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106-469: According to the 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report ( Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program , University of Pennsylvania ), Mercatus is number 39 in the "Top Think Tanks in the United States" and number 18 of the "Best University Affiliated Think Tanks". The Koch family has been a major financial supporter of the organization since the mid-1980s. Charles Koch is an emeritus member of

212-658: A "one in, one out" approach to new regulations. In 1997, Chancellor Brown announced the "freeing" of the Bank of England to set monetary policy, so the Bank was no longer under direct government control. In 2006, new primary legislation (the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 ) was introduced to establish statutory principles and a code of practice and it permits ministers to make Regulatory Reform Orders (RROs) to deal with older laws which they deem to be out of date, obscure or irrelevant. This act has often been criticized and

318-415: A UK-based prediction market ." As explained in the announcement: "Mercatus Center's Scott Sumner and David Beckworth have made the case that an alternative monetary policy approach, nominal gross domestic product (NGDP) level targeting , is superior to inflation targeting . NGDP is essentially the nation's total income. According to Sumner and Beckworth, instead of targeting inflation (general prices),

424-521: A larger mosaic that concentrates all the EPA's enemies against it at one time." According to the progressive media watchdog Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting , both left-wing and right-wing policy institutes are often quoted and rarely identified as such. The result is that think tank "experts" are sometimes depicted as neutral sources without any ideological predispositions when, in fact, they represent

530-608: A law, regulation, or other provision having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier." 49 U.S.C.   § 14501 (c)(1) (Supp. V 1999). Ocean transportation was the last to be addressed. This was done in two acts, the Shipping Act of 1984 and the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998 . These acts were less thoroughgoing than the legislation dealing with U.S. domestic transportation, in that they left in place

636-974: A major industry, transportation, originated in the Richard Nixon Administration and was forwarded to Congress in late 1971. This proposal was initiated and developed by an interagency group that included the Council of Economic Advisors (represented by Hendrik Houthakker and Thomas Gale Moore ), White House Office of Consumer Affairs (represented by Jack Pearce), Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, Department of Labor, and other agencies. The proposal addressed both rail and truck transportation, but not air carriage. (92d Congress, Senate Bill 2842) The developers of this legislation in this Administration sought to cultivate support from commercial buyers of transportation services, consumer organizations , economists, and environmental organization leaders. This 'civil society' coalition became

742-1147: A number of categories and presents its findings in the Global Go-To Think Tanks rating index. However, this method of the study and assessment of policy institutes has been criticized by researchers such as Enrique Mendizabal and Goran Buldioski, Director of the Think Tank Fund, assisted by the Open Society Institute . Think tanks may attempt to broadly inform the public by holding conferences to discuss issues which they may broadcast; encouraging scholars to give public lectures, testifying before committees of governmental bodies; publishing and widely distributing books, magazines, newsletters or journals; creating mailing lists to distribute new publications; and engaging in social media. Think tanks may privately influence policy by having their members accept bureaucratic positions, having members serve on political advisory boards, inviting policy-makers to events, allowing individuals to work at

848-511: A number of think tanks that are in the form of governmental, non-governmental, and corporate organizations. In China a number of think tanks are sponsored by governmental agencies such as Development Research Center of the State Council , but still retain sufficient non-official status to be able to propose and debate ideas more freely. In January 2012, the first non-official think tank in mainland China, South Non-Governmental Think-Tank,

954-659: A particular perspective. In the United States, think tank publications on education are subjected to expert review by the National Education Policy Center 's "Think Twice" think tank review project. A 2014 New York Times report asserted that foreign governments buy influence at many United States think tanks. According to the article: "More than a dozen prominent Washington research groups have received tens of millions of dollars from foreign governments in recent years while pushing United States government officials to adopt policies that often reflect

1060-592: A pejorative context to the human brain itself when commenting on an individual's failings (in the sense that something was wrong with that person's "think tank"). Around 1958, the first organization to be regularly described in published writings as "the Think Tank" (note the title case and the use of the definite article ) was the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences . However,

1166-598: A phenomenon in the United Kingdom in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with most of the rest being established in other English-speaking countries. Prior to 1945, they tended to focus on the economic issues associated with industrialization and urbanization. During the Cold War , many more American and other Western think tanks were established, which often guided government Cold War policy. Since 1991, more think tanks have been established in non-Western parts of

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1272-543: A portion of the publicly owned generation. The remainder has been at market price and there are numerous competing energy contract providers. However, Ontario is installing Smart Meters in all homes and small businesses and is changing the pricing structure to Time of Use pricing. All small volume consumers were scheduled to shift to the new rate structure by the end of 2012. Alberta has deregulated its electricity provision. Customers are free to choose which company they sign up with, but there are few companies to choose from and

