Emily Washington

Policy Research Manager

Emily Washington is a policy research manager for the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She manages the Spending and Budget Initiative and State and Local Policy Project portfolios. Her writing has appeared in USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, Economic Affairs, and The Daily Caller. She contributes to the blogs Neighborhood Effects and Market Urbanism.

Emily is an alumna of the Mercatus Center MA Fellowship at George Mason University. She worked with the Social Change Project in issues related to state and local policy and urban economics. After completing her MA, she worked in commercial real estate market research before returning to the Mercatus Center as an Associate Director of State Outreach. She graduated from Goucher College in Baltimore, MD with a BA in Economics.

Working Papers

Government Streamlining Commissions: A Methodology for Measuring Effectiveness

Emily Washington, Carmine Scavo | Oct 15, 2012

This paper proposes a methodology for evaluating the operation and success of state government streamlining commissions. These commissions—typically appointed by governors or state legislatures—became increasingly popular in the last decade as a way to identify potential savings in state government by reducing redundancies and increasing efficiencies in state spending. Such changes contribute to creating a more business-friendly environment in states resulting in increased state competitiveness in economic development.

Policy Briefs

Perverse Incentives of Economic "Stimulus" Daniel M. Rothschild, Emily Washington \| Jan 25, 2010 The Federal Government's recent "stimulus" package allocated $140 billion to help states' budgets, but it hasn't been nearly enough to prop up the unsustainable spending states are engaged in.	The Costs and Consequences of Unemployment Benefits on the States Eileen Norcross, Emily Washington \| Jan 25, 2010 Unemployment insurance programs in the states have been approaching insolvency for more than a decade, putting pressure on states to raise payroll taxes, cut benefits, or seek federal loans. None of…
Tax and Expenditure Limits for Long-Run Fiscal Stability Emily Washington, Frederic Sautet \| Oct 2009 In the public sector, no tool adjusts spending to changing conditions. In the current recession, many states have decreased revenues, but little decreased spending has been seen. This pattern raises…

Research Summaries & Toolkits

A Comparison of Indices that Rank State Economic Competitiveness

Emily Washington | Dec 20, 2011

Several public policy organizations have published studies that rank state economic competitiveness. This piece looks at the overlap between three indices and draws lessons for state policymakers.

State Government Streamlining Commissions: Ten Factors for Success

Maurice P. McTigue, Emily Washington, Daniel M. Rothschild | Dec 20, 2011

This paper draws on the experiences of government streamlining commissions in Louisiana and Virginia to craft recommendations for designing effective commissions.

Media Clippings

Expert Commentary

Freedom in the 50 States and Migration

Neighborhood Effects

By Emily Washington |

Apr 26, 2013

This is just one city-level example, but New York City demonstrates that locations with the strictest land use regulations are not just discouraging in-migration with policies that limit residents’ freedom, they are also preventing people from moving to their jurisdictions by restricting growth in housing stock.

Third Edition of Freedom in the 50 States

By Emily Washington |

Mar 28, 2013

Today the Mercatus Center released the third edition of Freedom in the 50 States by Will Ruger and Jason Sorens. In this new edition, the authors score states on over 200 policy variables. Additionally, they have collected data from 2001 to measure how states' freedom rankings have changed over the past decade. While several organizations publish state freedom rankings, Freedom in the 50 States is the only one that measures both economic and personal freedoms.

Motor City Can’t Drive Itself Anymore

U.S. News and World Report

By Emily Washington |

Mar 05, 2013

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently announced that he would assign an emergency financial manager to Detroit, stating that the city cannot feasibly pay back its $14 billion in debt and long-term liabilities. The governor asserted that local policymakers have failed to provide basic services that Michigan municipalities are required to provide their residents.

Rhetoric Alone Will Not Improve Educational Outcomes

U.S. News and World Report

By Emily Washington |

Feb 19, 2013

Accurately measuring the outcomes of education programs is critical for providing policymakers, educators, and the public with the necessary data to know what works. Without this data we cannot know whether or not putting scarce taxpayer resources toward preschool will provide lasting benefits to participants, let alone provide societal benefits in excess of costs.

More Expert Commentary

Mercatus Center

Emily Washington