Unintended Consequences

Handling corporate debt has long been a standardized process, but something strange has been happening with contract law in recent years. These loan agreements are like the oil that lubricates our economic engine, yet...

Economists use something called the “social cost of carbon” to estimate the future physical and economic damages caused by climate change. Yet the final dollar cost assigned to carbon emissions fluctuates wildly: from...

<p>As Milton Friedman thought that the weight of careful research about the negative effects of the minimum wage would lead to an overwhelming consensus among economists and ultimately end public support for the policy...

<p>You might’ve heard that building more roads to reduce traffic doesn’t really work because of induced demand, the way in which building new infrastructure simultaneously creates more demand. In this episode, Peter and...

<p>Four decades ago, America stopped building new nuclear power plants. Some economists have even linked that decision to the era of lost economic growth known as the “Great Stagnation.” But now demand for energy is...

<p>President Trump recently fired the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), claiming that the downward revision of employment numbers was evidence of some kind of conspiracy to make the administration...

<p>The standard, classroom story about the history of antitrust starts with crusading progressive activists breaking up the Standard Oil trust in 1911 to save consumers from corporate greed. But a closer look at the...

<p>Wealthy Americans are able to avoid taxes through an accounting strategy known as “buy, borrow, and die.” It’s why Donald Trump is able to pay as little as $0 in federal income taxes some years. But, as Peter and...

<p>The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which subsidizes National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, received half a billion dollars from the federal government each year. While budget battles over...

<p>Every minute, over 500 hours of content are uploaded to YouTube. Some of those videos likely infringe on existing intellectual property rights. In his Regulation cover article, law professor Jonathan Barnett argues...

<p>One of the hottest debated topics in environmental pollution policy is PM2.5, particulate matter that is so small it can bypass your respiratory system’s filters and enter your bloodstream. Everyone agrees that it’s...

On April 2, 2025, President Trump announced the largest tariffs in more than a century, sparking a stockmarket crash and heightening fears of a potential recession. It shouldn’t be a surprise for our listeners; one of...

New York City’s congestion pricing policy is meant to reduce traffic in Manhattan and to raise money for public transit. But it’s attracted the ire of many, including President Donald Trump. Join Paul Matzko and Peter...

Should your home have a sprinkler system installed? Well, the organization likely responsible for your local building code thinks so. But mandating sprinklers in every single family home would be expensive, and this...

Obituaries for the late President Jimmy Carter have been filled with profuse praise for his post-presidential philanthropic work. But Carter wasn't just good once he left office; he was one of the most underrated...