Regulations that hurt business (thesis idea for my wife's research paper)?

[Adrock]

You could look into regulations that are designed to favor one business over another.

[tttppp]

My wife is writing a paper on how regulations hurt U.S. businesses when competing with their oversease counterparts. The instructor wants her to be more specific, so what would be a good aspect of harmful regulations on which to focus? Think in terms of environmental regulations, labor laws, etc. What should she focus on while at the same time using sources that aren't overtly libertarian? He specifically warned her to be wary of conservative/libertarian articles with an agenda, and prefers "apolitical," peer-reviewed (i.e. liberal) sources.

I figured that the gold fanatics here would be able to enthusiastically provide some advice.

I wouldn't focus on specifics whether he likes it or not. The issues isn't really good or bad regulations usually, its the sheer volume of regulations that people can't keep up with even. So even if all our regulations were good, they would still be harmful.

And of course tell the instructor he is missing the point on regulations. At least that's what I would do.

[thequietkid10]

I good way touch upon the regulation, especially if the professor might be a liberal, issue is through lobbying, all that corporate money what exactly are they trying to do and why. There is also that New York Times article just posted in the economics section.

[Jordan]

Oh, oh, pick me!

There was this company called Spartan Light Metal Products which made magnesium car parts because they're lighter and make for more efficient vehicles. Huge growth story, tons of value-add, they were kicking ass.

Then some troll company that mines magnesium got mad and demanded that the United States use anti-dumping laws to stop the flow of magnesium into the country. The imported magnesium was turned into car parts by Spartan and then sold all around the world. Could have been a huge industry, but we traded it to save one little mine that was simply not competitive. Now we just import those car parts and they're made in other countries because the cost of American magnesium is too darn high.

Really interested in seeing a full report on this. Here's some background story: http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/...y-antidumping/

[Matt Collins]

Cato, Mercatus Center, and the IHS do some good research in this area as well as the American Enterprise Institute, the Heartland guys, and Competitive Enterprise Institute. For a local level, look up the State Policy Network.

If she's looking for academic research, those are the best places to start. Mises has some good stuff too, but prolly more economic and theory heavy.

[SpreadOfLiberty]

See if the Council on Foreign Relations, IMF, or World Bank has anything. Hard to get more academic than those folks.

[Tpoints]

All of them.

.

what part of "be more specific" did you not get?

[mad cow]

If the professor is a lefty,a safe bet,your wife could choose an example using rent-seeking large corporations and their lobbyists getting laws and regulations passed to harm smaller competitors and grab a larger market share.
Plenty regulations are just that and that might appeal to his anti-big business bias.

If she is clever,she could work in how most regulations hurt all business and all consumers and point out the explosion of regulations and regulatory bodies in recent decades and still come away with a passing grade.

[oyarde]

Take a picture of US Code,currenty, probably, around nearly 30 feet long, compare it to a book or two around 160 years ago .

[Elwar]

Import quotas on sugar have been chasing US candy manufacturers out of the country including Hershey's.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/...821_065859.htm