Regulatory Capture

Letters that Matter: How Interest Groups Shape Financial Legislation

Members of Congress are inundated with an avalanche of correspondence on a daily basis. But what persuades them to heed the call?...

Industrial Policy Is a Seductive Mirage

Industrial policy was once so out of fashion that it was jokingly called “the policy that shall not be named.” Now it’s...

The Mechanisms of Regulatory Capture

To mark the 50-year anniversary of George Stigler’s seminal piece, “The Theory of Economic Regulation” we are publishing a new eBook examining...

Fear of Punishment Distorts Bank Financial Reporting

When bank employees are afraid of punishment from regulators, they are likely to conceal information about their faulty decisions. This in turn...

Delaware: The State Where Companies Can Vote

Adapted from What’s the Matter with Delaware: How the First State Has Favored the Rich, Powerful, and Criminal—and How It Costs Us...

Are “Bankruptcy Directors” Bad for Creditors?

A new paper studies the rise of so-called “bankruptcy directors,” typically former bankruptcy lawyers, investment bankers, or distressed debt traders who join...

Why Financial Regulations Might Fail to Produce Their Desired Outcome: The Case of the Capital Conservation Buffer

The capital conservation buffer (CCB) was created after the 2008 financial crisis, instructing banks to retain their dividends in an escrow account and...

Big Tech, the FTC, and Ordoliberals: ProMarket’s Top Stories of 2021

As 2021 draws to a close, we look back at ProMarket’s most-read and most-widely shared stories of the past year.

The Best Political Economy Books of 2021

A scholarly examination of market’s power toll on American workers, the collected works of a pioneering economic thinker, an ambitious narrative of...

How Interest Groups Utilize Reverse Revolving Doors to Influence Legislative Voting

A new study finds that legislators who worked for interest groups before taking office influence the voting behavior of their colleagues when...

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Mobile Internet Is Changing Employment in Developing Countries, but Not Always as Expected

Scholars and policymakers have put much faith into the prospect of internet connectivity catalyzing development in low- and middle-income countries. In new...

Biden’s Second-Best Economic Agenda

Efficiency is out and political economy is in. But what does that imply about making good policy?

The Fed and Bank Failures

Viral Acharya and Raghuram Rajan explain how quantitative easing contributed to the problems underlying the recent bank failures such as that of...

Self-Preferencing Theories Need To Account for Exploitative Abuse

Patrice Bougette, Oliver Budzinski, and Frédéric Marty argue in their research that antitrust authorities on both sides of the Atlantic must take...

Startup Acquisitions Have Undecided Effects on Innovation and Economic Growth

Startups are a major driver of innovation, but many startups are acquired by large incumbents. Do these acquisitions stifle innovation or promote...

History Shows that Voluntary ESG Standards Lead to a More Focused ESG Disclosure

In recent years, ESG reports have become more common for publicly traded companies. However, critics have found the information they provide to...

Letters that Matter: How Interest Groups Shape Financial Legislation

Members of Congress are inundated with an avalanche of correspondence on a daily basis. But what persuades them to heed the call?...