I feel like someone may have some good ideas for me! I am taking a special topics Economics course in my MBA and one of the available topics for our semester research paper is:
Pick a regulation and provide a history of the regulation, the purported purpose of the regulation and explain who benefits and loses from the regulation. Due on May 6. Use economic analysis and concepts to explain the winners and losers. (2000+ words)
1. Sugar price controls.
2. Ethanol requirements for gasoline.
3. Texas requirements that liquor stores be family owned.
4. The historical and current automobile gasoline mileage requirements.
5. The historical and current impact of the Davis Bacon act.
6. Any other regulation in which you are interested if I give approval.
None of those are SUPER interesting to me. Right now I'm thinking the sugar price controls. But the bolded is why I'm posting. I have tried googling and was maybe considering the Certificate of Need requirement in healthcare, but I was wondering if anyone here knew of any interesting economic regulations I could research that might be more fun.
Oh and the other optional topic is:
Country Comparison: Compare similar countries “choosing” different systems: East and West Germany after WWII. North and South Korea after WWII. Countries that changed: Cuba before and after 1959 and the end of Soviet support (the “Special Period”).
Which I think would be SUPER interesting, but I imagine getting non-biased information about West Germany or N Korea would be difficult to say the least, lol. But if someone wants to convince me otherwise, I'm in.
I’d be super curious about the environmental (and also economic) impact of travel restrictions/(regulations?) from coronavirus, but that may not yet be a fully ripe topic. For instance, I find it interesting that Apple’s quarterly projections are way down because of impacts from it. apple.news/AJQsv0f_URUSFjEm1hT2e2w
Also that flight patterns have been altered/travel decreased. It’s also interesting to me even just the board commentary a couple of weeks ago about the improvement in air quality/decrease in particulate matter pollution since some industries in China have slowed way down.
Any environmental regulation would be a good pick (and timely based on their dismantling). There are a bunch regarding land use, as in former gas stations, and land near military bases.
Alabama has a regulation against female co-living that is supposed to prohibit brothels but has instead contributed to housing challenges for college students.
The alcohol mini bottle regulation from South Carolina (now deceased) would be interesting as well. Bartenders couldn’t free pour until the late 2000s.
🙋♀️ Econ undergrad, now involved with social policy and Econ intersection. One area with a ton of writing on the topic is the welfare to work requirements from mid-1990s welfare reform. It shut a lot of people out of receiving aid, and has led a lot of states to offer state funded aid.
Love of my life baby boy born 11/11. One and done not by choice; 3 years of TTC yielded 4 MMC and 2 CPs, through 4 IUIs and 2 IVFs. Focusing on making the world a better place instead...and running.
🙋♀️ Econ undergrad, now involved with social policy and Econ intersection. One area with a ton of writing on the topic is the welfare to work requirements from mid-1990s welfare reform. It shut a lot of people out of receiving aid, and has led a lot of states to offer state funded aid.
I don't know if this counts as a 'regulation' per se, but two things that interest me are the varying State rates for vapor taxes, and the preferential (aka lower) tax rate some states give to "modified risk tobacco products."
Another one that interests me but you might have a hard time finding unbiased info is the effects of regional soda taxes on small stores (corner stores/bodegas and the like which are mostly family owned). To hear them tell they are being out t of business by these taxes because shoppers will go outside of the tax area to buy soda. But the tax-supporters say that is baloney.
Canada's supply management dairy system versus the US system. It is fascinating.
Damn, I’d never even considered this, but feel as a (pizza) restaurant owner, I definitely need to further explore. This thread is fascinating, thanks guys!
The impact of the lack of price transparency in the medical profession on consumers and insurers.
This would be a fascinating one because of the research that price transparency actually tends to increase the cost of care vs decrease it. Kind of contrary to what someone might initially think.
🙋♀️ Econ undergrad, now involved with social policy and Econ intersection. One area with a ton of writing on the topic is the welfare to work requirements from mid-1990s welfare reform. It shut a lot of people out of receiving aid, and has led a lot of states to offer state funded aid.
100% this.
You’re my policy wonk hero, so I love this! Thank you. 😄
Love of my life baby boy born 11/11. One and done not by choice; 3 years of TTC yielded 4 MMC and 2 CPs, through 4 IUIs and 2 IVFs. Focusing on making the world a better place instead...and running.
Post by Wines Not Whines on Feb 18, 2020 21:25:03 GMT -5
I’m not an econ nerd, but I’ve always wondered about NJ’s state law that prohibits people from pumping their own gas. It creates jobs, because a gas station needs employees to put gas in people’s cars. I assume it increases the cost of gas, but I don’t know for sure. And why is this required by law? It’s so strange.
When I moved to Texas long ago, I was fascinated by the Wright Ammendment that limited Dallas Love Field flights to neighboring states (limiting mainly Southwest Airlines) so that DFW airport could grow. It was a phased repeal (or maybe expiration) over the past few years, which also coincides with Southwest expanding to international routes.
I don't have any suggestions, but the sugar pricing actually came up in my MBA finance class last night. We were looking at a case study involving Hershey almost selling in the early 2000s and one of their board mentioned the price of sugar being a reason to sell and move operations overseas. So, if you go that route, that may be an avenue to explore.
Post by Wines Not Whines on Feb 20, 2020 19:50:52 GMT -5
A recent law would be the 2018 Farm Bill which decontrolled “hemp” under federal law, which is why you see a gazillion hemp and CBD products all over the place now.