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Federal Agency Independence Is in Jeopardy. Right When It Has Started to Matter

In new research, Cree Jones, Tyler B. Lindley, and Thomas Smith investigate how restrictions on the president to remove independent agency officials affect agency behavior. Such restrictions have historically had surprisingly little effect. However, recent political polarization has drastically increased the importance of removal restrictions in blocking political influence.

Market Failure, Not Technology, Is Slowing the Green Transition

The green transition is faltering in both advanced and developing economies. While politics and market risk is stalling private investment in clean energy in advanced economies, an imbalanced global value chain is preventing investment in clean energy in developing countries, write Piergiuseppe Fortunato and Verena Hitner Barros.

Chinese Car Exports to the EU Exemplify the Role of Data and IP in Trade Relations

Chinese automotive manufacturers gain a competitive edge through laxer rules governing personal data protection and intellectual property. Oscar Borgogno and Giovanni Veronese argue that ensuring effective compliance with European law could help European manufacturers re-establish a level playing field while upholding EU constitutional values.

Can AI Catch Cartels Across Borders?

In new research, Yoan Hermstrüwer and David Imhof analyze how AI can help antitrust authorities predict cartels by assessing international bidding data in countries with similar legal and market structures.

A New Firearms Tax Design Could Reduce Homicides Without Costing Gun Owners

In new research, Luis Armona and Adam Rosenberg argue that current state firearm excise taxes inadequately address gun-related crimes. They propose a tax that benefits society by targeting guns responsible for the most homicides, while accommodating the challenging political economy of firearms regulation in the United States.

India’s AI Market Regulation Risks Falling on Dated Ideas

India is working on legislating new competition rules to govern artificial intelligence and other tech markets. But recommendations from a recent report by the Competition Commission of India suggest it might revert to old competition standards that will likely prove ineffectual in governing the new AI market, writes Abhineet Nayyar.

Academic Economists Have an Ethics Problem

In a recent article, Kate M. Conlow explores how feeble requirements among the American academic economics community to disclose conflicts of interest are compromising research and harming policymaking.

China’s New “Safe Harbor” Antitrust Rules Offer Less Safety Than Suggested

China’s new safe harbor rules for vertical dealing, including practices like resale price maintenance hitherto presumed generally anticompetitive, are less accommodating than they may seem, writes Yin Hu.

How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Minimum Wage

Matt Lucky reviews The Wage Standard: What’s Wrong in the Labor Market and How to Fix it by Arindrajit Dube, now out at Penguin Press.

The Shortcomings of Merger Policy Based on the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index

In new research, Eric Dunaway, Ana Espinola-Arredondo, and Felix Munoz-Garcia examine the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) as a tool for merger review and show where it diverges from the consumer-surplus and total-welfare standards. In particular, the HHI fails to account for potential efficiency gains.

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