In this paper, the authors lay out how the United States government negotiated settlements in which settling defendants were forced to pay “donations” to third parties not involved in the cases. The authors go on to argue that this practice – halted in 2017 – was unconstitutional and must remain permanently proscribed.
Read this paperIn this paper, the authors offer ten policy proposals for mitigating the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. These proposals include both positive reforms and warnings about pitfalls that are likely to make the situation worse.
Read this paperIn this paper, the authors argue that piracy poses a significant threat to the rapidly-growing legitimate online streaming industry. They contend that lawmakers must make piracy through online streaming a felony, rather than misdemeanor, in order to more effectively deter bad actors.
Read this paperIn this paper, James Capretta argues that the current system for regulating the physician workforce is not flexible enough to ensure that enough doctors make it into the field to serve all patients. Mr. Capretta offers a number of reforms that, he argues, would streamline the educational and licensing processes for new and immigrating doctors.
Read this paperIn this paper, Christina Sandefur argues that well-intentioned laws designed to limit wasteful spending, known as certificate-of-need laws, no serve mostly to allow market incumbents in healthcare to keep new entrants out of the market. This, she argues, is harmful to the public and stands in violation of state anti-monopoly laws.
Read this paperIn this paper, the authors lay out a conception of the proper place of ‘public interest’ in patent law, and what they see as current, detrimental uses of that principle. Properly applied, the notion serves the public by promoting innovation, but improperly applied, they argue, public interest can serve to stifle progress.
Read this paperIn this paper, the authors argue that the uncertainty in local land-use rules often makes new building prohibitively risky, costly, and complex. The ambiguity of these rules and the lack of substantial legal recourse for those seeking to build, they suggest, hampers entrepreneurship and healthy economic development and increases inequality. Finally, the authors suggest a set of reforms that might improve the current state of affairs.
Read this paperThis paper lays out a set of constitutional concerns pertaining to certain new state and local regulations on data privacy. Do these new rules impinge on free speech, violate the dormant commerce clause, or are they preempted by other federal laws?
Read this paperIn this paper, Anastasia Boden and Jonathan Riches argue that home-based businesses are an important part of the economy with a very long history. State and local regulators, the authors claim, have often saddled home-based businesses with cumbersome rules that do more to hamper the property rights of homeowners than protect the public interest.
Read this paperIn this paper, Henry I. Miller argues that overweening regulation has forestalled development in major areas of biotechnology, from pharmaceuticals to agriculture.
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