Economics

Economics

Research

Bruce Yandle | Dec 05, 2012
As 2012 comes to an end, how is the great American bread machine faring? Are we about to move from the pale-growth doldrums and shift into passing gear? Or will 2013 bring more of the same?
Hester Peirce | Oct 23, 2012
This paper will describe just how little high-quality economic analysis the federal financial regulators charged with implementing Dodd-Frank and regulating the financial markets are doing.[3] Although each regulator has a unique approach to economic analysis, all of their approaches fall short of the standard to which executive agencies are held. More fundamentally, the federal financial regulators are depriving themselves of analysis essential to the proper exercise of their rulemaking functions.
Scott Sumner | Oct 23, 2012
The history of central banking is a story of one failure after another. This does not mean our actual monetary regimes have been the worst of all possible regimes—far from it. But it does mean we can improve policy by learn- ing from experience. Every proposed reform is a response to a previous failure, an implicit display of lessons learned.
Adam Thierer, Brent Skorup | Oct 16, 2012
We argue that the antitrust harms Columbia Law Professor Tim Wu fears are not present, and we highlight scholarship on the accepted benefits of vertically integrated firms. We show that Wu's remedies are policy preferences wrapped in the language of competition law. In fact, the information economy is largely competitive and does not warrant interventionist regulatory enforcement. Since much of American economic vitality flows from the information economy and technology, policymakers should reject a radical antitrust remedy like Wu’s preemptive Separations Principle.
Bruce Yandle | Oct 09, 2012
This special Mercatus Center edition of my Economic Situation report focuses on what I call the stumbling U.S. economy. In the report, I seek to explain how and why the economy is performing so poorly. I do this by assessing some of the economy’s major features. The first assessment involves an examination of the economy’s uneven pulse beat, best seen in GDP growth data. I then turn to state unemployment and state GDP growth data and present another picture of uneven growth. After discussing federal budgets and deficits, I turn to labor markets and then to an assessment of the Federal Reserve Board’s efforts to stimulate the economy using quantitative easing. I conclude this special report with a brief review of what has happened to income distribution and a short summary of what I expect we will see across the rest of 2012 and in 2013.
, Tami Gurley-Calvez, Genevieve M. Kenney, Kosali Simon and Douglas Wissoker | Oct 02, 2012
We use an innovative redesign of West Virginia’s Medicaid that took place from 2007 to 2010 to estimate the causal impact of incentives within Medicaid to encourage better health and health care behaviors and reduce emergency room (ER) visits.

Testimony & Comments

Veronique de Rugy | Jun 19, 2012
For obvious reasons, more than any other recent events, the waste of taxpayers’ money due to Solyndra’s failure has attracted much attention. However, the problems with loan guarantees are much more fundamental than the cost of one or more failed projects.
Richard Williams | Jun 11, 2012
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has requested comment on the 2012 Draft Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local and Tribal Entities (hereafter referred to as “the OMB report”). This comment has been produced by Richard A. Williams, Ph.D., of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, an education, research, and outreach organization that works with scholars, policy experts, and government officials to bridge academic theory and real-world practice.
Keith Hall | Jun 06, 2012
For BLS to effectively disseminate data directly to the public and maintain credibility as an independent, objective provider of data, DOL should not interfere with BLS’ dissemination of economic data through any means.
Anthony B. Sanders | May 09, 2012
A reverse mortgage for seniors is a reasonable idea, but should not be guaranteed by the Federal government. It is an ownership decision and the Federal government must stop trying to micromanage this decision, particularly since there is an easy alternative that does not require government guarantees.
Anthony B. Sanders | Apr 25, 2012
Let us be wary of creating another Jurassic Park policy change. We are in unchartered waters for housing finance and Federal Reserve policies and any further changes should be enacted with extreme caution.
J. W. Verret | Apr 17, 2012
After a careful review of the legislative requirements that the SEC consider investor protection, efficiency, competition and capital formation in adopting new rules, I would like to simply offer a list of six items that would demonstrate a sincere commitment by the SEC to fulfill its statutory mission. The first five I will list are in fact required by law if one carefully reads the legislative and judicial history of the SEC’s mandate to consider the economic impact of new rules.

Research Summaries & Toolkits

Kenneth Button | May 17, 2012
A new Mercatus Center study looks at the evolution and outcomes of government regulations in air transportation since the 1978 law was enacted.
Michael L. Marlow, Sherzod Abdukadirov | Mar 01, 2012
Obesity is not the result of market failure. Americans do not lack the knowledge, rationale, or motivation to improve their health. Thus, pursuing regulations intended for a market failure will not solve the problem.
Richard Williams, Sherzod Abdukadirov | Feb 07, 2012
The United States’ regulatory system long has failed to consistently produce efficient, cost-effective regulations that deliver promised benefits. For decades, presidents and Congresses have attempted to fix the regulatory system through a series of statutes and executive orders aimed at increasing transparency and improving analysis. Yet the pattern of poor regulatory choices persists, suggesting the problems are not political but deeply embedded in the institutions themselves.
| Feb 01, 2012
The most basic goal of tax policy is to raise enough revenue to meet the government’s spending requirements with the least impact on market behavior. The United States’ tax code has long failed to meet this aim: by severely distorting market decisions and the allocation of resources, it impedes both potential economic growth and potential tax revenue.
| Nov 2011
A new working paper, “Why the United States Needs to Restructure the Corporate Income Tax,” by Mercatus Center at George Mason University senior scholar Jason Fichtner suggests successful reform of the U.S. corporate tax code must address its fundamental problems: 1) the uncompetitive corporate income tax rate; and 2) the outdated “worldwide” system for corporate tax collection.
Richard Williams | Jan 11, 2011
In this research summary, Richard Williams discusses how regulations affect investment and jobs.