1378-399: A process known as regulatory capture . Industries then use regulation to serve their own interests, at the expense of the consumer. A similar pattern has been seen with the deregulation process itself, often effectively controlled by regulated industries through lobbying. Such political forces, however, exist in many other forms for other lobby groups . Examples of deregulated industries in

1484-502: A programme of deregulation and privatization after the party's victory at the 1979 general election . The Building Act 1984 reduced building regulations from 306 pages to 24, while compulsory competitive tendering required local government to compete with the private sector in delivering services. Other steps included express coach ( Transport Act 1980 ), British Telecom (completed in 1984), privatization of London bus services (1984), local bus services ( Transport Act 1985 ) and

1590-590: A range of economic and governance issues confronting Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa . It has also been involved in bringing political parties together to engage in dialogue. In particular it has organised Presidential debates every election year since the Ghanaian presidential election, 1996 . Notable think tanks in Ghana include: Afghanistan has a number of think tanks that are in the form of governmental, non-governmental, and corporate organizations. Bangladesh has

1696-524: A regulatory framework. This included large projects such as building new hospitals for the NHS , building new state schools, and maintaining the London Underground . These were never privatized by public offer, but instead by tendering commercial interests. One problem that encouraged deregulation was the way in which regulated industries often come to control the government regulatory agencies in

1802-495: A series of financial crises, including the savings and loan crisis , the Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) crisis, each of which necessitated major bailouts, and the derivatives scandals of 1994. These warning signs were ignored as financial deregulating continued, even in view of the inadequacy of industry self-regulation as shown by the financial collapses and bailout. The 1998 bailout of LTCM sent

1908-460: A sustainable free market system. Regarding the electricity market, contemporary academic Adam Thierer, "The first step toward creating a free market in electricity is to repeal the federal statutes and regulations that hinder electricity competition and consumer choice ." This viewpoint stretches back centuries. Classical economist Adam Smith argued the benefits of deregulation in his 1776 work, The Wealth of Nations : [Without trade restrictions]

2014-706: A template for coalitions influential in efforts to deregulate trucking and air transport later in the decade. After Nixon left office, the Gerald Ford presidency, with the allied interests, secured passage of the first significant change in regulatory policy in a pro-competitive direction, in the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 . President Jimmy Carter – aided by economic adviser Alfred E. Kahn – devoted substantial effort to transportation deregulation, and worked with Congressional and civil society leaders to pass

2120-499: A veritable proliferation of "think tanks" around the world that began during the 1980s as a result of globalization, the end of the Cold War , and the emergence of transnational problems. Two-thirds of all the think tanks that exist today were established after 1970 and more than half were established since 1980. The effect of globalisation on the proliferation of think tanks is most evident in regions such as Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and parts of Southeast Asia, where there

2226-625: Is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy , political strategy , economics , military , technology , and culture . Most think tanks are non-governmental organizations , but some are semi-autonomous agencies within a government, and some are associated with particular political parties, businesses, or the military. Think tanks are often funded by individual donations, with many also accepting government grants. Think tanks publish articles and studies, and sometimes draft legislation on particular matters of policy or society. This information

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2332-608: Is a global think tank that works on issues such as Water Diplomacy , Peace and Conflict and Foresight (futures studies) . Think tanks with a development focus include those like the National Centre for Cold-chain Development ('NCCD'), which serve to bring an inclusive policy change by supporting the Planning Commission and related government bodies with industry-specific inputs – in this case, set up at

2438-713: Is collaboration between policy institutes in different countries. For instance, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace operates offices in Washington, D.C. , Beijing , Beirut , Brussels and formerly in Moscow , where it was closed in April 2022. The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania , led by James McGann , annually rates policy institutes worldwide in

2544-452: Is done in public think tanks. There is a strong emphasis on the knowledge-based economy and, according to one respondent, think tank research is generally considered high quality. Japan has over 100 think tanks, most of which cover not only policy research but also economy, technology and so on. Some are government related, but most of the think tanks are sponsored by the private sector. Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP) at

2650-452: Is then used by governments, businesses, media organizations, social movements or other interest groups. Think tanks range from those associated with highly academic or scholarly activities to those that are overtly ideological and pushing for particular policies, with a wide range among them in terms of the quality of their research. Later generations of think tanks have tended to be more ideologically oriented. Modern think tanks began as

