

Key Points During Gov. Tom Wolf’s eight years in office, Pennsylvania ranked below the national average in income growth, job growth, and population growth.State government spending increased significantly under Wolf,…

Backgrounder