Publications - Journal Articles

Can Tailored Communications Motivate Volunteers?

A Field Experiment
Published in
American Economic Review
Omar Ahmad Al-Ubaydli, Min Sok Lee | May 01, 2011
This is a field experiment investigating whether tailoring the content of communications to the stated motivations of a volunteer has a positive effect on the number of hours he/she volunteers.

What Aid Can’t Do

Reply to Ranis
Published in
Cato Journal
Peter Leeson, David Skarbek | Apr 26, 2011
Leeson and Skarbeck respond to Gustav Ranis' main objections to their article previously published in the Cato Journal.

Rituals

An Economic Interpretation
Published in
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Christopher Coyne, Rachel Mathers | Apr 01, 2011
This paper provides a rational choice analysis of rituals, defined as predictable and regular observances of acts or procedures, which have a symbolic element resulting in the inculcation or reinforcement of shared values and beliefs.

The Consequences of Midnight Regulations and Other Surges in Regulatory Activity

Published in
Public Choice
Patrick McLaughlin | Mar 10, 2011
Is the midnight regulations phenomenon real and what are its consequences? This paper finds that when an administration’s time is almost up, submissions of economically significant regulations nearly double. Such surges in regulatory activity decrease the duration of regulatory review at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), likely because of political pressure to quickly approve new rules. Specifically, one additional economically significant regulation submitted to OIRA decreases the mean review time for all regulations by about two thirds of a day. If OIRA review improves regulation quality, then regulatory surges that decrease review time could hinder such improvement.

In a Word or Two, Placed in the Middle

The Invisible Hand in Smith's Tomes
Published in
Economic Affairs
Daniel Klein, Brandon Lucas | Mar 08, 2011
We explore the conjecture, first hinted at by Peter Minowitz, that Smith deliberately placed his central idea, as represented by the phrase ‘led by an invisible hand’, at the physical centre of his masterworks.

Learning From the States

Eight steps to better reform
Published in
The Ripon Forum
Maurice P. McTigue, Daniel M. Rothschild | Mar 04, 2011
In this article, Daniel Rothschild and Maurice McTigue discuss what factors lead to successful government streamlining commissions.

The Two Social Philosophies of Ostroms' Institutionalism

Published in
Policy Studies Journal
Paul Dragos Aligica, Peter J. Boettke | Mar 02, 2011
This article argues that the Ostroms' institutionalism has a dimension that is complex and profound enough to deserve to be considered a “social theory” or a “social philosophy.” The article pivots around the thesis that the “social philosophy” behind the Bloomington School's research agenda has in fact two facets that may or may not be consistent with each other.

Trial By Battle

Published in
Journal of Legal Analysis
Peter Leeson | Mar 01, 2011
For over a century England's judicial system decided land disputes by ordering disputants' legal representatives to bludgeon one another before an arena of spectating citizens. The victor won the property right for his principal. The vanquished lost his cause and, if he were unlucky, his life. People called these combats trials by battle. This paper investigates the law and economics of trial by battle.

Advertising, Commercial Speech, and First Amendment Parity

Published in
Charleston Law Review
Adam Thierer | Mar 01, 2011
In recent years, federal policymakers, state legislators, and state Attorneys General have all shown renewed interest in regulating commercial advertising and marketing. Several new regulatory initiatives are being proposed, or are already underway, that could severely curtail or restrict commercial speech on a variety of platforms. The affected platforms range from traditional media (newspapers, TV and radio broadcasters, etc.) to the newest media outlets (the Internet, online ad networks, social networks, video games, mobile devices, and interactive television).

Regulators and Redskins

Published in
Public Choice
Patrick McLaughlin, Robert D. Tollison | Feb 25, 2011
We examine the correlation between federal government activity and performance of the capital’s National Football League team, the Washington Redskins. We find a positive, non-spurious, and robust correlation between the Redskins’ winning percentage and bureaucratic output, measured by pages published in the Federal Register. Because the Redskins’ performance is prototypically exogenous, we give this result a causal interpretation and provide a plausible, causal mechanism: bureaucrats must make “logrolling” deals to expand their regulatory power, and a winning football team offers a shared source of optimism to lubricate such negotiations. We do not find the same correlation when examining congressional activity.