2756-674: Is to maintain analytical and research support for the President of Kazakhstan. Most Malaysian think tanks are related either to the government or a political party. Historically they focused on defense, politics and policy. However, in recent years, think tanks that focus on international trade, economics, and social sciences have also been founded. Notable think tanks in Malaysia include: Pakistan's think tanks mainly revolve around social policy, internal politics, foreign security issues, and regional geo-politics. Most of these are centered on

2862-549: The Académie des frères Dupuy , created in Paris around 1620 by the brothers Pierre and Jacques Dupuy and also known after 1635 as the cabinet des frères Dupuy . The Club de l'Entresol , active in Paris between 1723 and 1731, was another prominent example of an early independent think tank focusing on public policy and current affairs, especially economics and foreign affairs. Several major current think tanks were founded in

2968-653: The Airline Deregulation Act on October 24, 1978 – the first federal government regulatory regime, since the 1930s, to be completely dismantled. Carter also worked with Congress to produce the Staggers Rail Act (signed October 14, 1980), and the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 (signed July 1, 1980). These were the major deregulation acts in transportation that set the general conceptual and legislative framework, which replaced

3074-632: The Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute , were active in holding seminars and publishing studies advocating deregulatory initiatives throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Cornell economist Alfred E. Kahn played a central role in both theorizing and participating in the Carter Administration 's efforts to deregulate transportation. The first comprehensive proposal to deregulate

3180-458: The District of Columbia have introduced deregulated electricity markets to consumers in some capacity. Additionally, seven states ( Arizona , Arkansas , California , Nevada , New Mexico , Virginia , and Wyoming ) began the process of electricity deregulation in some capacity but have since suspended deregulation efforts. Deregulation was put into effect in the communications industry by

3286-755: The Federal Reserve 's monetary policy should target the rate at which the nation's total income is expected to grow. NGDP level targeting will ensure that the right amount of money supply is provided to meet the economy's needs." The organization describes itself as "the world's premier university source for market-oriented ideas" and says it aims to bridge "the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems." By advancing knowledge about how markets can work to improve lives and individual freedoms, by training graduate students, conducting research, and applying economic principles, they hope to offer solutions to society's most pressing problems. Mercatus currently runs

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3392-785: The National Industrial Recovery Act (which was struck down by the Supreme Court), regulation of trucking, airlines and communications, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 , and the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. These regulations stayed largely in place until Richard Nixon 's Administration. In supporting his competition-limiting regulatory initiatives President Roosevelt blamed the excesses of big business for causing an economic bubble . However, historians lack consensus in describing

3498-634: The Surface Freight Forwarder Deregulation Act of 1986 . As many states continued to regulate the operations of motor carriers within their own state, the intrastate aspect of the trucking and bus industries was addressed in the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 , which provided that "a State, political subdivision of a State, or political authority of two or more States may not enact or enforce

3604-490: The private sector . Argentina underwent heavy economic deregulation, privatization , and had a fixed exchange rate during the Menem administration (1989–1999). In December 2001, Paul Krugman compared Enron with Argentina, claiming that both were experiencing economic collapse due to excessive deregulation. Two months later, Herbert Inhaber claimed that Krugman confused correlation with causation , and neither collapse

3710-639: The "conference" system in international ocean liner shipping, which historically embodied cartel mechanisms. However, these acts permitted independent rate-making by conference participants, and the 1998 Act permitted secret contract rates, which tend to undercut collective carrier pricing. According to the United States Federal Maritime Commission , in an assessment in 2001, this appears to have opened up substantial competitive activity in ocean shipping, with beneficial economic results. The Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act

3816-538: The 1940s, most think tanks were known only by the name of the institution. During the Second World War, think tanks were often referred to as "brain boxes". Before the 1950s, the phrase "think tank" did not refer to organizations. From its first appearances in the 1890s up to the 1950s, the phrase was most commonly used in American English to colloquially refer to the braincase or especially in

3922-592: The 1970s and 1980s, as a result of new trends in economic thinking about the inefficiencies of government regulation, and the risk that regulatory agencies would be controlled by the regulated industry to its benefit, and thereby hurt consumers and the wider economy. Economic regulations were promoted during the Gilded Age , in which progressive reforms were claimed as necessary to limit externalities like corporate abuse, unsafe child labor , monopolization , and pollution , and to mitigate boom and bust cycles. Around

4028-702: The 1970s, the phrase became more specifically defined in terms of RAND and others. During the 1980s and 1990s, the phrase evolved again to arrive at its broader contemporary meaning of an independent public policy research institute. For most of the 20th century, such institutes were found primarily in the United States, along with much smaller numbers in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Western Europe. Although think tanks had also existed in Japan for some time, they generally lacked independence, having close associations with government ministries or corporations. There has been

