Welcome to The Bridge Policy Download produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.  Today we're bringing you part 2 of our most recent webinar on regulatory reform. If you missed part 1, you can listen to that episode here.  Our speakers today are James Broughel, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, Matthew D. Mitchell, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, Gretchen Conger, Deputy Chief of Staff for Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, and Jessica Cleveland, Oklahoma Deputy Secretary of State. If you’d like to contact a scholar involved in this webinar, please email mercatusoutreach@mercatus.gmu.edu We've changed our name! What was formally known at the Mercatus Policy Download is now The Bridge Policy Download. Our goal has always been to provide our audience with smart policy ideas for a growing world, and that remains to be our goal. To learn more about The Bridge, visit mercatus.org/bridge. Subscribe to The Bridge Policy Download for all policy, no punditry, and a path forward, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Welcome to the Bridge Policy Download produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Today, we’re bringing you the audio from a recent webinar we held on why states should undertake regulatory reform. This is the first of a two-part series on state regulatory reform. The second part, on how states can implement reforms, will release next week. Our speakers today are James Broughel, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Colin O'Reilly, Associate Professor, Heider College of Business, and Laura Jones, Visiting Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center and the Executive Vice-President and Chief Strategic Officer of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). If you’d like to contact a scholar involved in this webinar, please email mercatusoutreach@mercatus.gmu.edu We've changed our name! What was formally known at the Mercatus Policy Download is now The Bridge Policy Download. Our goal has always been to provide our audience with smart policy ideas for a growing world, and that remains to be our goal. To learn more about The Bridge, visit mercatus.org/bridge. Subscribe to The Bridge Policy Download for all policy, no punditry, and a path forward, wherever you get your podcasts. 

Regulations advance product safety, environmental quality, and sound business practices, but the consequences of poorly designed and implemented rules are more severe than previously thought. Regulatory accumulation has a disproportionately negative impact on the poorest and most vulnerable Americans. From increased poverty and income inequality to reduced entrepreneurialism and upward mobility, the consequences of bad policy are grave. Karen Czarnecki, Vice President of Outreach at the Mercatus Center moderates a discussion between Patrick McLaughlin, Senior Research Fellow and Director of Policy Analytics at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Dustin Chambers, Senior Affiliated Scholar Professor of Economics at Salisbury University, and Colin O'Reilly, Associate Professor at Heider College of Business where they chat about regulation myths, regulations suspended during COVID-19, what policy makers can do with existing regulations to improve the lives of marginalized communities, and much more. Want to request a meeting with one of our speakers or ask them a question? Please email mercatusoutreach@mercatus.gmu.edu for more information. 

The US economy is currently operating along a bumpy path defined more by the coronavirus and reactions to it than by the inherent dynamics of the economy itself. Yet while the path is bumpy and GDP growth puny, America still has a large and active economy. Has the US economy reached a turning point?  This week, we're very happy to be able to connect our listeners once again with Dr. Bruce Yandle, Distinguished Adjunct Fellow at Mercatus, Dean Emeritus at Clemson University, and author of the now-famous “Bootleggers and Baptists” model for understanding unlikely political alliances to help answer that question.  Matthew Mitchell, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Equity Initiative at the Mercatus Center, interviews Bruce on his most recent Economic Situation Report, discussing the variables in each state's response to COVID-19, how increased saving and decreased spending are holding America back, who's funding the coronavirus deficit, Trump's tariffs, and how some ease on regulations across the country have helped the US economy bounce back from the shutdowns in March. Interested in hearing more content like this on the download? Please reach out to Dallas at dfloer@mercatus.gmu.edu.  If you'd like to get in touch with a Mercatus Scholar featured on the download, please reach out to Matthew Boyer at mboyer@mercatus.gmu.edu. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a great deal of economic uncertainty at the state and local levels. Whether or not the virus is contained in the near future, local governments must provide flexibility in housing, zoning, and transit policies to help their communities recover. Karen Czarnecki, Vice President of Outreach at the Mercatus Center is joined by Emily Hamilton, Research Fellow and Co-Director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center, Salim Furth, Senior Research Fellow and Co-Director of the Urbanity Project at the Mercatus Center, and Jenny Schuetz, Research Fellow at the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution to discuss how urban communities can strengthen their economies in uncertain times, how housing restrictions make the United States less resilient during a pandemic, handling traffic congestion and embracing non-vehicular congestion in the long term, and what should be done about missed rent payments. If you would like to speak with one of the scholars or learn more about future webinars, please reach out to mercatusoutreach@mercatus.gmu.edu  

