Author Archive | Todd Zywicki

Hans Bader has a summary write-up of the PCAOB case that will be heard next week.  The insights of former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins are especially interesting.

The Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE) is presenting a program this summer for editors of environmental law and natural resources law journals on Environmental Economics, Law, and Policy.  FREE’s programs are really top-notch with a first-rate faculty and the spectacular Montana atmosphere.  The details of the program have not yet been […]

For those who are interested, Ed Warren Whelan has some comments on Joan Biskupic’s new book on Justice Scalia.  Part I here and Part II here. Ed’s conclusion: My overall take on American Original is decidedly mixed.  On the positive side:  The book is well written, much more so than I expected from my occasional […]

One of the most interesting articles I have read on the health care cost issue was this one in the New Yorker that I read over the summer. Overall, I thought it a pretty interesting insight into the issue.  But that’s not what I’m concerned about here.  What I thought was interesting about it was […]

Josh Wright and Adam Levitin have been going back and forth about Wright’s paper (co-authored with David Evans) about the predicted impact of the adoption of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) on the availability of credit, economic growth, and new business formation (many new businesses rely on their founder’s personal consumer credit, such as […]

Congratulations to VA’s new AG, Ken Cuccinelli who, to the best of my knowledge, becomes the first George Mason law school alumnus to be elected to state-wide office in Viriginia.  He bested alumni of William & Mary and UVA in the primaries.  GMU is a relatively young law school and this is a proud day […]

The owner of a highly-coveted “LAWHOO” license plate (at least to UVA Law Alumni) is putting it up for auction, with the proceeds to benefit the UVA Public Interest Law Association.  It is on eBay.

A couple of weeks ago Bank of America announced that it would not raise interest rates in response to the new regulations imposed by the CARD Act.  At the time I didn’t understand how Bank of America could apparently repeal the laws of supply and demand when no one else could.  Now I understand–yesterday B […]

Congratulations to my GMU colleague and long-time friend Don Boudreaux, who has been named the winner of the 2009 Thomas Szasz Award for Contributions to the Cause of Civil Liberties.  It well-merited and it is great to see Don’s tireless and advocacy for individual liberty recognized.

I am really pleased–elated really–about the naming of Ostrom and Williamson for the Nobel Prize in Economics.  The two of them are real leaders in the development of the New Institutional Economics.  Both have already had important and profound impacts on the study of law and economics and I hope that this will raise interest […]

My book “Public Choice Concepts and Applications in Law” (co-authored with Maxwell Stearns) is now available.  Just in time for Christmas! You can order your very own copy here.

The WSJ has a really sharply-worded attack on the CFPA today and mentions a new Blue Dog Democrat proposal (this is the first I’ve heard of that). David Evans and Josh Wright have a new paper posted on SSRN on “The Effect of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009 on Consumer Credit.”  I […]

This afternoon I had the pleasure (along with Marcus Cole). of participating in a webcast at the Washington Legal Foundation on our article on “The New Forum-Shopping Problem in Bankruptcy” focusing on the Marshall v. Marshall case.  The webcase is available here. It is a bit over an hour long.  The working paper that is […]