In this paper we provide non-parametric and parametric estimations of the initial diffusion process of point-of-sale optical scanners that illustrate the importance of controlling for supplier behavior and government regulations. In particular, we show that discrete changes in the early development of the technology followed predictably different diffusion paths depending on each vintage's rela...

This paper reconstructs the dispute between the main social actors with direct interests in the regulation of private health care in Brazil during the period immediately prior to the passage of Act 9.656/98, highlighting the divergences between these actors in relation to 28 central topics for shaping the regulatory framework prevailing in the country since 1998. The material used in the descri...

The tactics used by the tobacco industry to resist government regulation of its products include conducting public relations campaigns, buying scientific and other expertise to create controversy about established facts, funding political parties, hiring lobbyists to influence policy, using front groups and allied industries to oppose tobacco control measures, pre-empting strong legislation by ...

This Article analyzes the potential impact on government regulation of private property rights of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington. That case upheld mandatory Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) programs. While Brown ensures continued funding for legal services for lowand moderate-income persons, it is difficult to reconcile with the Co...

Children's right to participate in their own healthcare has increasingly become highlighted in national and international research as well as in government regulations. Nevertheless, children's participation in healthcare is unsatisfactorily applied in praxis. There is a growing body of research regarding children's participation, but research from the children's own perspective is scarce. The ...

BACKGROUND In the wake of various high-profile incidents in a number of countries, regulators of healthcare quality have been criticised for their 'soft' approach. In politics, concerns were expressed about public confidence. It was claimed that there are discrepancies between public opinions related to values and the values guiding regulation policies. Although the general public are final cli...

Concerns about the management of threatened species continue to grow as these populations face mounting pressures from many factors. Trophy hunting in particular plays a significant role in wildlife conservation, both economically and biologically. In this paper, we present a framework for analyzing the economic impacts of different management strategies in the context of legal lion hunting in ...

Pharmaceutical production and distribution constitute big business. For the companies the rewards can be substantial. Rates of return on drug company investments tend to be higher than many other manufacturing enterprises. But reward is only one side of the story. There is also the issue of social risk, the focus of this article. Social risk for pharmaceutical production is especially pronounce...

Each government agency uses a uniform figure to measure the value of a statistical life (VSL). This is a serious mistake. The very theory that underlies current practice calls for far more individuation of the relevant values. According to that theory, VSL should vary across risks. More controversially, VSL should vary across individuals -- even or especially if the result would be to produce a...

n terms of housing issues, the primary public policy focus of economists has been the affordability of homes, mortgage availability, land-use regulation, and rent control. Studies of land-use regulation focus on the effects of regulation on the price of owner-occupied housing. Work on low-income housing has concerned itself more with issues of measurement and the debate over supply-side versus ...