We present new evidence on the ability of chains to improve control over prices set in their franchised outlets. We construct and analyze panel data of fast food outlets from 1999 and 2006 to quantify price differences between franchised and corporate-owned outlets, and to test whether the...

This paper considers three simple rules-based strategies to improve and maintain financial stability. The first reforms the rules of bankruptcy to handle large financial institutions with a minimum of disruption. The second would focus macro-prudential policy on setting permanent and appropriate...

This paper presents evidence that the recession of 2007-2009 and the weak recovery have both been caused by poor economic policies, including a shift toward more discretionary, more interventionist and less predictable actions. While these policies may have led to temporary growth spurts,...

We present a simple framework to illustrate the welfare consequences of a “top up” health insurance policy that allows patients to pay the incremental price for more expensive treatment options. We contrast it with common alternative policies that require essentially no incremental payments...

Charter schools have become a very popular instrument for reforming public schools, because they expand choices, facilitate local innovation, and provide incentives for the regular public schools while remaining under public control. Despite their conceptual appeal, evaluating their performance...

The US home ownership rate rose by 10 percentage points between 1940 and 1945, about half the size of the net change over the 20th century, despite severe restrictions on construction during World War II. I present evidence that wartime rent control which covered over 80 percent of the 1940 U.S....

This paper shows that deviations from more rules-based policies that worked well in the Great Moderation or NICE (Non-Inflationary Consistently Expansionary) period have been a factor in the deterioration of economic performance in recent years. The policy deviations explain why the volatility...

We collect data on operations, targets and human resources management practices in over 1,800 schools educating 15-year-olds in 8 countries. Overall, we show that higher management quality is strongly associated with better educational outcomes. The UK, Sweden, Canada and the US obtain the...

Since 1988, every US state has established a database of criminal offenders’ DNA profiles. These databases have received widespread attention in the media and popular culture, but this paper provides the first rigorous analysis of their impact on crime. DNA databases are distinctive for two...

A simple exit rule from the extraordinary measures taken by the Federal Reserve in the past two years is proposed. The rule describes the joint path of the interest rate and the level of reserves. The rule has several attractive properties including a predictable return to traditional monetary...