We are frequently asked how, during our recent tenure at the Federal Trade Commission, we came to create the National Do Not Call Registry, one of the most popular government actions ever under- taken. The answer lies in our search for an approach to regulate the exchange of consumer information...

In 1981, while in the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, two of the authors were instrumental in initiating the FTC's fraud program, relying on Section 13(b)'s authority to obtain a permanent injunction to seek equitable relief, including asset freezes and consumer redress. The fraud program...

In the United States, the size and composition of the federal budget is arguably the most important single issue of the 1990's, yet most debates and commentaries on the subject are largely uninformed. Virtually no one - whether government official, member of Congress, journalist, or taxpayer -...

In this study, we analyze the consumer welfare implications of regulating Rent-to-Own (RTO) transactions. We conclude that the benefits and costs of mandatory disclosure and labeling regulations currently imposed by most states are likely small, and that the effects of imposing a Federal...