AEI Online
November 24, 2008
Democrats in Congress have asked the "Big Three" domestic automakers to provide a plan by early December that would return the auto industry to profitability.
Government rebates on domesticcars would do less harm than a bailout of the Big Three automakers.
The allocation of techno-friendly "beachfront property" is expected to usher in a new era of innovation in wireless communications.
While domestic drilling in the short term may not contribute to lower gas prices later on, there may be surprising benefits for the environment.
AEI Online
August 20, 2008
Reregulation could have unintended consequences and undermine America's competitive position in the global market for financial services.
Re-regulation could have unintended consequences and undermine America's competitive position in theglobal market for financial services.
The U.S. Supreme Court recieved an amicus brief on FDA regulation.
Government should allow firms to experiment with different business models for Internet services.
Regulators did not create the Internet as we know it, and there is no reason to believe that more regulation in the name of assuring freedom will make it better.
The Federal Reserve's proposed rules on mortgages are likely to head off far more costly legislation, especially if foreclosure rates head for the stratosphere in coming months.
As studies show that ethanol from corn may not be the answer, funds should be redirected toward other efforts in energy security and climate change.
The first priority of climate policy should be putting a domestic emissions regulation system in place.
Congress should no longer allow FCC regulators to auction off electromagnetic spectrum space to its favorite companies.
How best can we get regulatory agencies to produce better analysis and make that analysis more transparent and readily available?
Should prediction markets fall victim to laws restricting gambling?
The Internet has become an integral part of our economy, unleashing powerful innovations that are transforming business, our economy, and the way we work.
Congress should create a regulatory pathway for prediction markets.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of President George W. Bush's executive order on government regulation?
The new executive order on government regulation should have included independent regulatory agencies in addition to executive regulatory agencies.
How secure are our software networks?
How secure are our software networks?
Congress has introduced several bills on net neutrality, but mostof themare likely to do more harm than good.
The International Trade Commission has gained importance in recent years.Are therebiasesin favor of patent holders inits decisionmaking?
Is President Bush's new order on government regulation an improvement upon past laws?
Milken Institute Review
January 1, 2007
How does "end-to-end" computer design affect net neutrality?
AEI Online
November 17, 2006
What impact will a new law banning online gambling have on innovative information markets?
What lessons can we learn from the proposed AT&T-BellSouth merger?
Was the Environmental Protection Agency’s denial of the petition to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases from motor vehicles reasonable?
Late last month, as Congress rushed to adjourn, lawmakers passed legislation that would make it a crime for credit card companies and banks to send payments to Internet gambling sites.
If net neutrality proponents prevail, it is less likely that companies that operate most of the Internet will have sufficient economic incentives to build needed new capacity.
What are the economic impact of "minor" or "insignificant" rules?
This paper critically reviews the draft of the Office of Management and Budget’s ninth report on the benefits and costs of federal regulation.
How can the government's proposed risk assessment guidelines be improved?
Under intense pressure from its political base, the Bush administration is at last taking budget cutting seriously.
The Bush administration should apply the same tool to controlling spending growth that it has used with skill in controlling the growth of regulation: cost-benefit analysis.
An assessment of software security, usinga law and economics framework.
Is "hands off the Internet!" good policy?
A group of leading economists provide their stance on U.S. broadband policy.
Is government intervention necessary in ratings systems?
Is it necessary for Washington to get serious about energy conservation?
Letter to the editor of Science magazinein response to claims of mercury's detrimental effects.
A theoretical rationale for the use of information markets in decision making tasks is provided.
AEI Online
October 25, 2005
The case for more government-induced mandates to promote energy conservation is problematic.
Over time, more realtors are likely to switch from playing political hardball to competing on the merits--by offering a more attractive menu of services at the lowest possible price.
Economic analysis of life-saving investments has the potential to dramatically improve longevity and the quality of life, but only if the analyses on which decisions are based are done well.
When natural disaster strikes, Americans expect Washington to ride to the rescue.
Should the government use taxes to "internalize" the costs of energy consumption that are not otherwise reflected in prices?
Policy Review
August 1, 2005
Combining information markets with paying for performance has the potential to improve how aid is delivered.
An economic analysis of the residential real estate brokerage industry and suggestions for improving brokerage services.
The fifteen year mercury saga offers insights into the politics and economics of environmental regulation, and illustrates several policy lessons for future regulation.
The precautionary principle can be paralyzing, while in contrastbalancing costs against benefitsmay offer the foundation of an approach for making difficult decisions.
Offers recommendations forgetting the regulatory agencies to produce better analysis and make the analysis more transparent and readily available.
