Research
Reports
Regulation by Litigation: The Diesel Engine Episode
This paper discusses a new form of regulation. Rather than issuing rules, some government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, have started to file lawsuits.
Population Growth, Economic Freedom, and the Rule of Law
Seth Norton shows that the impacts of rapid population growth are not as severe as most people believe. Even more important, he shows how changes in a country's legal system and economic framework can overcome the problems caused by population growth.
The National Forests: For Whom and for What?
"The nation finds itself struggling with forest management systems that do not work," says Roger Sedjo, a Senior Fellow with the Washington, D.C.-based research organization Resources for the Future. "The future management of the national forests is unlikely to be smooth, because no political consensus exists."
Pesticides and Property Rights
Two PERC researchers, reviewing the history of the banned pesticide DDT, have concluded that violation of private property rights lies at the heart of the conflict over DDT.
Is No Use Good Use?
Americans are on the fast track to land preservation as more and more federal land is set aside at an increasingly rapid pace. Now is the time to pause and ask if locking up great expanses of land provides the good stewardship that we want for our public lands.
Economic Growth and the State of Humanity
Economic Growth and the State of Humanity, by Indur M. Goklany, emulates and builds upon the contributions that Julian Simon made in reporting on the progress of humankind.
The Greening of Foreign Policy
Bringing environmental issues into foreign policy-making and international law endangers trade, national sovereignty, and, ironically, long-term environmental improvement, according to two PERC associates.
Homesteading the Oceans: The Case for Property Rights in U.S. Fisheries
Overfishing in the oceans is a classic example of the "tragedy of the commons"—overexploitation of an unowned resource. Fishing in U.S. waters is no longer a commons free of fishing restrictions, yet many fisheries still suffer from the tragedy of the commons.
Federal Land Exchanges: Let’s End the Barter
It's time to let federal agencies buy and sell land, says Tim Fitzgerald in a new PERC Policy Series paper. Federal Land Exchanges: Let's End the Barter offers a practical way to reform the costly and time-wasting federal land exchange process.