Thomas Stratmann

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Thomas Stratmann

  • Mercatus Center Scholar
  • Professor of Economics, George Mason University

Thomas Stratmann is a scholar at the Mercatus Center and a professor of economics at George Mason University. His primary research interests are political economy, fiscal policy, law and economics, health economics, and experimental economics.

Dr. Stratmann has written on topics of political economy and applied microeconomics and has published in journals such as the American Economic Review, American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economics and Statistics, and the Journal of Law and Economics. 

Dr. Stratmann received his BA from the Free University of Berlin and his MA and PhD in economics from the University of Maryland.

Published Research

Does Shareholder Proxy Access Damage Share Value in Small Publicly Traded Companies?

Thomas Stratmann, J. W. Verret | Jun 01, 2012
The field of corporate governance has long considered the costs of the separation of ownership from control in publicly traded corporations and the regulatory and market structures designed to limit those costs.

Working Papers

The Options Market Maker Exception to SEC Regulation SHO

Thomas Stratmann, John W. Welborn | Jul 31, 2012
Our research demonstrates that prices and trading are very sensitive to rules and rule changes. In other words, subtle institutional choices can have real economic consequences. In the following sections, we describe relevant institutions and related research. Next, we present our hypotheses, data, empirical model, and results. The last section presents conclusions.

Wireless Taxes and Fees: A Tragedy of the Anticommons

Matthew Mitchell, Thomas Stratmann | Jan 23, 2012
In this working paper, the authors find that wireless tax rates increase with the number of overlapping tax bases.

The Law and Economics of Shareholder Voting Reform and the Costs of Proxy Access

Thomas Stratmann, J. W. Verret | Jan 17, 2012
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 gave the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) the authority to adopt a proxy access rule. Though the legislation urged an exemption for companies with less than $75 million in market capitalization, the SEC unexpectedly failed to provide a permanent exemption from the rule for those companies. This paper finds that, for the roughly 900 publicly traded companies studied with under $75 million in market capitalization, the proxy access rule caused on the order of $335 million in shareholder losses.

Excise Taxes in the States

Thomas Stratmann, William Bruntrager | Jun 20, 2011
This working paper is a foundational piece that presents a comprehensive accounting of all known local, state, and federal excise taxes, a brief history and chronology of each, and their respective “values” relative to total tax revenues.
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Policy Briefs

Does Government Spending Affect Economic Growth?

Thomas Stratmann, Gabriel Lucjan Okolski | Jun 10, 2010
In response to the financial crisis and its impact on the economy, the federal government has increased government spending markedly in order to stimulate economic growth. With billions of taxpayer…

Research Summaries & Toolkits

Interest Payments on the Federal Debt

Thomas Stratmann, Gabriel Lucjan Okolski | Mar 18, 2011
This research summary takes a look at the interest on the federal debt and analyzes how it affects economic growth and future private investment.

Media Clippings

Traffic Tickets, ‘Broke’ Towns and Road Safety

Thomas Stratmann | Jun 05, 2012
Outlet: The Wall Street Journal

New Hampshire Per-capita Excise Taxes among Nation's Highest

Thomas Stratmann, William Bruntrager | Jun 23, 2011
Outlet: The New Hampshire Business Review

Report: Nevada Among States Collecting Most Excise Tax Revenue

Thomas Stratmann, William Bruntrager | Jun 23, 2011
Outlet: Fox Reno

Senate Republicans adopt voluntary earmark ban

Thomas Stratmann | Nov 16, 2010
Outlet: Reuters
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Contact

Thomas Stratmann

Research Areas

Law