The Milken Institute Review
March 31, 2005
Discusses electronic information markets.
Transparency, accountability, and responsible governance are needed to stem the tide of corporate corruption.
This paper provides a quantitative assessment of the costs and benefits of regulating mercury emissions using the effects on IQ levels as a measure of benefits.
Several billion dollars on regulation that yields few social benefits means several billion dollars less to spend on thing that could do a lot more good.
The authorsargue that that the Commodities Futures Trading Commission should regulate certain kinds of information market contracts that are futures contracts.
Wall Street Journal Europe
November 1, 2004
The European Unionshould create a strong centralized regulatory oversight unit to review and help standardize the preparation of analyses before new regulations are set.
The authorsargue that information marketsand pay-for-performance contractscould revolutionize the way the government, nonprofit world, and private sector do business.
Policy Review
October 1, 2004
High-speed accessto the Internet, or "broadband," could be a tremendous boon to economic growth.
The authorsreview the U.S. and European experiences with regulatory oversight and the use of formal tools to analyze regulation.
This paper offers a new approach to economic development, which the authors call performance-based policy, to get better information to implement development decisions.
The authors examine empirically the move toward a cashless society using a cost-benefit framework andfind that cash and checks are more costly than many earlier studies suggest.
Economists argue that there is no clear economic rationale for regulating interstate shipments of wine.
The authorsprovide an economic approach for assessing the relative costs and benefits of various payment methods.
The authors attempt to suggest how the use of information markets can improve the quality of public policy.
Information markets combined with pay-for-performance contractscan revolutionize the way the government, nonprofit world, and private sector do business.
Cell phone use is increasing worldwide, leading to a concern that cell phone use while driving increases accidents.
Milken Institute Review
July 1, 2004
This study's estimates of the reduction in accidents from a ban on cell phone use while driving are both lower and less certain than previous studies indicate.
Once relegated to low quality computer-to-computer communication, Internet voice telephone service--dubbed Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP--now appears ready for prime time.
The authors examine strengths and weaknesses of policies for achieving President George W. Bush's vision of universal, affordable access to broadband technology by the year 2007.
This paper critically reviews the draft of the Office of Management and Budget’s seventh report on the benefits and costs of federal regulation.
Will all federal regulations soon pass a benefit-cost test? If the Office of Management and Budget's 2003 report is any indicator, the answer may be yes.
As Brussels’s ruling in the Microsoft case illustrates, Europe still embraces the notion that competitors must be protected from the judgments of the market.
Comcast has been the beneficiary of a complex federal regulatory system that tilted the playing field toward cable.
Wall Street Journal Europe
February 13, 2004
News that Vodafone is among the suitors for the U.S.-based AT&T Wireless signifies not just a bold step for the telecom titan, but a definitive direction for the future of the telecom industry.
Regulation
January 1, 2004
What sorts of regulation are best handled at the federal level?
To make prudent recommendations for improving the use of cost-benefit analysis in policy settings, some measures of how well it is actually done are essential.
A key finding of this paper is that the results of the earlier analysis of government regulatory impact analyses appear to be fairly robust within the data set that was constructed.
Several legal scholars are highly skeptical of the use of cost-benefit analysis and other economic tools in regulatory decision-making.
This paper examines whether there is a need to regulate VoIP; there is no economic rationale for regulating VoIP and that consumers will likely be worse off if VoIP is regulated.
This analysis addresses some of the particular peer review procedures discussed in "OMB's Proposed Bulletin on Peer Review and Information Quality."
Tech Central Station
November 12, 2003
It is tempting to assume that if the do-not-call registry works well, the government should expand its horizons--think junk mail.
Senators are threatening to block key provisions in the Fair Credit Reporting Act unless the rest of the country follows California on rules for collecting personal financial information.
San Francisco Chronicle
October 26, 2003
States have considerable discretion in setting policy on issues ranging from education to criminal justice. Why, then, pre-empt their rights to regulate financial privacy?
Add telemarketing and spam to the dark side of the information technology revolution.
Will the anti-spam approach, under enthusiastic consideration by the House, really do much? Not likely.
Regulation Magazine
October 1, 2003
Can government reporting help bring rationality to regulation?
The only winners in reducing OIRA’s budget for regulatory review and oversight would be special interests that wish to pursue their agendas.
The Council of Economic Advisers has been exiled to the U.S. equivalent of Siberia. This demotion will lead to a decline in the quality of economic advice given to PresidentBush.
Can there be such a thing as too much privacy from snoopers who want to know how much you earn and how much you owe?
Washington Post
June 1, 2003
Research translating life and health benefits into dollars produces a range of answers; do fluctuating cost estimates make a difference in terms of policy choices?
Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy
June 1, 2003
Chicago Tribune
April 25, 2003
The outsourcing of service jobs can appear sinister, but that's not a surprise at a time of war when heightened patriotism can easily morph into protectionism.
House Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources, and Regulatory Affairs
March 10, 2003
This testimony identifies past andcurrent regulatory reforms that could help improve the quality of regulatory analysis and the quality of regulatory decision making.
Policy Review
October 1, 2002
The Enron "scandal" has raised several fascinating issues related to disclosing information and potential conflicts of interest.
Testimony by Robert W. Hahn and Robert E. Litan before the House Committee on Small Business on June 6, 2002. This testimony identifies current and future regulatory reforms that could help improve the quality of regulatory analysis and the quality of regulatory decisionmaking.
Like every other turn in this long case, the tentative settlement to United States v. Microsoft has generated controversy.
The Washington Post
April 21, 2002
Fans of legal acrobatics were treated to a bravura performance by the Justice Department's trustbusters last week in the Microsoft case.
Los Angeles Times
November 2, 2001
The Justice Department’s proposed settlement to end its lawsuit against Microsoft does not reject the false premises on which the case was based.
House Subcommitte on Energy Policy, Natural Resources, and Regulatory Affairs
September 21, 2001
AEI Online
August 1, 2001
The appeals court in the Microsoft case understood that, in the new economy, competition is driven by innovation.
The Washington Post
July 15, 2001
Microsoft case will allow successful, innovative companies to breathe easier after the public has forgotten why the appeals court chose to give Microsoft the benefit of a doubt.
Joint Center for Regulatory Studies
March 1, 2001
Milken Institute Review
January 1, 2001
Regulation
September 1, 2000
Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy
July 1, 2000
Washington Post
May 25, 2000
Washington did not initiate the explosion of innovation that has transformed the economy in the past decade--but Washington just might end it.
Los Angeles Times
April 30, 2000
AEI Online
April 30, 2000
The Justice Department’s proposed remedy in the case of U.S. v. Microsoft is only tangentially related to the alleged offense.
Recent history suggests that technological change, not antitrust intervention, is the best defender of competition.
New York Times
April 7, 2000
Regulation
December 1, 1999
Los Angeles Times
November 29, 1999
The Internet is usually viewed as the no-holds-barred domain of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
Wall Street Journal
November 24, 1999
If OSHA really is able to prevent such injuries, why doesn't it go into business?
Los Angeles Times
September 20, 1999
AEI Online
September 20, 1999
If the Justice Department wins its case against Microsoft, it will be difficult at best to apply an antitrust remedy that neither harms consumers nor deters innovation.
AEI Online
August 1, 1999
The authors propose that increased access be limited to data relevant in analyzing regulations that would have an annual economic impact of at least $100 million.
Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs
February 24, 1998
The Regulatory Improvement Act reaffirms two important principles.
Washington Post
December 10, 1997
The task facing us now is how best to address the possibility of human-induced climate damage on a global scale.
Washington Post
July 30, 1997
Common sense dictates that government agencies should weigh the benefits and costs of all major regulations they issue.
Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy
June 1, 1997
Wall Street Journal
May 15, 1997
Results of programs aimed at reducing levels of phosphorus in the Everglades demonstrate that environmental problems are better addressed through financial incentives to private industry.
Senate Subcommittee on Aviation
March 5, 1997
Air safety and security concerns are likely to increase in the future.
Wall Street Journal
June 27, 1996
Arecent effort by the EPA to estimatecosts and benefits of past, present, and future clean-air regulations provides little guidance for policymakers.
U.S. House of Reps., Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
June 29, 1995
RAND Journal of Economics
June 1, 1995
Journal of Law & Economics
April 1, 1995
Wall Street Journal
February 27, 1995
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management
January 1, 1995
Journal of Public Economics
January 1, 1995
Wall Street Journal
December 30, 1994
Natural Resources Journal
December 1, 1994
Wall Street Journal
October 17, 1994
Electricity Journal
March 1, 1994
J.F.K. School of Government, Harvard University
January 1, 1994
Oxford Review of Economic Policy
January 1, 1994
Washington Times
November 23, 1993
Washington Times
October 5, 1993
Harvard University
September 1, 1993
Yale Law Journal
May 1, 1993
New York Times
February 6, 1993
New York Times
August 2, 1992
American Economic Review
May 1, 1992
Ecology Law Quarterly
January 1, 1991
The Economic Journal
December 1, 1990
Christian Science Monitor
February 23, 1990
Journal of Risk and Uncertainty
January 1, 1990
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