Ohio Economic Experts Panel

Most Recent Survey

May 4, 2026: AI Data Centers

Petitioners in Ohio have started collecting signatures to get a proposed constitutional amendment to ban data centers on the November ballot. Ohio already has about 200 data centers, the fifth largest in the country. Proponents of data centers argue that they create jobs and stimulate the economy, while opponents argue they increase energy prices and use up otherwise valuable farmland.

Question A: Tax incentives for data centers are an efficient use of public funds to stimulate job growth in Ohio.

Question B: The economic benefits of new data centers in Ohio exceed the environmental and energy market externality costs associated with their construction.

Question C: The economic costs of a statewide ban on new data centers in Ohio would outweigh the economic benefits.

View Individual Responses Here

Goal: Policymakers need information from experts to craft policy that is effective, efficient, and equitable. The Ohio Economic Experts Panel is a tool for promoting better policy outcomes by providing policymakers, policy influencers, and the public with the informed opinions of Ohio’s leading economists.

About: The Ohio Economic Experts Panel consists of over 40 economists from colleges and universities throughout the state of Ohio. Panelists answer monthly questions of relevance to state policy indicating the degree to which they agree or disagree with a policy question and their confidence in their answer based on available evidence.

The Ohio Economic Experts Panel is a social bottom line service of Scioto Analysis, a public policy analysis firm based in Columbus, Ohio.

Suggest Questions : If you would like to suggest a question for the Ohio Economic Experts Panel, please email it to michael@sciotoanalysis.com. Questions most likely to be chosen will be those posed as agree/disagree propositions.

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