Governments throughout the world are requiring greater use of economic analysis as a way of informing key policy decisions. The European Union now requires that an impact assessment be done for all major policy initiatives. An evaluation of the EU system could provide lessons for the U.S. and...

Many scholars assert that "cap and trade" is an appropriate strategy for addressing climate change. Some economists have argued that auctions of greenhouse gases should be an integral part of any cap-and-trade mechanism. These economists suggest that auctions can efficiently distribute emissions...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently finalized a rule that would reduce the maximum allowable level of arsenic in drinking water by 80 percent, from 50 micrograms per liter to 10 micrograms, by 2006. As soon as the rule was announced during the waning hours of the Clinton...