Research

W.C. Bunting and Tomer Stein investigate the role of amicus curiae process in the development of business law cases at the state level. The findings reveal that the business law amicus curiae process is dominated by lobbying groups, particularly by associations serving big business, and that these "Amicus Lobbying" efforts have a higher success rate compared to non-lobbying groups.

In new research, Marc Jacob, Barton E. Lee and Gabriele Gratton argue that legislative gridlock is not only a consequence of Congress’ polarization but also a cause of it. In sum, both polarization and gridlock fuel one another generating a vicious spiral toward political mire.

Piergiuseppe Fortunato, Tanmay Singh, and Marco Pecoraro research the behavior of populist leaders and parties around the world and how their policies influence subsequent government spending. Their research shows that populists from either side of the ideological spectrum have very little in common in terms of policy despite similar anti-elite rhetoric.

Eric A. Posner argues that merger review would benefit from involving union representatives to protect labor interests.

In new research, Sarah Schindler and Kellen Zale find that the vast majority of the most populous cities in the United States do not directly notify renters of land-use hearings. Such hearings provide a forum for local members of the public to voice opinions about how land should be used for housing and other construction and inform the decisions of policymakers. The failure to directly notify renters about these hearings can skew the decision-making process—and the housing market— toward homeowners and exacerbate anti-development tendencies in land-use law.

In a new paper, Sebastian Edwards details the numerous and varied contributions of University of Chicago faculty to exchange rates and monetary policy from 1892 to 1992.

New research from Renping Li finds that consolidation among investment banks has produced higher underwriting costs for local governments in issuing muni bonds. Importantly, Li says these costs are not offset by efficiency gains and that the result is a deterioration in local government finances.

In new research, Wentian Zhang finds that a reduction in antitrust enforcement causes venture capitalists to significantly decrease their investments in startups, leading to fewer startups going public and diminished innovation.

Academics have argued that changes in product markup trends show that the European markets, abetted by the adoption of the Single Market and stronger antitrust enforcement, have become more competitive over the last half-century, whereas American markets have become more concentrated. In their research, Tommaso Crescioli and Angelo Martelli argue that a study of labor market power in Europe muddles this picture of higher competition in Europe.

In new research, Yonghong An, Michael A. Williams, and Mo Xiao find that increases in an academic journal’s subscription price and its publisher’s market share leads to fewer article citations, hindering knowledge creation and research collaboration.