The COVID-19 pandemic is precipitating an unprecedented economic downturn, and small businesses are likely to bear the brunt. Mandatory shutdowns and social distancing forced many small businesses to shut their doors. Even as governments begin lifting social distancing restrictions, the residual effects of unemployment and disrupted business operations will complicate the economic recovery of small businesses. The US government has taken some steps to lessen the damage to small businesses, but these steps impose large costs on taxpayers, and depending on how long the pandemic lasts, these steps may not be enough to keep many small businesses open. Karen Czarnecki, Vice President of Outreach at the Mercatus Center is joined by Patrick McLaughlin, Senior Research Fellow and Director of Policy Analytics at the Mercatus Center, Adam Thierer, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, and Elizabeth Milito, Senior Executive Counsel at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) to discuss potential next steps for small businesses, how deregulation can help small businesses right now and post pandemic, and the benefits of permissionless innovation during the pandemic and after the pandemic is over.  If you would like to speak with one of the scholars or learn more about future webinars, please reach out to mercatusoutreach@mercatus.gmu.edu  

On today's episode, Shruti Rajagopalan, Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, chats with Mario Rizzo and Glen Whitman about their latest book, Escaping Paternalism: Rationality, Behavioral Economics, and Public Policy. The three of them discuss the impact that behavioral economics, rationality, and paternalism have on public policy including, nudge paternalism, sin taxes, default rules, true preferences, and how behavioralists may be the new baptists. Check out some of the Mercatus Center's research related to this topic: For Your Own Good: Taxes, Paternalism, and Fiscal Discrimination in the Twenty-First Century by Adam J. Hoffer and Todd Nesbit Behavioral Paternalism and Policy in Evaluating Consumer Financial Protection by Todd Zywicki and Adam C. Smith   Interested in hearing more content like this on the download? Please reach out to dfloer@mercatus.gmu.edu.  If you'd like to get in touch with a Mercatus Scholar featured on the download, please reach out to Matthew Boyer at mboyer@mercatus.gmu.edu. 

After what may have seemed like an eternity to all who have suffered coronavirus pain and death, with June at hand, America has witnessed 19 brutal weeks since its first coronavirus case was identified on January 22. But while these 19 weeks may seem like an eon, it is still the case that owing to high social media speed, actions taken to contain the virus have occurred in record time. This week, we're very happy to be able to connect our listeners once again with Dr. Bruce Yandle, Distinguished Adjunct Fellow at Mercatus, Dean Emeritus at Clemson University, and author of the now-famous “Bootleggers and Baptists” model for understanding unlikely political alliances. Matthew Mitchell, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Equity Initiative at the Mercatus Center, interviews Bruce on his most recent Economic Situation Report, discussing the race for a vaccine, the battered coronavirus economy, the rise of the command economy, the virus' impact on retail and food sales, and the ease of certain regulations due to COVID-19. Interested in hearing more content like this on the download? Please reach out to dfloer@mercatus.gmu.edu.  If you'd like to get in touch with a Mercatus Scholar featured on the download, please reach out to Matthew Boyer at mboyer@mercatus.gmu.edu. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters a preliminary phase of economic recovery, questions about how we respond is of concern to lawmakers, economists, and others. Veronique de Rugy and Michael Strain are experts at understanding “big picture” economic implications of different policy options. They will review the three best and three worst ideas that have been put forward for economic recovery thus far. To add to our ongoing COVID-19 policy webinar series, this conversation covers: Three key policies that are the most useful in helping to encourage economic recovery Three policies, both implemented and under consideration, that are likely to make economic recovery more difficult Whether Americans should expect a slow or rapid economic recovery, and the vast resources Mercatus and AEI have developed over the last two months addressing recovery options   Check out Michael's book The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It) here. If you would like to speak with one of the scholars or learn more about future webinars, please reach out to mercatusoutreach@mercatus.gmu.edu 

Attempting to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels are suspending or rescinding laws and regulations that hinder timely, sensible responses to the pandemic. The temporary departure from these rules is causing many to question the need to reinstate them post-crisis. A diverse cross-section of scholars has written on why this is an important time to evaluate whether or not some of these regulations are really beneficial and how policymakers can best make these assessments. This co-sponsored webinar will provide viewers with a grounded, non-partisan approach for doing so. The Mercatus Center published a policy brief, part of the COVID-19 Response series, that proposes an approach called a Fresh Start Initiative. The Progressive Policy Institute has consistently proposed an approach to regulations that could foster more growth coming out of the pandemic while still protecting people and the environment.   Check out the Mercatus Center's research on the topic here and PPI's research here.   Want to tune in to a future webinar? Email the Mercatus Center Outreach team at mercatusoutreach@mercatus.gmu.edu.   Interested in hearing more content like this on the download? Please reach out to dfloer@mercatus.gmu.edu.    If you'd like to get in touch with a Mercatus Scholar featured on the download, please reach out to Matthew Boyer at mboyer@mercatus.gmu.edu.