The cereal aisle in your typical American supermarket is remarkable. Though dazzling to the eyes, it’s overstimulating, especially to any parent who has bravely marched down this aisle with a child in tow. But behind the cast of cereal box characters – Tony the Tiger, Toucam Sam, Dig’em Frog, Lucky, Snap, Crackle and Pop – is a story about competition in our food system and how it impacts consumers, the farmers who grow our food and quite possibly the very soil they grow it in. Read more >

Baby Shark Cereal and Maple Syrup Collusion: Why Competition in Our Food System Matters
December 30, 2019 10:30 AM EDT

Three Ways Advocacy Has Enabled Market Forces to Clean up the Power Grid
December 17, 2019 3:51 PM EDT
Market forces are powerful—but advocacy by independent groups has played a critical role in making sure economics and market forces can do their job. Read more >

Three Possible Solutions to Uneconomic Coal Generation
September 6, 2019 2:43 PM EDT
This year, utility regulators in Missouri and Minnesota are looking into a practice known as self-committing, which research from UCS shows is costing customers a billion dollars a year in unnecessary costs. Now that this uneconomic and inefficient practice has caught the attention of a few regulators it is time to dive deep into just a few options utility regulators and state policy makers could avail themselves of as potential solutions to uneconomic coal generation.

Tribute to Dr. Frank Ackerman, a Second Draft
August 2, 2019 9:00 AM EDT
The confidence a good mentor places in you can give you confidence in yourself. When a good mentor is willing to invest in you, you can become willing to invest in yourself. Good mentors can be hard to come by, and earlier this month the most influential mentor I’ve ever had passed away. Read more >

Is the USDA Relocation Just Good Old-Fashioned Rent Seeking?
July 3, 2019 3:51 PM EDT
One of things I cherish about economists is their ability to call BS when they see it. In research settings economists tend to have a reputation for asking hard-hitting questions during seminars. They are known for having the most unpopular opinion and for being unabashedly proud of it. I’ve personally seen non-economists bristle at the thought of giving a talk to an economics-oriented audience. As someone who straddles the worlds of public health and economics I get it, trust me. I’ve been there. Read more >