Academia
Does Public Transit Improve Air Quality?
Yihsu Chen and Alexander Whalley of UC Merced think they know. They have analyzed some useful data from the opening of Taipei’s new subway, in a recent article in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy: The transportation sector is a major source of air pollution worldwide, yet little is known about the effects of transportation infrastructure …
Continue reading “Does Public Transit Improve Air Quality?”
CONTINUE READINGIs Bureaucratic Leadership an Oxymoron?
History shows that that those much-maligned bureaucrats are sometimes the unsung heroes of policy improvement.
CONTINUE READINGThe Wall Street Journal Publishes Quite a Piece on Climate Change
This piece is worth reading. It doesn’t have that much new content but it does take up a lot of the page. I must admit that I’m envious. It appears that the WSJ has rejected my OP-ED submission. In my piece, I discuss how the rise of charter cities in developing countries could offer individuals …
Continue reading “The Wall Street Journal Publishes Quite a Piece on Climate Change”
CONTINUE READINGUrban Form and Public Health
The Chronicle of Higher Education has a very nice story about UCLA’s Dick Jackson. To quote this article; “In 2001, while still at the CDC, Dr. Jackson was a co-author of an article published by Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse that contended that poorly planned built environments had adverse effects on air quality, physical activity, and public …
Continue reading “Urban Form and Public Health”
CONTINUE READINGA Subtle New Paper; “How Not to Save the Planet” by Thom Brooks
Thom Brooks has written a thoughtful new paper. Here is his abstract: Abstract. Climate change presents us with a pressing challenge. A global consensus accepts that human activity is responsible for climate change and its associated dangers. However, there is disagreement on how best to address this challenge. The essay argues that leading proposals are …
Continue reading “A Subtle New Paper; “How Not to Save the Planet” by Thom Brooks”
CONTINUE READINGCharles M. Haar, 1920-2012
Harvard Law School’s Charles Haar, a pioneering land use scholar, passed away last Tuesday at the age of 91. Dan Filler notes that He was an expert in land use, urban development and property law. Among his various achievements, Haar was one of the key draftsmen responsible for developing four of President Johnson’s important urban policy initiatives: the Demonstration …
Continue reading “Charles M. Haar, 1920-2012”
CONTINUE READINGCan cap-and-trade break whaling gridlock?
In the current edition of Nature, researchers from UC Santa Barbara and Arizona State propose a market for whale harvest quotas (subscription required). Essentially, they would like to establish a kind of “cap-and-trade” system in permits to hunt whales. Their paper is getting a great deal of attention in the media, both in specialized outlets …
Continue reading “Can cap-and-trade break whaling gridlock?”
CONTINUE READINGLocalized Renewable Energy Conference in San Diego, February 2nd
A heads-up for Legal Planet readers in the San Diego area (or those who would like to be in the San Diego area) on Thursday, February 2nd: the Environmental Law Section of the California State Bar will be holding a one-day conference on localized renewable energy generation at the University of San Diego School of …
Continue reading “Localized Renewable Energy Conference in San Diego, February 2nd”
CONTINUE READINGDo Law Schools Discriminate Against Conservatives?
Teresa R. Wagner, a conservative Republican who applied for a faculty job at Iowa and was turned down, thinks so: Ms. Wagner, who graduated from the law school in 1993 and had taught at the George Mason University School of Law, was not hired. She sued, alleging discrimination because of her political beliefs. Late last …
Continue reading “Do Law Schools Discriminate Against Conservatives?”
CONTINUE READINGMigration and Natural Disasters: Evidence from the Past
This is my first post at Legal Planet and I’m happy to be here. I’m an environmental economist at UCLA and I’m proud to hold a courtesy appointment at UCLA Law School. In this brief post, I want to advertise a new paper of mine. Leah Boustan, Paul Rhode and I look at young men’s …
Continue reading “Migration and Natural Disasters: Evidence from the Past”
CONTINUE READING