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611. The Collateral Source Rule: Statutory Reform and Special Interests

Author:
David Schap and Andrew Feeley
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Paul Rubin (2005) has addressed the evolution of American tort law from a public choice perspective. In contrast to earlier work in law and economics, which generally regarded tort law norms as efficient (Landes and Posner 1987), Rubin relied on more recent work in the field (Epstein 1988, Rubin and Bailey 1994) that regards tort law as being shaped by the special interests of plaintiff and (perhaps to a somewhat lesser extent) defense attorneys. In addition, Rubin envisioned business interests' influence toward tort reform as enhancing efficiency. He ended his article with a call for additional empirical research on modern American tort law from the public choice perspective and indeed suggested a number of specific items and areas of possible fruitful research. The spirit of Rubin's anticipated research program, as well as many of his specific suggestions, can be applied to our survey research findings concerning statutory reform of the collateral source rule.
Political Geography:
America

612. Currency Boards vs. Dollarization: Lessons from the Cook Islands

Author:
Richard C. K. Burdekin
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Modern currency boards are not necessarily precluded from financing government spending and may feature only partial foreign reserve backing. The potential dangers are highlighted by the Cook Islands case, where accelerating rates of currency issuance, combined with rising government budget deficits, led to a crisis of confidence in 1994. It is unlikely that the seigniorage gained from the short-lived currency board experiment outweighed the costs associated with the swings in policy. In the end, delayed fiscal retrenchment was accompanied by an abrupt contraction in the money supply as the local currency was withdrawn in 1995 and full dollarization re-established.
Political Geography:
Island

613. Macroeconomic Effects of Central Bank Transparency: The Case of Brazil

Author:
Helder Ferreira de Mendonça and José Simão Filho
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Nowadays there is a tendency for central banks to increase transparency in the conduct of monetary policy. Central bank transparency could be defined as the existence of symmetric information between monetary policymakers and other economic agents. High degrees of transparency reduce uncertainty, improve the private-sector inference about central bank goals, and increase the effectiveness of monetary policy. There is now an increasing literature that measures the effects of transparency on average inflation, output volatility (Chortareas, Stasavage, and Sterne 2002), the efficiency of monetary policy (Cecchetti and Krause 2002), and the volatility of financial markets (Ehrmann and Fratzscher 2005).
Political Geography:
Brazil

614. On the Death of the Resurrected Short-Run Phillips Curve: A Further Investigation

Author:
Masoud Moghaddam and James E. Jenson
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
In a recent issue of this journal, Richard Reichel (2004) takes issue with the resurrected Phillips curve (PC) in William Niskanen's (2002) article. Accordingly, Niskanen's reformulation of the PC provides empirical evidence for a weak, but statistically significant, short-run (in the same year) tradeoff between inflation and unemployment rates in the United States. Furthermore, the unemployment rate is directly and significantly determined by the one-period lagged value of the inflation rate, which implies an upward sloping PC, consistent with the type of PC explicated by Milton Friedman (1987). Reichel's main point of contention is that the variables in the reformulated version of PC are nonstationary, meaning that statistical properties (such as conditional mean and variance) vary with time. Thus, Niskanen's findings are spurious.
Political Geography:
United States

615. Parrot Talk: The Repetition of Common Fallacies

Author:
Anthony de Jasay
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Many social scientists and political journalists keep parrots as useful labor-saving pets. These parrots are hidden in their masters' bosoms and are so well trained that when they start talking, we believe we hear their masters' voices. One can nevertheless recognize that it is the parrot holding forth, by the fact that it is always the same few texts that are repeated. Most of the parrots like one or other of the brief texts that are reproduced here in italics.

616. Book Reviews: The Healthcare Fix: Universal Insurance for All Americans

Author:
Jagadeesh Gokhale
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
This book is about how and why a severe economic and financial crisis may well unfold in the United States within the next few years. The main reason: politicians have been increasingly profligate with the public purse—expanding government entitlement and nonentitlement spending, seemingly without regard for future economic consequences.
Political Geography:
United States

617. Book Reviews: See Government Grow: Education Politics from Johnson to Reagan

Author:
Neal McCluskey
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Only a dozen years ago, the Republican Party platform called for abolition of the U.S. Department of Education. Perhaps a holdover from what many thought would be a government-leveling tidal wave when the GOP won control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in 1994, the 1996 platform declared that “the federal government has no constitutional authority to be involved in school curricula. . . . That is why we will abolish the Department of Education, end federal meddling in our schools, and promote family choice at all levels of learning.”
Political Geography:
United States

618. Book Reviews: Regulation and Public Interests: The Possibility of GOOD Regulatory Government

Author:
Peter Van Doren
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
In theory, scientific (positive) and philosophical (normative) inquiry are quite distinct. The former involves the testing of hypotheses through the use of experiments or the estimation of statistical models using data, while the latter utilizes theological or philosophical analysis to conclude how people and institutions should behave.

619. Markets vs. Monopolies in Education: A Global Review of the Evidence

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Would large-scale, free-market reforms improve educational outcomes forAmerican children?That question cannot be answered by looking at domestic evidence alone. Though innumerable “school choice” programs have been implemented around theUnited States, none has created a truly free and competitive education marketplace. Existing programs are too small, too restriction laden, or both. To understand how genuine market forces affect school performance, wemust cast a wider net, surveying education systems from all over the globe. The present paper undertakes such a review, assessing the results of 25 years of international research comparing market and government provision of education, and explaining why these international experiences are relevant to theUnited States.
Topic:
Education and Government
Political Geography:
United States

620. Medical Licensing: An Obstacle to Affordable, Quality Care

Author:
Shirley Svorny
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
In the United States, the authority to regulate medical professionals lies with the states. To practice within a state, clinicians must obtain a license from that state's government. State statutes dictate standards for licensing and disciplining medical professionals. They also list tasks clinicians are allowed to perform. One view is that state licensing of medical professionals assures quality. In contrast, I argue here that licensure not only fails to protect consumers from incompetent physicians, but, by raising barriers to entry, makes health care more expensive and less accessible. Institutional oversight and a sophisticated network of private accrediting and certification organizations, all motivated by the need to protect reputations and avoid legal liability, offer whatever consumer protections exist today. Consumers would benefit were states to eliminate professional licensing in medicine and leave education, credentialing, and scope-of-practice decisions entirely to the private sector and the courts. If eliminating licensing is politically infeasible, some preliminary steps might be generally acceptable. States could increase workforce mobility by recognizing licenses issued by other states. For mid-level clinicians, eliminating education requirements beyond an initial degree would allow employers and consumers to select the appropriate level of expertise. At the very least, state legislators should be alert to the self-interest of medical professional organizations that may lie behind the licensing proposals brought to the legislature for approval.
Topic:
Government and Health
Political Geography:
United States