Eric Fruits •
August 3, 2018
The Economist takes on “sin taxes” in a recent article, “‘Sin’ taxes—eg, on tobacco—are less efficient than they look.” The article has several lessons for policy makers eyeing taxes on e-cigarettes and other vapor products. Historically, taxes had the key purpose of raising revenues. The “best” taxes would be on goods with few substitutes (i.e., inelastic demand) and on goods deemed to be luxuries.
On November 3rd, the president of the United States spoke at the Hotel Lowry in St. Paul, Minnesota, in what was billed repeatedly as a . . .
Michael E. Sykuta •
March 12, 2012
An interesting story in the WSJ Online today about American International Group (AIG)’s use of a standard tax write-off and the political firestorm it is . . .
Thomas A. Lambert •
January 26, 2012
A new rule kicks in today requiring airlines to include all taxes and mandatory fees in their advertised fares. The rule, part of a broader . . .
Free lunches are hard to turn down for a city staring into the fiscal abyss. As it faces dwindling revenues and the increased demand for public services that usually accompanies a recession, Philadelphia, like most other U.S. cities, is looking for new ways to make a buck.
The behavioral economics research agenda is an ambitious one for several reasons. The first reason is that behavioral economics requires a theory “true” preferences aside . . .
Joshua Wright •
September 1, 2010
Economist and occasional TOTM guest blogger Steve Salop (Georgetown) recently sent me the following questions spurred by the local debate over Governor McConnell’s proposal to . . .
Joshua Wright •
August 29, 2010
Intel Chairman and CEO Paul Otellini recently gave the keynote address at the Technology Policy Institute’s Aspen Forum on the US regulation environment and its . . .
Eric Helland •
August 27, 2010
Barring some sort of last extension Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act (MMSEA) of 2007 will require all property casualty insurers to report all settlements, awards . . .