NCPA Publications: Regulations

Lights Out for Thomas Edison

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will soon ban the most common light bulbs in the United States.  New efficiency standards will require manufacturers to produce incandescent bulbs that…
Beyond No Child Left Behind: Value-Added Assessment of Student Progress

The federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires each state to evaluate every public school annually, and to make “adequate yearly progress” toward helping all students meet or exceed state standa…
Regulating Global Warming: Expanding the Authority of the Environmental Protection Agency

In May 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that greenhouse gases meet the definition of an air pollutant in the Clean Air Act. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) responded in 2008 by issuing a…
The Case for Corporate Income Tax Cuts

Globalization and capital mobility are increasing tax competition among countries.  Lower tax rates increase after-tax returns to capital, raising economic growth rates.  They can also make economies…
Economic Benefits of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement

A free trade agreement commits two or more countries to reduce mutual trade barriers — tariffs, quotas and so forth.  Such agreements give both countries' products an advantage in each other's markets…
In Order to Extinguish Forest Fires, Don’t Let Logging Burn Out

Federal mismanagement of U.S. forests has increased the number, size and cost of wildfires over the past decade.  Historically, the national forests have been logged to provide lumber for commercial a…
Medical Tourism: Health Care Free Trade

Global competition in health care is allowing more patients from developed countries to travel for medical reasons to regions once characterized as “third world.”  Many of these “medical tourists” are…
Five Family Friendly Policies

The most significant economic and sociological change of the past half-century has been the entry of women into the labor market. Public policies that govern the workplace have not kept pace with this…