In an effort to spur economic growth and to burnish their job-creation bona fides, policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels often dispense targeted economic development subsidies. These selective incentives include targeted tax relief, targeted regulatory relief, cash subsidies, and...

Targeted economic development subsidies do not work as advertised. In fact, the balance of economic theory and empirical evidence suggests that they are more likely to undermine development than to enhance it. Yet policymakers face strong incentives to continue to offer subsidies. Because...

The advent of ridesharing platforms like Uber and Lyft has prompted regulators everywhere to rethink their approach to the vehicle-for-hire industry. Taxi companies and drivers have called for a level playing field where they can compete on equal footing with ridesharing drivers. The evidence...

New technology can cause significant changes in an industry, potentially improving both consumer welfare and governance. The initial reaction of many regulators to the advent of “ridesharing” platforms such as Uber and Lyft was either to outlaw them or to burden them with the same level of...