4134-573: The 19th century. The Royal United Services Institute was founded in 1831 in London , and the Fabian Society in 1884. The oldest United States –based think tank, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , was founded in Washington, D.C. , in 1910 by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie . Carnegie charged trustees to use the fund to "hasten the abolition of international war, the foulest blot upon our civilization." The Brookings Institution

4240-599: The 71 proposals the OMB received. In 2010, the center collaborated with EconStories to produce a parody rap video about the conflict of ideas between F. A. Hayek and John Maynard Keynes . A sequel, "Fight of the Century", was produced in 2011. In 2012, Mercatus scholar Charles Blahous released a study saying that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) would worsen the federal deficit, contrary to

4346-509: The 800s when emperors and kings began arguing with the Catholic Church about taxes. A tradition of hiring teams of independent lawyers to advise monarchs about their financial and political prerogatives against the church spans from Charlemagne all the way to the 17th century, when the kings of France were still arguing about whether they had the right to appoint bishops and receive a cut of their income." Soll cites as an early example

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4452-494: The American Economy and Globalization, run by Daniel Griswold , which aims to help "the public and policymakers understand the benefits of an economy free from protectionist barriers against the international movement of goods, services, capital, ideas, and people." In 2018, Mercatus announced that it "sponsored the development of a futures market based on [nominal gross domestic product] contracts with Hypermind ,

4558-565: The American consumer, the creation of a federal income tax (by the Sixteenth Amendment ; the income tax used a progressive tax structure with especially high taxes on the wealthy), the establishment of the Federal Reserve , the institution of shorter working hours , higher wages , better living conditions, better rights and privileges to trade unions, protection of the rights of strikers , banning of unfair labor practices, and

4664-603: The Center does not count itself as and is not perceived to be a think tank in the contemporary sense. During the 1960s, the phrase "think tank" was attached more broadly to meetings of experts, electronic computers , and independent military planning organizations. The prototype and most prominent example of the third category was the RAND Corporation , which was founded in 1946 as an offshoot of Douglas Aircraft and became an independent corporation in 1948. In

4770-636: The Foundation of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan was created in 2003. IWEP activities aimed at research problems of the world economy, international relations, geopolitics, security, integration and Eurasia, as well as the study of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and its contribution to the establishment and strengthening of Kazakhstan as an independent state,

4876-557: The Glass–Steagall Act of 1933, removing barriers in the market that prohibited any one institution from acting as any combination of an investment bank, a commercial bank, and an insurance company. Such deregulation of the financial sector in the United States fostered greater risktaking by finance sector firms through the creation of innovative financial instruments and practices, including securitization of loan obligations of various sorts and credit default swaps . This caused

4982-469: The Mercatus Center "the most important think tank you've never heard of". The Mercatus Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and does not receive support from George Mason University or any federal, state, or local governments. The Mercatus Center is located on George Mason University's Arlington Campus, and is affiliated with GMU's Economics department. The Provost of George Mason University has

5088-546: The Mercatus Center established the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics run under the supervision of Peter Boettke and Christopher Coyne and launched Marginal Revolution University, an online platform for teaching economics, run by Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok . In 2015, Mercatus launched its annual Ranking of the 50 States by Fiscal Conditions and started its Program on Monetary Policy. In 2016, Mercatus launched its Program on

5194-545: The OECD. As a result, New Zealand, went from having a reputation as an almost socialist country to being considered one of the most business-friendly countries of the world, next to Singapore. However, critics charge that the deregulation has brought little benefit to some sections of society, and has caused much of New Zealand's economy (including almost all of the banks) to become foreign-owned. Russia went through wide-ranging deregulation (and concomitant privatization) efforts in

5300-595: The Philippines could be generally categorized in terms of their linkages with the national government. Several were set up by the Philippine government for the specific purpose of providing research input into the policy-making process. Sri Lanka has a number of think tanks that are in the form of governmental, non-governmental and corporate organizations. There are several think tanks in Singapore that advise

5406-648: The US. Regulation characteristics of Natural Gas Choice programs vary between the laws of the currently adoptive 21 states (as of 2008). Deregulation of the electricity sector in the U.S. began in 1992. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 eliminated obstacles for wholesale electricity competition, but deregulation has yet to be introduced in all states. As of April 2014, 16 U.S. states ( Connecticut , Delaware , Illinois , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , Michigan , Montana , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New York , Ohio , Oregon , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , and Texas ) and

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5512-503: The United States Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs , and the United Kingdom's Better Regulation Commission . Cost–benefit analysis is frequently used in such reviews. In addition, there have been regulatory innovations, usually suggested by economists, such as emissions trading . Deregulation can be distinguished from privatization , which transfers state-owned businesses to

