Antony Davies

View Hi-Res Image

Antony Davies

  • Associate Professor of Economics, Duquesne University

Antony Davies is associate professor of economics at Duquesne University and Mercatus Affiliated Senior Scholar at George Mason University. His primary research interests include econometrics, public policy, and economic psychology.

Davies has authored op-eds in over thirty newspapers including the The Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times, and is a regular columnist for US News and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He is a frequent lecturer at policy conferences on Capitol Hill and at state capitals. In addition to teaching at the undergraduate, masters, and Ph.D. levels, Dr. Davies was Chief Analytics Officer at Parabon Computation, President and co-founder at Paragon Software (now Take-Two Interactive), and co-founder and Chief Analytics Officer at Repliqa (now Zoo Entertainment).

Dr. Davies earned his B.S. in Economics from Saint Vincent College, and Ph.D. in Economics from the State University of New York at Albany.

Follow Antony on Google+

Published Research

Tax Gimmicks

Antony Davies, Devin Bowen | Oct 11, 2012
To minimize the effect of the increased taxes on their election prospects, politicians employ gimmicks to hide the taxes. In this paper, we discuss four types of gimmicks. Legislative gimmicks use the wording of the tax law to hide who is being taxed or how much they are being taxed.

Government Spending 101

Antony Davies, James C. Musser | Jul 2010
How much do you actually know about government spending? Government Spending 101 is here to help you learn how it works and what effects it has on your life.

Midnight Regulations and the Cinderella Effect

Antony Davies, Veronique de Rugy | Oct 01, 2009
Recent studies have shown preliminary evidence of a tendency for outgoing administrations to generate a flurry of last-minute regulatory activity. This so-called Cinderella effect is described as…

Working Papers

The U.S. Experience With Fiscal Stimulus

Antony Davies, Bruce Yandle, Derek Thieme, Robert Sarvis | Apr 05, 2012
Can deliberate government spending activities have a continuing net positive impact on economic activity? Do federal spending programs designed to offset a recession’s negative effects really add a net positive nudge to GDP growth? Can government purposefully and successfully stimulate ongoing employment growth?

Tax Rates and Migration

Antony Davies, John Pulito | Aug 08, 2011
This paper takes a look at how increases in the top marginal income-tax rate affect the number of high-income households within a state.

Binge Thinking

Antony Davies, John Pulito | Nov 22, 2010
How does your government regulate alcohol? This Q&A paper analyzes alcohol-control policies in the states.

Do Federal Matching Funds Inhibit State Growth?

Antony Davies, Rossen Valchev | Aug 22, 2008
Employing data for the state of Texas from 1963 through 2006, this workding paper concludes that increases in FMFs lead to lower state economic growth.
More Working Papers

Charts

Income Distribution in the United States

Antony Davies | Jan 31, 2012
Using CBO data on income disparity published in 2010, Antony Davies shows a sharp downward trend in the number of lowest income households – the poorest of the poor are disappearing. For 40 years, the poor and middle-class have been disappearing – they have become richer.

Tax Rates vs. Tax Revenues

Antony Davies | Jul 12, 2011
This series of charts by Antony Davies illustrates the relationship between tax rates and tax revenues.

Testimony & Comments

Proposed Reforms to Federal Reserve Regulation Z ('Truth in Lending')

Antony Davies | Mar 28, 2005
This comment is an analysis of the Federal Reserve's proposed reforms to "Regulation Z," which implements provisions of the "Truth in Lending"

Media Clippings

Deficit Day Sounds Alarm on 'Tax, Borrow and Spend'

Antony Davies | Sep 12, 2012
Outlet: The Hill

Brushing off $20 for the Tooth Fairy

Antony Davies | Sep 10, 2012
Outlet: The Detroit News

Ted Cruz and Other Candidates Redefine Fiscal Responsibility

Antony Davies | Jul 17, 2012
Outlet: The Daily Caller

Without Reform, it's Just Politics

Antony Davies | Jul 11, 2012
Outlet: Daily Press
More Media Clippings

Expert Commentary

For Whom the Taxpayer Toils

Philadelphia Inquirer
By Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan |
Apr 17, 2013

Each July Fourth, Americans celebrate their freedom, the result of a revolution over "taxation without representation." This month, we celebrate another type of freedom - from our own tax man. It turns out that taxation with representation is no picnic either.

Let Cyprus Be the Lesson

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan |
Mar 22, 2013

How can the United States avoid the fate that awaits this growing list of countries? The answer to this question is as easy factually as it is difficult politically: The United States must balance its budget.

How Big Business Benefits From Regulation

Washington Times
By Antony Davies, Ryan McCarl |
Mar 13, 2013

When government enacts policies to micromanage our decision-making, it erodes our personal freedom. Yet that’s not the whole story. It turns out that big business often loves regulation, because the regulations frequently end up applying only to small or disfavored businesses. Ultimately, more regulations simply mean more ways for big business to manipulate the law to shut out competition.

Runaway Federal Debt Means Our Money Is Worth Less

Investor's Business Daily
By Antony Davies, James R. Harrigan |
Jan 11, 2013

From 1954 through 2012, the federal government shelled out a total of almost $72 trillion on all spending, combined. Over the same period, it collected revenues of under $56 trillion from all sources. The $16 trillion difference is today's federal debt.
More Expert Commentary