About
- Robert M. Solow Professor of Economics
- Research Fellow at National Bureau of Economic Research
- Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2015)
Voting History
Question A: The lower willingness of private firms to go public, combined with the increased number of publicly traded firms being taken private over the last 25 years, is measurably net negative for economic growth.
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Question B: All else equal, reducing regulatory barriers (including reporting requirements such as Sarbanes Oxley 404) to public listing would substantially increase the share of publicly traded firms in the economy.
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Question C: The lack of transparency about unlisted private firms' financial performance substantially hinders the efficiency of the allocation of capital.
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Question A: Antitrust investigations of the dominant firms in artificial intelligence are likely to lead to substantially lower prices of AI products and services for businesses and consumers.
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Question B: Antitrust investigations of the dominant firms in artificial intelligence are likely to promote greater competition and innovation in AI.
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Question C: Potential harms from artificial intelligence are better assessed by market deployment rather than seeking to slow the pace of AI research and implementation.
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Question A: The proposed US tariffs on Chinese EVs would lead to measurably higher employment in the US automotive industry over the next five years.
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Question B: The proposed US tariffs on Chinese EVs would lead to measurably higher prices of EVs in the US.
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Question C: The proposed US tariffs on Chinese EVs would measurably slow the adoption of green technology by consumers.
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Reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug would lead to measurably higher social welfare.
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Comment: Marginal move to catch up with reality, voters and state laws. Symbolically: bigger inflection point on War on Drugs. But whatever one thinks of that "war", having heroin and marijuana in same class is no longer justifiable. Uruguay and Canada doing fine with legal marijuana.
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Question A: Tripling existing import taxes on Chinese steel and aluminum products would lead to measurably higher employment in the US steel industry over the next five years.
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Comment: Imports of Chinese steel would fall. Imports from other countries may mitigate the rise in production in US and effects on employment may be modest. There could also be a negative effect on downstream production and employment, as with Bush steel tariffs.
-see background information here -see background information here |
Question B: Tripling the tariffs would lead to measurably higher steel and aluminum prices for American producers and measurably higher finished-good prices for American consumers.
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Comment: Based on past experience, the tariffs will likely raise the after tariff price to the US one for one and passed on to downstream input users and consumers, as happened with the Bush steel tariffs and more recently with Trump's tariffs on China.
-see background information here -see background information here |
Question C: The gains for the American economy from tripling the tariffs would measurably outweigh the losses.
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Comment: Protectionism via tariffs creates well-understood aggregate losses in efficiency. This is so even if China "unfairly" subsidizes its steel.
Political motivations aside, actual distributional impacts are modest, ill targeted, and better handled with other more direct tax tools.
-see background information here -see background information here |
Universities that abandon temporary pandemic test-optional policies and return to requiring standardized test scores for admissions will create measurably enhanced opportunities for potentially high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds.
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Comment: Standardized tests aren't perfect but still provide valuable information for finding students with high potential from less favorable socio-economic background.
-see background information here |
Question A: The FTC is opposed to Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons. Critics argue that with sufficient divestitures, the deal would be consistent with past FTC policies.
Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons would lead to substantially higher grocery prices and/or lower product quality/services for customers of the two companies in locations where both are present.
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Question B: Kroger’s proposed acquisition of Albertsons would have a substantially negative effect on workers at the two companies in locations where both are present.
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Question A: Allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies will lead to a substantial reduction in the costs of prescription drugs for US retirees.
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Question B: Allowing imports of medicines from Canada will lead to a substantial reduction in the costs of prescription drugs for US consumers without compromising safety.
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Question A: A tolling program for New York City is out for public consultation with proposed charges on vehicles entering the central business district of Manhattan summarized here: https://new.mta.info/document/129191
The proposed tolls on vehicles entering the central business district of Manhattan are likely to lead to a substantial reduction in traffic congestion in the targeted area.
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Comment: Tolls reduce traffic. Caveats: big effects need high enough price (may have to raised) + design features might mitigate reduction a bit (some drivers may pay to enter then stay/drive longer to avoid repaying).
Overall expect reduction by "Law of Demand": D(p) curve slopes down.
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Question B: The proposed tolls on vehicles entering Manhattan are likely to lead to a substantial increase in traffic congestion just outside the central business district, above 60th Street, in the outer boroughs and New Jersey.
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Comment: A real possibility but we do not know. Theoretically, a toll on driving below 60th(A) may raise or lower driving above 60th(B). In Econ speak: depends on whether A and B goods are complements or substitutes, an empirical issue.
Stigler famously made a related point about crime.
-see background information here |
Question A: The economic and financial sanctions against Russia are substantially limiting its ability to wage war on Ukraine.
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Comment: Sanctions have a direct effect on Russian economy and a more indirect effect on military capacity. Over time, resilient domestic political power and help from China and others have lessened the impact on military capacity. Yet sanctions likely still have a non zero effect.
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Question B: In the absence of continuing flows of Western economic aid, Ukraine's wartime economy will be substantially compromised.
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