Research

States Are Reshaping the Noncompete Landscape Even as a Federal Ban Disappears

In new research, Norman Bishara and Lorenzo Luisetto analyze the nature and proliferation of state legislative activity to regulate noncompete agreements since 2009. In the absence of a federal rule, these developments represent a promising step toward curbing the abuse of noncompete agreements.

Chinese Industrial Policy Triggers Duties, Reducing the Benefit of Subsidies

In new research, Yusheng Feng, Haishi Li, Siwei Wang, and Min Zhu show that higher industrial subsidies raise the likelihood and severity of foreign antidumping and countervailing duties. These retaliatory duties wipe out roughly a quarter of the revenue growth the subsidies would otherwise create for firms. Failing to address the potential consequences of subsidies may lead governments to overstate the net benefits of industrial policy and fuel deeper trade frictions.

Reputation-Seeking Investors Can Impose Costs on Fellow Shareholders

In new research, Michele Fioretti, Victor Saint-Jean, and Simon Smith show that shareholders with potential reputational gains will push for corporate actions in the face of shocks like Covid-19 or the Russian invasion of Ukraine that reduce returns to other shareholders who have no reputational gains at stake.

The Importance of PhD Transparency in Today’s Job Market

Is pursuing a PhD a worthwhile financial investment? In new research, Dwayne Benjamin, Boriana Miloucheva, and Natalia Vigezzi compare earnings of PhD graduates to other degree holders, highlighting that the high opportunity costs of pursuing a PhD aren’t always worth it.

Fair and Efficient Data-Sharing From Google Requires a More Advanced Regulatory Approach

Drawing on her working paper, Giovanna Massarotto discusses three algorithmic approaches to how Google can fairly and efficiently share its data with rivals per the requirements of a court’s mandated remedy for illegally monopolizing the online search market.

Market Power Shifts Tariff Costs to Suppliers

Many studies have assumed that United States tariff costs are passed onto consumers. In new research, Vanessa Alviarez, Michele Fioretti, Ken Kikkawa, and Monica Morlacco argue that buyer-seller relationship dynamics allow dominant U.S. importers to instead force higher costs onto exporters.

Accounting for City Size, Minimum Wages Reduce Jobs Almost Everywhere

In new research, Priyaranjan Jha, Jyotsana Kala, David Neumark, and Antonio Rodriguez-Lopez find that studies arguing higher minimum wages have no employment effect—or even a positive effect—in many labor markets fail to account for how much less minimum wages matter in larger, higher-wage cities.

How Partisan Control Over Redistricting Has Shaped Political Power in Congress

In new research, Kenneth Coriale, Ethan Kaplan, and Daniel Kolliner show how the Republican Party has benefited more from redistricting and gerrymandering. Their research has important implications for political power and representation in today’s era of razor-thin Congressional majorities.

How Firms Use Public Communication To Collude and What Regulators Can Do About It

In new research, Tomaso Duso, Joseph Harrington, Carl Kreuzberg, and Geza Sapi demonstrate how their screening tool can aid antitrust authorities in identifying potential collusion between firms through public communications.

Henry Manne’s Struggle To Institutionalize Law & Economics

In new research, David Gindis and Steven G. Medema trace Henry Manne’s entrepreneurial role in the development of the field of law and economics, beginning with a failed venture to bring together economists and legal scholars, but one that established the foundations for later success.

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