January 10, 2025

The Free Enterprise Report is a marquis report that provides an objective, non-partisan, fact-based analysis of the Iowa economic landscape and the state’s most pressing issues. The study is a year long undertaking and includes the CSI Economic Performance Index as well as a Free Enterprise Competitiveness Index across eight different policy areas.

Both indices provide an opportunity to look backwards and better understand where Iowa has been and what direction we are moving. We can better understand how we are performing relative to other states and we can equip policy makers, civic and business leaders with the best understanding of how our state is performing, where we are winning, where we are losing and how free enterprise principles can get us back on track.

 

RECENT/RELATED RESEARCH

Infrastructure
The Tax Impact of Data Centers in Iowa: New Revenue for Communities, Relief for Taxpayers
Introduction Iowa’s data center sector has grown from a handful of campuses into one of the fastest-growing parts of the…
Infrastructure
The Economic Impact of Data Centers in Iowa
Introduction Critics often argue that data centers bring large buildings and heavy power demand but few jobs, and on its…
Jobs & Our Economy
Iowa Jobs and Labor Force Update – September 2026
Summary Iowa added 1,800 nonfarm jobs in September, with private-sector employment rising by 400 and government employment rising by 1,400.…

October 20, 2026


Stepan Mysko
Jobs & Our Economy
Inflation in the Midwest – September 2026
All the data referenced in this report come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI) database.…

October 14, 2026


Stepan Mysko

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