Skip to content

About PERC

All Areas of Focus

All Research

Seen, unseen costs of stream access

Watch News In one of the classic essays in economics, Frederic Bastiat describes how breaking a windowpane generates two types of effects: the “seen” and the “unseen.” The seen effect is the window’s repair. A repairman replaces the window and receives payment for this service. Thus, broken windows make window repairmen better off. The unseenContinue reading “Seen, unseen costs of stream access”

Performing due dilligence on green energy investments

By Andrew P. Morriss Madam Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before your Committee as you consider the important question of the role of public investment in alternative energy sources, such as solar power, and the impact of that investment on our economy. An aggressive push for publicContinue reading “Performing due dilligence on green energy investments”

Your Land is My Land: Property Rights in Montana

Cost: Registrations include lunch and the all-day forum. Before February 15, registration is $15 per person and  includes a complimentary copy of Property Rights: A Practical Guide to Freedom & Prosperity by Terry L. Anderson and Laura E. Huggins. After February 15, registration is $20 per person.   How to: By phone: Call PERC atContinue reading “Your Land is My Land: Property Rights in Montana”

The Great Green Jobs Flimflam

By Jane Chastain Some people learn from their mistakes. It appears Barack Obama is not one of them. Immediately, after assuming the office of president of the United States, Obama began clamoring for an unprecedented $787 billion dollar stimulus package. It was necessary, he told us, in order to put Americans back to work andContinue reading “The Great Green Jobs Flimflam”

Not the time to cap and trade

By Jody Lipford and Bruce Yandle We were not surprised in late September 2009 when China’s president Hu Jintao announced to the United Nations Assembly that his country would not be a party to a global greenhouse gas reduction commitment. Instead of locking China into a promise that it would not keep, President Hu indicatedContinue reading “Not the time to cap and trade”

In Memoriam: Thomas J. Graff

PERC Executive Director Terry Anderson: "On November 12, PERC and the environment lost a friend when Tom Graff, a lawyer with EDF, passed away. As he showed when we worked together at PERC conferences and briefings in Washington, D.C., Tom understood the importance of markets as a source of environmental quality. Together we wrote aboutContinue reading “In Memoriam: Thomas J. Graff”