In 1986 the author was recruited by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan to draft new federal welfare reform legislation for the 100th Congress. The result was the Family Support Act of 1988. From the beginning it was planned that the bill would reflect the best knowledge available about helping poor...

This article considers the design of federal earthquake policy as an illustration of the difficulties of addressing “public risks” when public indifference, despite general awareness of the risks, is the norm. The present federal earthquake policy attempts to overcome this indifference...

This paper tests the “rising tide” and “trickle down” hypotheses of income growth by examining several measures of income inequality between 1983 and 1987. A close look at household incomes between those years shows that post-tax income growth has been concentrated among the 20 percent...

The Canadian system of publicly provided health care has been praised for its cost containment attributes. Conventional cost measures do not identify costs associated with rationing access to medical facilities. This paper explores the economic relevance of hospital waiting lists and offers...

The EPA implements its policy of exhaust emission control by setting standards specified in terms of grams of pollutants per mile traveled. As a result, the tax must first restrain the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) if it is to have an impact on emission at all. EPA's choice of miles traveled as...