5618-489: The United States are banking, telecommunications, airlines, and natural resources. During the Progressive Era (1890s–1920), Presidents Theodore Roosevelt , William Howard Taft , and Woodrow Wilson instituted regulation on parts of the American economy, most notably big business and industry. Some prominent reforms were trust-busting (the destruction and banning of monopolies), the creation of laws protecting

5724-538: The actions of think tanks and potentially bypass the political process, analysing the social background and values of those who work in think tanks. Pautz criticizes this viewpoint because there is in practice a variety of viewpoints in think tanks and argues it dismisses the influence that ideas can have. In some cases, corporate interests, military interests and political groups have found it useful to create policy institutes, advocacy organizations, and think tanks. For example, The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition

5830-458: The behest of the government to direct cold chain development. Some think tanks have a fixed set of focus areas and they work towards finding out policy solutions to social problems in the respective areas. Initiatives such as National e-Governance Plan (to automate administrative processes) and National Knowledge Network (NKN) (for data and resource sharing amongst education and research institutions), if implemented properly, should help improve

5936-773: The capital, Islamabad . One such think tank is the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), which focuses on policy advocacy and research particularly in the area of environment and social development. Another policy research institute based in Islamabad is the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences (I-SAPS) which works in the fields of education, health, disaster risk reduction, governance , conflict and stabilization. Since 2007 - 2008, I-SAPS has been analyzing public expenditure of federal and provincial governments. Think tanks in

6042-591: The causal relationship between various events and the role of government economic policy in causing or ameliorating the Depression. Deregulation gained momentum in the 1970s, influenced by research by the Chicago school of economics and the theories of George Stigler , Alfred E. Kahn , and others. The new ideas were widely embraced by both liberals and conservatives. Two leading think tanks in Washington,

6148-490: The construction of a discourse coalition with a common aim, citing the example of deregulation of trucking, airlines, and telecommunications in the 1970s. Plejwe argues that this deregulation represented a discourse coalition between the Ford Motor Company , FedEx , neo-liberal economists, the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute . Elite theory considers how an "elite" influence

6254-570: The consumer price of electricity has increased substantially as it has in all other Canadian provinces.. Consumers may choose to remain with the public utility at the Regulated Rate Option. In 2003, there were amendments to EU directive on software patents . Since 2006, the European Common Aviation Area has given carriers from one EU country the freedom of the air in most others. The taxi industry

6360-631: The delivery of more social services to the working classes and social safety nets to many unemployed workers, thus helping to create a welfare state . During the Presidencies of Warren Harding (1921–23) and Calvin Coolidge (1923–29), the federal government generally pursued laissez-faire economic policies. After the onset of the Great Depression , President Franklin D. Roosevelt implemented many economic regulations, including

6466-584: The development of international cooperation and the promotion of peace and stability. The Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the RK (KazISS) was established by the Decree of the President of RK on 16 June 1993. Since its foundation the main mission of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as a national think tank,

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6572-625: The donors' priorities." Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah , set up various state-supported think tanks in the 1960s. By the 1990s, a variety of policy research centers sprang up in Africa set up by academics who sought to influence public policy in Ghana. One such think tank was The Institute of Economic Affairs, Ghana , which was founded in 1989 when the country was ruled by the Provisional National Defence Council . The IEA undertakes and publishes research on

6678-411: The exchange rate; establishing an independent reserve bank; performance contracts for senior civil servants; public sector finance reform based on accrual accounting; tax neutrality; subsidy-free agriculture; and industry-neutral competition regulation. Economic growth was resumed in 1991. New Zealand was changed from a somewhat closed and centrally controlled economy to one of the most open economies in

6784-437: The experts they fund for future government jobs, while others want to push specific areas of research or education." McGann distinguishes think tanks based on independence, source of funding and affiliation, grouping think tanks into autonomous and independent, quasi-independent, government affiliated, quasi-governmental, university affiliated, political-party affiliated or corporate. A new trend, resulting from globalization,

6890-490: The expression "Bolsonomics" was created), such as Economic Freedom Law, Natural Gas Law, Basic Sanitation Legal Framework, besides allowing the direct sale of ethanol by fuel stations and opening rail transport industry to private investment. and deregulating the use of foreign currency. Natural gas is deregulated in most of the country, with the exception of some Atlantic provinces and some pockets like Vancouver Island and Medicine Hat. Most of this deregulation happened in