Speeches & Presentations

Peter J. Boettke | Apr 12, 2010
Professor Peter J. Boettke's remarks upon receiving the 2010 Adam Smith Award from the Association of Private Enterprise Education.
Peter J. Boettke | Aug 07, 2007
This paper is Peter J. Boettke's speech at the twelfth Sir Ronald Trotter Lecture in New Zealand. Sir Ronald Trotter was the first chairman of the New Zealand Business Roundtable, who was knighted in…
Frederic Sautet | Jun 09, 2005
Frederic Sautet on Voice of America…
Frederic Sautet | Nov 19, 2004
On October 19, 2004, Mercatus Center Senior Fellow Frederic Sautet delivered a presentation on institutions and entrepreneurship to the New Zealand Business Roundtable (NZBR). This talk was part of…
Peter J. Boettke | Oct 27, 2004
Is there a unique Austrian School of Economics that represents a viable research program in modern economics? Peter Boettke locates the intellectual position and opportunities for mutually beneficial…
| Nov 10, 2003
From the conference "America's Role as Nation Builder: Lessons Learned and Applied to Iraq." Discussion in this session revolved around concerns of nation building experts and practitioners.

Expert Commentary

Mar 18, 2013

Economics is sometimes associated with the study and defense of selfishness and material inequality, but it has an egalitarian and civil libertarian core that should be celebrated. And that core may guide us in some surprising directions.
Feb 13, 2013

One of the market economy's greatest flaws is the silence it maintains when it is working relatively flawlessly. When the market stumbles, though — or when it's tripped up by unwise government interventions — a great clamor is heard. Unemployment rises, stock prices and exchange rates plummet, and tales abound of this hardship and that lost dream. Pundits proclaim loudly that the unreliable market must be “corrected” or “tamed” by the wisdom and prudence of politicians.
Dec 11, 2012

Without legislative action, millions of Americans’ tax bills will suddenly rise and federal spending will be suddenly cut. Many economists believe that allowing all this to happen simultaneously will have severe adverse economic effects, possibly plunging the nation back into recession.
Nov 13, 2012

The election is over and Hurricane Sandy has passed, just in time for us to careen over the edge of the so-called "fiscal cliff." More important than the fact that we stand at the edge of the cliff is how we got here in the first place. Rather than addressing our fiscal problems, Washington's strategy has long been to kick them far enough down the road so as not to interfere with upcoming elections. The scary part is that every time we do this, the cliff gets steeper.
Nov 01, 2012

The mistakes made by FEMA during its response to Hurricane Katrina are the stuff of legend. It failed to get to the worst hit areas for days, it was unprepared for the scope of the disaster, and many of the trailers it provided for temporary housing were later found to be toxic. It is hard to identify anything it did right in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Local politicians were merciless in their criticisms, even to the point of—rightly—praising the job done by Walmart in getting supplies to the New Orleans area and crediting Walmart's response with preventing looting and other problems in their towns.
Oct 23, 2012

The decade’s significant expansion of interventionist policies counteracted the relatively modest reductions in marginal tax rates. And as the size and scope of government power increased, the economic freedom of the typical citizen declined. To reverse this trend, we should look to the following: spending reductions to bring spending in line with taxation; entitlement reform to put the nation’s budget on a sustainable course; tax reform to close loopholes and reduce rates such as the corporate tax rate; financial reforms to finally end too big to fail; regulatory reforms to reduce distortions in the marketplace; health care reforms so that market forces can actually operate in that industry; and other economic reforms to restore a level playing field in American business.

Charts

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the economy grew by a modest 2 percent in the third quarter of 2012. While this was stronger growth than the preceding quarter, all of the increase in GDP growth came from the biggest increase in federal government spending in over two years.

Experts

Paul Dragos Aligica is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, and Senior Fellow at the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at George Mason University.
Peter Boettke is a University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University, the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism, and the Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center at GMU.
Donald J. Boudreaux is a professor of economics at George Mason University.
Jerry Brito is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center and directs the Technology Policy Program. His primary research interests are technology and telecommunications policy, government transparency and accountability, and the regulatory process.
Bryan Caplan is a professor at George Mason University and senior scholar at the Mercatus Center. His primary research interests are public economics, public choice, psychology and economics, public opinion, economics of the family, genoeconomics, and Austrian economics.

Podcasts

Antony Davies | May 17, 2013
Antony Davies Discusses Unfunded Pensions in Pennsylvania on WAEB

Recent Events

Distinguished NYU Professor Emeritus Israel M. Kirzner will be honored on February 7, 2013 with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Order for his pioneering work on the theory of the entrepreneurial market process.

Books

Peter J. Boettke, Frederic Sautet | Apr 01, 2013
First published in 1973, Competition and Entrepreneurship defined Israel M. Kirzner’s unique contribution to the economics profession. This volume, in print without interruption since the date of its first publication, provides a thorough critique of contemporary price theory, an essay on the theory of entrepreneurship, and an essay on the theory of competition, offering a new appraisal of quality competition, of selling effort, and of the fundamental weaknesses of contemporary welfare economics.

Media Clippings