Privatization of Roads

On Gary Becker and Richard Posner’s blog, there is a spirited debate regarding whether or not we should privatize roads in the United States.  The two focus on Indiana’s recent decision to sell the rights to collect tolls on the Indiana toll road to a Spanish-Australian consortium for $3.85 billion.  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports in…

Mandated Maternity Benefits

In many cases, the government will mandate that employers provide benefits in lieu of having the government provide the benefit themselves. One example is that the U.S. government mandates that firms purchase Worker’s Compensation insurance. Are these mandated benefits a more or less effective form of social insurance than direct government provision? Summers (1989) claims…

Welfare vs. Workfare

In 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWORA) brought ‘workfare’ into the spotlight.  In addition to replacing the old AFDC program with the new TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families), the law required welfare recipients to work or to look for work in order to receive benefits.  This was not the first time in history…

Social Assistance and Employment rates

Is a welfare system a welfare improving?  On the one hand, this form of social insurance gives money to those who have come upon rough times, facing low income and unemployment.  On the other hand, giving individuals money conditional on not having low income gives these same people an incentive not to work.  The field…

‘Price Check, Neurology Wing’

“People generally don’t have a clue about what the health care they are consuming costs,” Michael O. Leavitt, the Secretary of Health and Human Services told reporters in a WebMD article (“Gov’t releases hospital prices“).  With a new initiative in hand, Mr. Leavitt hopes that consumer ignorance will soon dissipate. Yesterday, officials at the Centers…

Failure of Medical Malpractice Law: Part II

Recently, I wrote a post regarding the inefficiency of the Medical Malpractice system. Both Brennan, Sox and Burstin (1996) and Studdert, Mello and Brennan (2004) found that not only were there many frivolous suits brought to court, but even more prevalent was the phenomenon that individuals who suffered negligent care did not sue (only 3%…

SSDI “$1 for $2” Reform

Currently the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program covers almost 8 million Americans. The program is designed to help those who need assistance the most: those who cannot work due to disability. These individuals are entitled to approximately $830 per month. One feature of SSDI is that it has an implicit 100% tax on earnings.…

Tax Credits, the Distribution of Subsidized Health Insurance Premiums, and the Uninsured

The popular press has been decrying the existence of large numbers of Americans without medical insurance. From Indiana to Wisconsin to California, politicians are looking for a means–such as government provided health insurance–to give more residents medical insurance. Economists, however, generally speak out against the provision of private goods by the government. An interesting solution…

Failure of Medical Malpractice Law

The problems with the Medical Malpractice system in the US have been well-documented. President Bush has presented proposals to cap punitive damages in malpractice litigation. Other others have decried the fact that despite a large number of negligence cases each year, very few patients bring suit to court. Below are two studies which should give…