By Andrea Medici Since the 1950s school choice has been implemented in many forms to support the education system in the United States. Open enrollment is one such approach that requires school districts to enroll students who reside in other districts. This is a particularly pertinent subject to Florida as the 2017-18 school year marked … Continue reading Is Open Enrollment Effective Market-Based Education Reform?
Crony Capitalism and the Rising Price of the EpiPen
By William Reynolds Monopolies are often the by-product of market failures that are induced through crony capitalist policies. Crony capitalist policies are pieces of legislation enacted to benefit politicians and private companies at the cost of the consumers. The ramifications of these policies on competitive markets can be far-reaching, and in certain instances have larger … Continue reading Crony Capitalism and the Rising Price of the EpiPen
Entrepreneur Develops Technology to Monitor Police Interactions
By Leesa Newbon and Giovanna da Silva Transparency and government accountability are considered essential components to maintaining a healthy democracy and reducing corruption. With the rise of technological advancements in the digital media era, entrepreneurs can facilitate demands for transparency by developing online programs and apps that allow citizens to monitor government institutions and agencies. … Continue reading Entrepreneur Develops Technology to Monitor Police Interactions
Economic Freedom Key to Cities’ Success
By Matt Kelly Economic freedom is the unrestricted ability of people in a country to associate and transact with one another. Measuring economic freedom has become a growing area of academic research. Probably the best known measure is the index constructed for the “Economic Freedom of the World” annual report on 159 countries published by … Continue reading Economic Freedom Key to Cities’ Success
Study Finds Growth Management Laws Reduce Housing Affordability
by Matt Kelly A new study by Cato Institute Senior Fellow Randal O’Toole explores the history and effects of growth management in the United States. Growth-management laws, according to O’Toole, “restrict rural development in order to force most growth into the cities.” In “The New Feudalism: Why States Must Repeal Growth-Management Laws” O’Toole finds these … Continue reading Study Finds Growth Management Laws Reduce Housing Affordability
Tax Increment Financing Has Unclear Effects
By Casey Barr Originally used in California in 1952, TIF is the most widely utilized type of economic development program in the nation, with 49 states and the District of Columbia currently authorize its use. Arizona is the only state that does not allow its use. In 2012, California limited the use of TIF after evidence … Continue reading Tax Increment Financing Has Unclear Effects
Community Redevelopment Agencies
By Casey Barr Local governments face the perennial dilemma of obtaining money to fund community redevelopment projects. Requesting state or federal funds can be an arduous bureaucratic process, and these funds are often awarded to larger, more prominent cities, ignoring smaller towns where need is arguably greater. Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRAs) allow local governments to … Continue reading Community Redevelopment Agencies
Fix the FRS Before It Breaks
By Randall G. Holcombe, Ph.D. In a recent blog post I argued in favor of shifting the Florida Retirement System (FRS) that provides pensions for retired state workers to a defined contribution system, and privatizing the system. Governor Scott and many legislators favor the shift to a defined contribution system, and because many private companies … Continue reading Fix the FRS Before It Breaks
Taxis and Ridesourcing Companies Serve Different Customers
By Matt Kelly Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, and other “ridesourcing” services have been the subject of a near continuous stream of popular news stories, lawsuits, protests, and even regulatory reforms across the world. The reporting has often bordered on sensationalism, but a handful of recent economic studies have tried to objectively examine the effects of “ridesourcing” … Continue reading Taxis and Ridesourcing Companies Serve Different Customers
Pricing Water in Florida
By Tyler Worthington As Florida’s population grows it will have to address a multitude of new problems, including stress on water supplies. States like California have experienced severe water shortages in recent years, and mismanagement has exacerbated this problem. Because California does not accurately price water, it has been misallocated. In Florida, The Turkey Point … Continue reading Pricing Water in Florida
Growlers Ban Likely to End
By Matt Kelly This legislative session, Florida lawmakers are considering reforms that would revamp many of the state’s regulations on alcohol. A measure to legalize a popular beer container size, the 64 oz. growler, has sparked a debate over the larger issue of the three-tier beer regulation system. Powerful special interests have complicated every step … Continue reading Growlers Ban Likely to End
The Uber Wars
Original post date: December 10, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas 6/6/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. In my previous blogs, I discussed some of the legal and regulatory hurdles encountered by Uber, a Transportation Network Company (TNC) that provides on-demand taxi and limousine services using a smartphone app to … Continue reading The Uber Wars
Customers Rise Up to Support Taxi Innovator
Original post date: November 19, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas 6/6/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. Finding a more textbook example of regulatory capture than the taxicab industry is difficult, as the case of the innovative on-demand taxi service Uber clearly demonstrates. Despite the highly regulated nature of the … Continue reading Customers Rise Up to Support Taxi Innovator
Entrenched Interests Fight Innovation in Taxi Industry
Original post date: November 19, 2013 Article by: Ben Douglas 5/24/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. A revolutionary new smartphone app is changing the nature of the taxicab business, but stiff opposition from entrenched taxi companies risks keeping their innovations from benefiting customers. Uber is a venture-capital funded startup … Continue reading Entrenched Interests Fight Innovation in Taxi Industry
San Diego’s Pension Reform Bodes Well for Carl Demaio
Original post date: October 10, 2013 Article by: Anonymous 5/10/2023 Edits: Some links that were no longer working have been fixed. Carl DeMaio is one controversial congressional candidate. He served from 2008 to 2012 as city councilman of San Diego, where his ideas for pension reform became popularized, and he is also a policy analyst … Continue reading San Diego’s Pension Reform Bodes Well for Carl Demaio
Wealth Migration Pays Florida
State. It is also worth noting that you can track individual counties. For Florida, the biggest winners were a strip along the Gulf coast (from Citrus County to Collier) and most of the Atlantic coast. Of course, there are other factors at play. The elderly (who are more likely to be wealthy) have been retiring … Continue reading Wealth Migration Pays Florida
Will Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Doom High-Speed Rail?
Original post date: August 15, 2013 Article by: Sam Staley Elon Musk unveiled his pneumatic tube inspired Hyperloop, a “fifth mode” of transportation that he hopes will revolutionize intercity travel on Monday. His “technical paper” sketches out the engineering and technical plausibility of the concept, and the proposal seems surprisingly robust as I point out … Continue reading Will Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Doom High-Speed Rail?
Do Left-Leaning Cities Oppose New Housing?
Original post date: February 25, 2013 Article by: Anonymous Matthew E. Kahn of UCLA’s Institute of Environment concludes in a study published in the Journal of Urban Economics that cities with a majority of citizens registered in political parties with liberal tendencies—the Democratic Party, Green Party, and Peach and Freedom Party—issued fewer new housing permits … Continue reading Do Left-Leaning Cities Oppose New Housing?
Is Florida Headed for a Seller’s Market?
Original Post date: July 10, 2012 Article by: Anonymous The subtitle of a recent Miami Herald Business Monday (6/18/2012) article read: “South Florida's real estate market suffers from depressed prices and low inventory [emphasis added].” With an average decrease of 49% in real estate values from the housing peak in 2006, perhaps suffering is an … Continue reading Is Florida Headed for a Seller’s Market?