Caitlin Clarkonomics and the Impact on Iowa featuring Ben Murrey

Common Sense Digest

University of Iowa’s homegrown star, Caitlin Clark, began her college basketball career playing in empty arenas at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now she competes in sold-out arenas wherever she goes—and for good reason. During her 4-year college career, Clark has broken countless records on the court and brought an unprecedented level of excitement to women’s basketball. Meanwhile, Iowa has felt her impact inside and outside of the arena. The athlete’s talent and celebrity has led to soaring attendance at games, and larger crowds generate more economic activity.

Our recent study, Clarkonomics: The Impact of Caitlin Clark & Hawkeye Women’s Basketball on Iowa’s Economy is not the first to explore the economics of Clark’s superstardom, but it takes a unique approach. Past reports and news coverage have highlighted the money behind Clark’s brand deals, ticket sales, and media coverage, along with other anecdotes of economic impact. In contrast, this report takes a data-drive approach to quantifying the impact of Iowa women’s basketball and Caitlin Clark’s extraordinary college career on the economy of the state of Iowa.

To discuss this report, and all things Caitlin Clark, our Chairman and Host Earl Wright welcomes Ben Murrey, CSI Iowa Director of Policy & Research. They discuss the real economic impact Caitlin Clark's remarkable talent and career have had, why she is representative of Iowa as a whole, and much more.

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Ben Murrey is Iowa Director of Policy and Research with the Common Sense Institute where he leads the research efforts of CSI Iowa to provide insightful, accurate and actionable information about the impact of public policy on Hawkeye families, businesses and communities. Prior to joining CSI in January of this year, Ben spent over a decade in political and public policy roles at the state and federal levels. After earning his degree at Hillsdale College, he joined Ted Cruz on the campaign trail, first as a grassroots field director overseeing 45 rural east Texas counties and later as assistant director of operations. He went on to serve seven years as a legislative staffer for Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas and Washington, D.C. Most recently, he served as fiscal policy center director at Independence Institute, a free market think tank in Colorado. In addition to leading reports on a range of fiscal, tax and economic issues, Ben’s writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Real Clear Policy and more. His work has contributed to public policy change at the state and federal levels that advanced sound tax policy and free enterprise.