The forced sale of homes for private development usually results in a zero-sum gain and may actually hinder development in the area, economists have found.

Proponents of such mass transit recite a litany of benefits, but the cost to taxpayers is high.>

This paper measures the extent to which destination resort casinos export bankruptcy back to visitors' home states. Previous literature has alluded to this possibility, but previous research has not examined the issue. Using various survey data, we calculate the number of visits from each state...

Over the past 24 years, the U.S. rate of personal bankruptcies jumped nearly 350 percent. The rate varies greatly among states. Tennessee's rate last year-the highest in the nation-was more than 10 filings per 1,000 people, nearly four times the rate in Massachusetts.

College tuition has increased dramatically over the past decade, yet few think the quality of graduates has kept up. Decentralizing the administration and privatizing such things as housing and food service would boost productivity, as would ditching tenure and improving teaching.

Natural disasters can be opportunities for politicians. In deciding who gets what aid, they weigh what they can get back in terms of political support, contributions and votes.