Don’t count on it, based on this assessment by Roby Brock in Talk Business.
Dr. Tom Garrett, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank in St. Louis, is skeptical that the impact will be noticeable.
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“The lottery will have little impact, if any, on the overall Arkansas economy,” he says bluntly. “Basically, the lottery is a new consumption alternative, so people will spend their money on the lottery instead of other things, such as movies, restaurants, and other entertainment. It is simply a reallocation of spending dollars by Arkansans.”
A spokesman for Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, the Father of the Arkansas Lottery, takes some exception and Roby explains this is only part of his look at the subject:
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