Since the early 1990s, California has experienced a recurring budget crisis. This article examines the combined budgets of state and local government and the institutions for creating these budgets to ascertain the source of the problem. The state collects more taxes and fees as a percent of...

Our introduction to this compendium reviews Alfred Kahn’s academic and policy interests, his activities as a regulator and advisor to governments and companies, and the interactions between these aspects of his life as an economist. Although best known for his research on the economics of...

In most of the world's professional sport leagues, the worst teams in better leagues are demoted while the best teams in weaker leagues are promoted. This article examines the economics of promotion and relegation, using data from English football (soccer). The crucial findings are as follows:...

A statement by a group of economists and scientists which met at Stanford University on October 18, 2008 to discuss the role of research and development in developing effective policies for addressing the adverse potential consequences of climate change.

As in many regulated industries, jurisdiction of the commission regulating the natural gas pipelines does not encompass all transactions of the regulated companies. The Federal Power Commission does not regulate direct sales of the pipelines to industry, while it does set profit limits on sales...

Since the mid-1980s, the federal government has supported collaborative R&D in private consortia and between industry and national research laboratories. One justification for these activities is that they can solve 'public goods' problems associated with producing non-appropriable,...