Ever since its introduction in 2012, RegData—the Mercatus Center’s database for quantifying federal regulation—has served as an objective tool for measuring regulations within a jurisdiction. In the decade since its launch, RegData has expanded significantly to cover several jurisdictions,...

In this sample of 49 Latin American, OECD, and transition economies, it is the ineffective and discretionary administration of tax and regulatory regimes--not higher tax rates alone--as well as corruption, that increases the size of the unofficial economy. And countries with a larger unofficial...

Payday loans, or small short-term loans that carry high fees, may provide a much-needed safety net for some consumers in need of quick cash for emergencies. However, data suggest that most payday loan borrowers become repeat users caught in a cycle of high-cost debt. Furthermore, empirical...

Natural resource funds are created to advance their home state interests. However, because they are more active as sovereign wealth funds invested within host states, overwhelming attention has been on their regulation to safeguard transnational interests. Meanwhile, they are only effective when...

This paper discusses models of law and regulation of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”). The discussion focuses on four models: the black letter model, the emergent model, the ethical model, and the risk regulation model. All four models currently inform, individually or jointly, integrally or...

In diverse areas – from retirement savings, to fuel economy, to prescription drugs, to consumer credit, to food and beverage consumption – government makes personal decisions for us or helps us make what it sees as better decisions. In other words, government serves as our agent. Understood...

In the last decades, NGOs have become an important participant in the work of political organizations (e.g., national authorities, the EU or the UN). This development brings many opportunities and also some challenges, including discourse failure which is one of the topics discussed in this...

This chapter was sponsored by the Office of the Chief Economist of the InterAmerican Development Bank. The author worked as a consultant for this office when the chapterwas prepared. Ulpiano Ayala, Armando Montenegro and Luis Alvaro Sanchez reviewed the first draft and offered very helpful...

Across 69 countries, higher tax rates are associated with less unofficial activity as a percent of GDP but corruption is associated with more unofficial activity. Entrepreneurs go underground not to avoid official taxes but to reduce the burden of bureaucracy and corruption. Dodging the Grabbing...

This article examines the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property law, critiquing the government's approach and proposing amendments to current standards. In particular, this article focuses on the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission's treatment of innovation...