Examines policy design when the policy maker in imperfectly informed, focusing on cases where the regulated firm possesses better information about its technology than the regulator.

Of all the controversies surrounding the current U.S. patent system - and there are many - the debate over intellectual property rights in high-technology industries is one of the most strident. Both software and biotechnology are dynamic, fast growing, and increasingly important fields. Creating the right incentives for innovation in these key industries is not just a matter of academic debate; the issue has real implications for the growth of the economy. Despite the stakes - or perhaps because of them - the academic community has reached little consensus on how to spur innovation in these fields without inhibiting follow-on research or denying the public access to the fruits of technological change. Some argue that strong intellectual property rights in these industries create a "patent thicket" that only the most seasoned industry veterans can navigate, and even then at great cost. Others point to the dearth of evidence that patent thickets actually exist. They make for nice theory, but where is the proof? In this volume, leading intellectual property scholars tackle these issues. The authors express their views on how the current system is faring in the "information age" and how it might be improved. The analysis focuses on the software and biotechnology sectors and covers both legal and economic points of view. These chapters make no pretense of resolving the age-old debate; given the history of the American strand of the intellectual property rights dispute, which dates back to the seventeenth century, no definitive end is in sight. But this volume does offer valuable insights into intellectual property protection rules in an information economy and provides an important perspective on how to solve some of the more pressing issues.

After nearly twenty years of a "less is more" approach to antitrust, the Department of Justice under the Clinton administration took action against several major corporations that rely on financial, transportation, and electronic networks to support their business -Visa/MasterCard, American Airlines, and Microsoft. In High Stakes Antitrust, noted scholars with divergent opinions examine the impact and validity of the Justice Department's actions. Some believe that it was well within the law to pursue these companies, while others argue that the administration exceeded its authority. They all agree, however, that the impact of the Clinton administration's antitrust policies will be felt for quite some time.

This pioneering study uses the latest available data to examine the internationalization of regulation and regulatory reform.

This monograph assesses how the adverse health implications associated with regulatory costs can affect mortality risk by considering a broad group of federal regulations.

There is widespread agreement that climate change is a serious problem. If we fail to regulate greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, or use alternative strategies for addressing the problem, the damages could be significant, and perhaps catastrophic. After several international meetings in which nation-states have tried unsuccessfully to address the climate change problem, there is a sense of frustration and urgency: frustration at the slow pace at which countries are moving toward an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; urgency because of the growing evidence that climate change is a serious problem that should be addressed globally and quickly. This book takes a close look at the fundamental political and economic processes driving climate change policy. It identifies institutional arrangements and policies that are needed to design more effective climate change policy. It also examines ethical and distributional arguments that are critical in understanding and framing the climate debate. The book is built around a conference honouring Tom Schelling that took place at the Sustainable Consumption Institute at The University of Manchester. Each chapter represents a significant contribution to the literature on the political economy of climate change.

"Antitrust law is intended to protect consumer welfare and foster competition. At first glance, however, it is often unclear whether certain business practices have positive or detrimental effects. Businesses frequently engage in activities that may appear anticompetitive on the surface, but are actually beneficial to consumers. Business tying practices, for example, make the sale of one product conditional upon the sale of another product. This practice can either deprive consumers of choice and drive up prices or lower costs and improve convenience. Therefore, it is critical that policymakers have a keen understanding of which vertical restraints-limitations imposed on businesses by firms located in the production chain-are likely to harm consumers more than they benefit competition. In order to formulate economically efficient policies, they must be able to identify and limit those practices that are likely to do more harm than good. In A ntitrust Policy and Vertical Restraints a group of leading scholars takes a hard look at how restraints limit the conditions under which firms may purchase, sell, or resell a good or service. The authors, representing both sides of the antitrust debate over tying practices, provide a uniquely broad perspective on this critical economic policy issue. Contributors include Dennis Carlton (University of Chicago), David Evans (University College London), Bruce Kobayashi (George Mason University), and Michael Waldman (Cornell University). "

Can open source software --software that is usually available without charge and that individuals are free to modify --survive against the fierce competition of proprietary software, such as Microsoft Windows? Should the government intervene on its behalf? This book addresses a host of issues raised by the rapid growth of open source software, including government subsidies for research and development, government procurement policy, and patent and copyright policy. Contributors offer diverse perspectives on a phenomenon that has become a lightning rod for controversy in the field of information technology. Contributors include James Bessen (Research on Innovation), David S. Evans (National Economic Research Associates), Lawrence Lessig (Stanford University), Bradford L. Smith (Microsoft Corporation), and Robert W. Hahn (director, AEI-Brookings Joint Center).

The papers contained in this volume use economic theory to analyze the key issues of health and environmental risk management, showing how the policy process can be improved through the application of sound principles from economics and the natural sciences.