6996-486: The following research programs: The Project for the Study of American Capitalism; Technology Policy Project; State and Local Policy Project; Spending and Budget Initiative; Program on the American Economy and Globalization; Program on Monetary Policy; Program on Financial Regulation; and Program for Economic Research on Regulation. Rob Stein, a Democratic strategist, has called Mercatus "ground zero for deregulation policy in Washington." The Wall Street Journal has called

7102-412: The government at the start of the Multi-Channel Transition era. This deregulation put into place a division of labor between the studios and the networks. Communications in the United States (and internationally) are areas in which both technology and regulatory policy have been in flux. The rapid development of computer and communications technology – particularly the Internet – have increased

7208-420: The government on various policies and as well as private ones for corporations within the region. Many of them are hosted within the local public educational institutions. Deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy . It became common in advanced industrial economies in

7314-456: The group's board of directors. The Mercatus Center was founded by Richard Fink as the Center for the Study of Market Processes at Rutgers University . After the Koch family gave more than $ 30 million to George Mason University, the Center moved there in the mid-1980s. It took its current name in 1999. In 2001, the Office of Management and Budget asked for public input on which regulations should be revised or killed. Mercatus submitted 44 of

7420-490: The interest of the society. Scholars who theorize that deregulation is beneficial to society often cite what is known as the Iron Law of Regulation, which states that all regulation eventually leads to a net loss in social welfare. Critics of economic liberalization and deregulation cite the benefits of regulation, and believe that certain regulations do not distort markets and allow companies to continue to be competitive , or according to some, grow in competition. Much as

7526-489: The late 1970s, such reforms were deemed burdensome on economic growth and many politicians espousing neoliberalism started promoting deregulation. The stated rationale for deregulation is often that fewer and simpler regulations will lead to raised levels of competitiveness, therefore higher productivity , more efficiency and lower prices overall. Opposition to deregulation may involve apprehension regarding environmental pollution and environmental quality standards (such as

7632-441: The late 1990s under Boris Yeltsin , now partially reversed under Vladimir Putin . The main thrust of deregulation has been the electricity sector (see RAO UES ), with railroads and communal utilities tied in second place. Deregulation of the natural gas sector ( Gazprom ) is one of the more frequent demands placed upon Russia by the United States and European Union. The Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher started

7738-773: The losses when the fraudulent Ponzi schemes finally collapsed and were exposed. After the collapse, regulators in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) were finally allowed to file thousands of criminal complaints that led to over a thousand felony convictions of key Savings and Loan insiders. By contrast, between 2007 and 2010, the OCC and OTS combined made zero criminal referrals; Black concluded that elite financial fraud has effectively been decriminalized. Economist Jayati Ghosh

7844-465: The mid-1980s. Comparison shopping websites operate in some of these jurisdictions, particularly Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. The other provinces are small markets and have not attracted suppliers. Customers have the choice of purchasing from a local distribution company (LDC) or a deregulated supplier. In most provinces the LDC is not allowed to offer a term contract, just a variable price based on

7950-618: The mid-90s John Howard 's Liberal Party began deregulation of the labor market with the Workplace Relations Act 1996 , going much further in 2005 through its WorkChoices policy. However, this was reversed under the following Rudd Labor government . After Dilma's impeachment , Michel Temer introduced a labor reform , besides allowing up to 100% of foreign capital on Brazilian air companies and giving more protection to state-owned enterprises from political pressure. Bolsonaro administration also promoted deregulations (even

8056-532: The more established think tanks, created during the Cold War , are focused on international affairs, security studies, and foreign policy. Think tanks vary by ideological perspectives, sources of funding, topical emphasis and prospective consumers. Funding may also represent who or what the institution wants to influence; in the United States, for example, "Some donors want to influence votes in Congress or shape public opinion, others want to position themselves or

8162-405: The obvious and simple system of natural liberty establishes itself of its own accord. Every man...is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest in his own way.... The sovereign is completely discharged from a duty [for which] no human wisdom or knowledge could ever be sufficient; the duty of superintending the industry of private people, and of directing it towards the employments most suitable to

8268-543: The official Congressional Budget Office forecast. The study was generally criticized by supporters of the PPACA. Jeanne Lambrew , deputy assistant to the president for health policy, wrote, "This new math fits the old pattern of mischaracterizations about the Affordable Care Act when official estimates show the health care law reduces the deficit." Blahous defended the findings of his research. Later that year,

8374-599: The other hand, there exists substantial concern about concentration of media ownership resulting from relaxation of historic controls on media ownership designed to safeguard diversity of viewpoint and open discussion in the society, and about what some perceive as high prices in cable company offerings at this point. The financial sector in the U.S. has been considerably deregulated in recent decades, which has allowed for greater financial risktaking . The financial sector used its considerable political sway in Congress and in

