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Policy Studies
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Regulation & Deregulation
The Failure of Control States to Reduce Alcohol-Related Problems
By Donald J. Boudreaux, Julia Williams, Virginia Institute for Public PolicyReport, 08/09/2010
There is no question that excessive alcohol consumption poses risks to personal and public health. However, the leap from this well-known risk to a compelling case for a government monopoly in distilled spirits is simply too long. The data from comparing “license” states to “control” states speaks loudly that government-spirits monopolies do not generate the health benefits that their proponents trumpet. The plain fact seems to be that alcohol-related problems are unrelated to whether or not a state government prevents private, competitive businesses from selling spirits to the general public. Privatization of, and more competition in, the wholesaling and retailing of spirits in Virginia are highly unlikely to increase alcohol-related health problems in the Commonwealth.
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Regulation & Deregulation
Leviathan’s Drug Problem: Increasing Patients’ Choices Through International Competition in Pharmaceutical Regulation
By John R. Graham, Pacific Research InstitutePRI Study, 08/03/2010
If the U.S. government allowed American patients to use new medicines that were approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), but not yet by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), American patients would have had faster access to 17 new medicines, out of the entire set of 39. Clearly, Congress’s grant of a regulatory monopoly to the FDA is creating a significant obstacle to Americans’ timely access to new medicines. Therefore, Congress should amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to allow Americans to use new medicines once the EMA has removed its prohibition. The FDA would retain the power to compel manufacturers to label their medicines with the warning that the FDA has not yet approved their safety or efficacy.
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Regulation & Deregulation
Federal Rulemaking and the Regulatory Process
By Richard Williams, Mercatus CenterTestimony, 07/28/2010
According to the evidence the administration has put forward, there has been both a reduction in the number of economic analyses produced by the agencies and diminished oversight by OIRA. Compared to 2007, in which every single economically significant regulation had a Regulatory Impact Analysis; in 2009 one of five had no analysis. Meanwhile, OIRA has reduced the amount of time they are spending on reviewing individual regulations - down about 35% in 2009 from the previous two years. And finally, after having reviewed 900 regulations since taking office, they have decided that not one rule needs to be returned to the agencies. The problem is that if agencies are failing to do the analyses or are doing a bad job of them, we will have rules that fail to achieve their objectives.
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Regulation & Deregulation
Regulatory Takings: The Next Step in Protecting Property Rights in Texas
By Ryan Brannan, Jay Wiley, Bill Peacock, Texas Public Policy FoundationPolicy Perspective, 07/26/2010
A full and objective examination of the Texas government regulation helps determine whether restrictions on private property owners are appropriate. This “look before you leap” approach is a valuable characteristic of good government. Future municipal development should be done wisely and transparently with a fair and reasonable recognition of the fundamental rights of private property owners. Since the Texas Supreme Court has held that the Private Property Rights Act of 1995 does not require a Takings Impact Assessment be performed, which examines the benefits, burdens and alternatives to regulation, it is an important part of reform legislation.
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Regulation & Deregulation
One More Thing America Must Learn from Europe: Europe’s Open Skies Versus America’s Closed Market
By Mark Milke, Kenneth P. Green, American Enterprise InstituteThe American, 07/08/2010
During this summer travel season, the United States could learn a lesson from Europe: how to make flying cheaper. In the European Union, any EU-based airline from any member country can pick up and drop off passengers anywhere within the Union, regardless of whether the airline’s home base is in Ireland, Spain, France, Germany, Britain, or some other EU-member nation. The competition that freedom fosters helps control costs, and offers greater consumer choice in both airline and route.
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Regulation & Deregulation
Public Interest Comment on the Draft 2010 Report to Congress on the Benefits and Costs of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local, and Tribal Entities
By Richard Williams, Jerry Ellig, John Morrall, Mercatus CenterPublic Interest Comment, 07/06/2010
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has produced a very thorough report based on the instructions provided in the Regulatory-Right-to Know Act. Nevertheless, it is time to re-examine this report to see if it can be made more useful for those responsible for the regulatory state. First, more pressure must be brought to bear on regulatory agencies to do more and higher quality regulatory analysis, and this could be greatly facilitated by OMB reporting not just on successes, but on discrepancies. Second, the use of behavioral economics in constructing remedies is applauded, but care must be taken not to construe individual decision rules as market failures nor ignore the existence of market failures. It is recommended that OMB seek information about how firms comply with the sometimes thousands of regulations for which they are responsible. Third, cost-effectiveness analysis should only be used when there is a single benefit; otherwise benefit-cost analysis is likely to be more useful. Finally, a more careful look at economic theory is warranted as the government seeks to intervene in the obesity arena, although it is acknowledged to be a significant public health concern.
