Problem
A. Explain how the divergence of public and private costs and benefits results in either too much or too little of a good being produced.
B. Explain who Pigou and Coase think we should deal with externalities. What are the limits on each?
C. Explain how asymmetric information can be used to justify government interaction in the market. Explain why your real estate agent might not be getting you the best deal.
D. Explain, using actual examples, why the government today is doing too much, too little, or just the right amount of regulation.
E. Describe the process by which government rules and regulations are made and changed. What has happened to the numbers of old and new rules in the past few years? Give some examples of new rules created, and old ones that have been altered.
F. Explain how externalities, and the fact that sometimes when one person exercises their rights it interferes with another person exercising their rights, complicates the creation and nature of government regulations. Give examples!
G. Why does the difficulty in assigning a value to a tree, or the beauty of a canyon, complicate rule making?
H. Do people truly place a high value on the future? If not, what impact does that have on today?
I. Give some examples of how regulatory capture may help companies and hurt consumers.
J. Why would the Founding Fathers, who believed so strongly in freedom, specifically allow for the government creation of monopoly in the form of copyrights and patents?
K. Explain why the Founding Fathers didn't think a Bill of Rights was a good idea. Explain how that relates to amendments 9 and 10.
L. Explain the 1st, and how the parts relate to limits on rights. Explain the 2nd, and why it has become so complicated.
M. Explain why we group amendments 4 through 8 together, and what they do for us. Explain how economists view crime and law enforcement, and whether 4 through 8 are consistent with that view.
N. What are the Civil War amendments, why did we need them, and why have they become controversial 150 years later.
O. Explain the progressive era amendments (16 through 19). And you can throw in 21.
P. What is the status of the Equal Rights Amendment? What's your opinion on its importance and why it hasn't passed?
Q. Explain who wrote the Nevada constitution and how that affected the outcome.
R. Describe the Nevada tax system. Does it work?
S. Explain Henry George's view of taxation.
T. How does the Nevada constitution incorporate the Bill of Rights for us? What extensions do we have?
U. Why is eminent domain a potential problem? Was it a problem in Nevada or New York or Oregon? What have we done about it?
V. Explain the Board of Regents in the Constitution, and what the legislature is trying to do about it.
W. What happened to Nevada with regard to renewable energy?