We describe RegData 3.0, a database released by the RegData Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University on August 31, 2017, for the purpose of facilitating third-party usage. We explain the primary features of the database, describe the methodology used to build it, and list the...

We introduce RegData, formerly known as the Industry-Specific Regulatory Constraint Database. RegData annually quantifies federal regulations by industry and by regulatory agency for all federal regulations from 1997 to 2012. The quantification of regulations at the industry level for all...

If algorithms are to be the policy analysts of the future, the policy metrics they produce will require careful validation. This paper introduces a new dataset that assists in the creation and validation of automated policy metrics. It presents a corpus of laws that have been redrafted to...

We investigate the contemporaneous mortality consequences of alcohol prohibition laws introduced in America between 1900 and 1920. We improve on existing studies by constructing a time-varying measure of prohibition at the state-level that corrects for the timing of prohibition enforcement and...

We develop a rational expectations model of placebo effects. If subjects in seemingly-ideal single-stage RCTs form rational beliefs about breakthroughs based upon personal physiological responses, mental effects differ across medications received, treatment versus control. Consequently, the...

One of the greatest challenges facing regulatory government today concerns the safety of the food supply. Few Americans realize the extent and severity of the danger posed by foodborne pathogens. While many of these microorganisms are not new, changes in food production, preparation, and...

Jarrell (1978) found that electricity prices rose in states that adopted state regulation before 1917, suggesting that regulators were "captured" by the interests of the regulated electric utilities. An alternative explanation is that state regulation more credibly protected specialized utility...

In 2007, Francis Fukuyama wrote that “the European Union more accurately reflects what the world will look like at the end of history than the contemporary United States. The EU’s attempt to transcend sovereignty and traditional power politics by establishing a transnational rule of law is...

State bar licensing authorities and law schools have been debating whether the passing score on the bar exam is set at the right level or should be lowered. Much of the debate centers on generalizations without evidence about the effect that changes to the bar exam may have.We present data...

The process of assigning property rights to land in the American Great Plains resulted in farms that were too small to be economically viable. These farms were prime contributors to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The path dependence resulting from the initial assignment of property rights on the...