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

Antitrust and Competition

Creation over Time in Copyright and Patent

Randy Picker

On May 18, the United States Supreme Court decided two intellectual property cases with two seemingly different results. A closer look, however, reveals a complimentary concern with the monopolistic power of first movers and how the legal system should enable innovation from second movers over time, writes Randy Picker.

Event Notes

ESG Standards’ Good, Bad and Ugly

ProMarket writers

The Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State hosted a virtual event discussing the standards, metrics and disclosures of investments focused on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals. The following is a transcript of the event.

Commentary

Reregulate.

Lee Hepner, William J. McGee

Lee Hepner and William J. McGee respond to Clifford Winston’s ProMarket piece asserting that further deregulation of the airline industry would resolve problems in the industry. Instead, the authors claim a return to regulation would produce better results for travelers.

Antitrust and Competition

A World With Far Fewer Mergers

Brooke Fox, Walter Frick

Brooke Fox and Walter Frick analyze research and ideas presented at the Stigler Center Antitrust and Competition Conference that question the value of mergers.

Commentary

The Banking Risks of Central Bank Digital Currencies

Vibhu Vikramaditya

The implementation of central bank digital currencies as the primary medium of exchange would exacerbate the flaws of our current fiat system which encourage banks to overextend credit and create liabilities that they cannot redeem. This will worsen the already recurring cycles of financial crises, writes Vibhu Vikramaditya.