8480-523: The political establishment and influenced the ideology of political institutions to press for more and more deregulation. Among the most important of the regulatory changes was the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980, which repealed the parts of the Glass–Steagall Act regarding interest rate regulation via retail banking. The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 repealed part of

8586-704: The power to appoint a faculty director to head the Mercatus Center. Members of the Board of Directors include: Scholars affiliated with the Mercatus Center have published hundreds of journal articles and research papers, with topics including government transparency , subsidies , taxation, regulation, corruption, and Austrian School economics. They have also provided more than 100 testimonies to Congress. Notable studies performed and books published include: Notable scholars at Mercatus include: Notable former Mercatus scholars, students, and employees include: Think Tank A think tank , or public policy institute,

8692-536: The promise of rolling back environmental regulations. His devotion to the economic beliefs of Milton Friedman led him to promote the deregulation of finance, agriculture, and transportation. A series of substantial enactments were needed to work out the process of encouraging competition in transportation. Interstate buses were addressed in 1982, in the Bus Regulatory Reform Act of 1982. Freight forwarders (freight aggregators) got more freedoms in

8798-761: The quality of work done by think tanks. Some notable think tanks in India include: Over 50 think tanks have emerged in Iraq, particularly in the Kurdistan Region. Iraq's leading think tank is the Middle East Research Institute (MERI), based in Erbil. MERI is an independent non-governmental policy research organization, established in 2014 and publishes in English, Kurdish, and Arabic. It

8904-470: The railways ( Railways Act 1993 ). The feature of all those privatizations was that their shares were offered to the general public. This continued under Thatcher's successor John Major . From 1997 to 2010, the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown developed a programme called " better regulation ". This required government departments to review, simplify or abolish existing regulations, and

9010-521: The regulatory systems put in place between the 1880s and the 1930s. The dominant common theme of these Acts was to lessen barriers to entry in transport markets and promote more independent, competitive pricing among transport service providers, substituting the freed-up competitive market forces for detailed regulatory control of entry, exit, and price making in transport markets. Thus deregulation arose, though regulations to promote competition were put in place. U.S. President Ronald Reagan campaigned on

9116-463: The reliability of the electricity supply." William K. Black says that inappropriate deregulation helped create a criminogenic environment in the savings and loan industry , which attracted opportunistic control frauds like Charles Keating , whose massive political campaign contributions were used successfully to further remove regulatory oversight. The combination substantially delayed effective governmental action, thereby substantially increasing

9222-504: The removal of regulations on hazardous materials), financial uncertainty, and constraining monopolies . Regulatory reform is a parallel development alongside deregulation. Regulatory reform refers to organized and ongoing programs to review regulations with a view to minimizing, simplifying, and making them more cost effective. Such efforts, given impetus by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, are embodied in

9328-416: The signal to large " too-big-to-fail " financial firms that they would not have to suffer the consequences of the great risks they take. Thus, the greater risktaking allowed by deregulation and encouraged by the bailout paved the way for the financial crisis of 2007–08 . The deregulation movement of the late 20th century had substantial economic effects and engendered substantial controversy. The movement

9434-538: The size and variety of communications offerings. Wireless, traditional landline telephone, and cable companies increasingly invade each other's traditional markets and compete across a broad spectrum of activities. The Federal Communications Commission and Congress appear to be attempting to facilitate this evolution. In mainstream economic thinking, development of this competition would militate against detailed regulatory control of prices and service offerings, and hence favor deregulation of prices and entry into markets. On

9540-414: The spot market. LDC prices are changed either monthly or quarterly. Ontario began deregulation of electricity supply in 2002, but pulled back temporarily due to voter and consumer backlash at the resulting price volatility. The government is still searching for a stable working regulatory framework. The current status is a partially regulated structure in which consumers have received a capped price for

9646-496: The state plays an important role through issues such as property rights , appropriate regulation is argued by some to be "crucial to realise the benefits of service liberalisation". Critics of deregulation often cite the need of regulation in order to: Sharon Beder, a writer with PR Watch, wrote "Electricity deregulation was supposed to bring cheaper electricity prices and more choice of suppliers to householders. Instead it has brought wildly volatile wholesale prices and undermined

9752-511: The think tank; employing former policy-makers; or preparing studies for policy makers. The role of think tanks has been conceptualized through the lens of social theory. Plehwe argues that think tanks function knowledge actors within a network of relationships with other knowledge actors. Such relationships including citing academics in publications or employing them on advisory boards, as well as relationships with media, political groups and corporate funders. They argue that these links allow for