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Regulation & Deregulation
The Economic Losers from Smoking Bans
By Michael L. Marlow, Cato InstituteRegulation, 07/01/2010
The article examines ban noncompliance data from Ohio, under the hypothesis that establishments that regularly violate the ban do so because it is profitable to do so. The detail of the noncompliance data allows this analysis to determine what sorts of establishments, if any, are harmed by the bans and what sorts of establishments are not. The data indicate that individuals—owners, employees, customers, and smokers—associated with bars and organizations are much more likely to be harmed than their counterparts in restaurants
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Regulation & Deregulation
Consumer Protection Without Law
By Omri Ben-Shahar, Cato InstituteRegulation, 07/01/2010
Within contract law, the plight of consumers is often regarded as a basis for enhancing contract enforcement and of bolstering the access of consumers to breach of contract remedies. The one-way contract idea suggests that this is a misguided priority, barking up the wrong tree. Rather than paying lip service to consumers’ “vindication of rights,” “access to justice,” or the right to be informed through mandatory disclosures, this article takes the reality of non-enforcement as given and considers ways to overcome it. It is the cultivation of more potent substitutes that could help consumers.
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Regulation & Deregulation
The Quality and Use of Regulatory Analysis in 2008
By Jerry Ellig, Patrick McLaughlin, Mercatus CenterWorking Paper Series, 06/28/2010
Since 1974, all presidents have issued executive orders requiring regulatory agencies to analyze the anticipated results and economic effects of proposed regulations. The requirements have become more comprehensive over time. The last seven presidents have each maintained but also sought to fine-tune regulatory analysis requirements, presumably because the existing requirements have never quite produced the intended results. Despite the numerous attempts by various administrations to refine regulatory analysis, there have been very few systematic analyses of these refinements to ensure that they do what they were intended to do. A detailed qualitative protocol to evaluate regulatory analysis before and after the changes in the executive order could aid in assessing effects of the changes on the quality and use of regulatory analysis.
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Regulation & Deregulation
Preparing for and Responding to Government Antitrust Investigations
By Andrew S. Marovitz, John Roberti, Nick Jabbour, Washington Legal FoundationContemporary Legal Note, 06/24/2010
The current climate for antitrust enforcement poses many risks for all companies. A company that becomes embroiled in an antitrust investigation faces considerable exposure if it does not respond in a careful and deliberate fashion. While companies should take steps to prevent antitrust violations from occurring – such as developing a robust compliance program and developing a mechanism for employees to report questionable behavior without fear of retaliation – companies should also make adequate preparations as to how to respond in the event that it does become the focus of government scrutiny.
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Regulation & Deregulation
The Ten Thousand Commandments
By Clyde Wayne Crews, Jr.June 01, 2002
In the fiscal year 2003 federal budget, President Bush proposed $2.01 trillion in discretionary, entitlement, and interest spending. Although those costs fully encompass the on-budget scope of the federal government, there is considerably more to the reach of the federal government than the sum of the taxes sent to Washington....
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Regulation & Deregulation
Key Areas for Regulatory Reform
By James GattusoJune 01, 2002
Estimating the total benefits and costs of federal regulations is no easy task. Regulatory accounting is still an evolving, and as yet imperfect, discipline. Yet, there are some changes that could usefully be made to provide a clearer and more complete picture of the impact of regulation. Among these: Report "best...
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Regulation & Deregulation
California’s Electricity Debacle
By Lance T. IzumiMay 01, 2001
With rolling blackouts, nose-diving credit ratings, bankrupt utilities, a huge state budget hole, and a likely economic recession, California’s electricity crisis has turned into a full-blown debacle. Although many elected officials have blamed this mess on deregulation, the real culprit has been and continues to be government intervention into the...
