Pollution

Enrolling Capitalism in the Fight Against Climate Change

Environmentally conscious critics of contemporary capitalism often highlight the system’s permissiveness toward egregious pollutant activities, typically enjoyed by the ultra-wealthy. Using private...

Capitalism Does Not Require a Tradeoff Between Planet and Profit

Critics of capitalism claim that the economic system incorrigibly encourages the exploitation of the planet and is thus incompatible with efforts to...

Firms Gerrymander Ownership of Polluting Plants to Reap Public and Regulatory Benefits

New research has discovered that many companies who appear to sell, or ‘divest,’ their toxic plants, actually retain relationships with their buyers....

Fracking Can Lead to Elevated Salt Levels in Surface Water, Study Finds

A new study finds that fracking can lead to increased salt levels in water surfaces, especially during the early stages of production...

Livestreaming Polluters to Enforce Environmental Policy: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Pittsburgh

Enforcing environmental regulations is controversial and can be costly. But researchers at UCLA and Carnegie Mellon have proposed a low-cost alternative for enforcement—disclosing emissions...

What Can We Learn from London’s Long Struggle with Air Pollution?

Research on the long-term effects of pollution on mortality has been held back by lack of historical pollution data. In a new working paper,...

Does Environmental Crime Pay?

A new Stigler Center working paper conducts a cost-benefit analysis of DuPont's emissions of a toxic chemical dubbed C8. The Trump administration has shown clear signs that it...

LATEST NEWS

Regulation

Why Have Uninsured Depositors Become De Facto Insured?

Michael Ohlrogge

Due to a change in how the FDIC resolves failed banks, uninsured deposits have become de facto insured. Not only is this dangerous for risk in the banking system, it is not what Congress intends the FDIC to do, writes Michael Ohlrogge.

Antitrust and Competition

Merger Law Reaches Acquirer Incentives and Private Equity Strategies

Steven Salop

Steven C. Salop argues that Section 7 of the Clayton Act prohibits mergers in which the acquiring firm’s unilateral incentives and business strategy are likely to lessen market competition.

Antitrust and Competition

Tim Wu Responds to Letter by Former Agency Chief Economists

Tim Wu

Former special assistant to the president for technology and competition policy Tim Wu responds to the November 27 letter signed by former chief economists at the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department Antitrust Division calling for a separation of the legal and economic analysis in the draft Merger Guidelines.

Book Reviews

Can the Public Moderate Social Media?

Surya Gowda

ProMarket student editor Surya Gowda reviews the arguments made by Paul Gowder in his new book, The Networked Leviathan: For Democratic Platforms.

Income Inequality

Uninhibited Campaign Donations Risks Creating Oligarchy

Valentino Larcinese, Alberto Parmigiani

In new research, Valentino Larcinese and Alberto Parmigiani find that the 1986 Reagan tax cuts led to greater campaign spending from wealthy individuals, who benefited the most from this policy. The authors argue that a very permissive system of political finance, combined with the erosion of tax progressivity, created the conditions for the mutual reinforcement of economic and political disparities. The result was an inequality spiral hardly compatible with democratic ideals.