9858-638: The transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997, more think tanks were established by various groups of intellectuals and professionals. They have various missions and objectives including promoting civic education; undertaking research on economic, social and political policies; and promoting "public understanding of and participation in the political, economic, and social development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ". Think tanks in Hong Kong include: India has

9964-547: The world's second-largest number of think tanks . Most are based in New Delhi, and a few are government-sponsored. There are few think tanks that promote environmentally responsible and climate resilient ideas like Centre for Science and Environment , Centre for Policy Research and World Resources Institute . There are other prominent think tanks like Observer Research Foundation , Tillotoma Foundation and Centre for Civil Society . In Mumbai, Strategic Foresight Group

10070-466: The world. More than half of all think tanks that exist today were established after 1980. As of 2023, there are more than 11,000 think tanks around the world. According to historian Jacob Soll , while the term "think tank" is modern, with its origin "traced to the humanist academies and scholarly networks of the 16th and 17th centuries," Soll writes that, "in Europe, the origins of think tanks go back to

10176-547: Was a concerted effort by other countries to assist in the creation of independent public policy research organizations. A survey performed by the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program underscores the significance of this effort and documents the fact that most of the think tanks in these regions have been established since 1992. As of 2014 , there were more than 11,000 of these institutions worldwide. Many of

10282-701: Was a regulating law, consisting of a mix of regulations and deregulation, which passed in response to OPEC price hikes and domestic price controls which affected the 1973 oil crisis in the United States. After adoption of this federal legislation, numerous state legislation known as Natural Gas Choice programs have sprung up in several states, as well as the District of Columbia. Natural Gas Choice programs allow residential and small volume natural gas users to compare purchases from natural gas suppliers with traditional utility companies. There are currently hundreds of federally unregulated natural gas suppliers operating in

10388-462: Was based on intellectual perspectives which prescribed substantial scope for market forces, and opposing perspectives have been in play in national and international discourse. The movement toward greater reliance on market forces has been closely related to the growth of economic and institutional globalization between about 1950 and 2010. Many economists have concluded that a trend towards deregulation will increase economic welfare long-term and

10494-513: Was deregulated in Ireland in 2000, and the price of a license dropped overnight to €5,000. The number of taxis increased dramatically. However, some existing taxi drivers were unhappy with the change, as they had invested up to €100,000 to purchase licenses from existing holders, and regarded them as assets. In October 2013 they brought a test case in the High Court for damages. Their claim

10600-463: Was described in Parliament by Lord (Patrick) Jenkin as the "Abolition of Parliament Act". New Labour privatized only a few services, such as Qinetiq . But a great deal of infrastructure and maintenance work previously carried out by government departments was contracted out (outsourced) to private enterprise under the public–private partnership , with competitive bidding for contracts within

10706-611: Was dismissed two years later. New Zealand Governments adopted policies of extensive deregulation from 1984 to 1995. Originally initiated by the Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand , the policies of deregulation were later continued by the Fourth National Government of New Zealand . The policies had the goal of liberalizing the economy and were notable for their very comprehensive coverage and innovations. Specific policies included: floating

10812-546: Was due to excessive deregulation. Having announced a wide range of deregulatory policies, Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke announced the policy of "Minimum Effective Regulation" in 1986. This introduced now-familiar requirements for "regulatory impact statements", but compliance by governmental agencies took many years. The labor market under the Hawke/Keating governments operated under the Prices and Incomes Accord . In

10918-626: Was established in the Guangdong province. In 2009 the China Center for International Economic Exchanges was founded. In Hong Kong, early think tanks established in the late 1980s and early 1990s focused on political development, including the first direct Legislative Council members election in 1991 and the political framework of " One Country, Two Systems ", manifested in the Sino-British Joint Declaration . After

11024-578: Was formed in the mid-1990s to dispute research finding an association between second-hand smoke and cancer . Military contractors may spend a portion of their tender on funding pro-war think tanks. According to an internal memorandum from Philip Morris Companies referring to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "The credibility of the EPA is defeatable, but not on the basis of ETS [ environmental tobacco smoke ] alone,... It must be part of

11130-516: Was founded shortly thereafter in 1916 by Robert S. Brookings and was conceived as a bipartisan "research center modeled on academic institutions and focused on addressing the questions of the federal government." In the early 1920s, fascist and other far-right think tanks appeared in the Netherlands . After 1945, the number of policy institutes increased, with many small new ones forming to express various issues and policy agendas. Until

11236-631: Was listed in the global ranking by the United States's Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania as 46th in the Middle East. There are many think tank teams in Israel, including: In South Korea , think tanks are prolific and influential and are a government go-to. Think tanks are prolific in the Korean landscape. Many policy research organisations in Korea focus on economoy and most research

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