Four years into the deepest recession since World War II, the U.S. economy expanded at a rate of only 0.7 percent in the first half of 2011. This means that the economy is growing at a slower pace than the population and that capita output continues to fall. In response, the president has announced a plan for yet more deficit-financed stimulus spending.

To address the lack of knowledge about ARRA funding, we surveyed hundreds of firms, non-profits, and local governments that received ARRA funding. We collected over 1,300 anonymous, voluntary responses from managers and employees that allow us to better understand what happened at the organizations that received contracts funded by ARRA spending. This bottom-up study of ARRA is the first of its kind. We hope that others, especially government agencies, will build upon this on-the-ground analysis.

Where do jobs come from? This paper takes a detailed look at what policymakers need to know when in comes to creating jobs.

This Mercatus on Policy paper shares eleven bold reform ideas that could help states balance their 2012 budgets and avoid boom-and-bust budgeting cycles in the future.