HomeMedia Guide

Media Guide

Mercatus scholars are available for comment to the media. These quick links are provided for journalists to search for scholars or research by topic. Check this area for announcements as well as updates on upcoming events and research.

Quick links:

Announcing   

The Next Time Disaster Strikes, Call Your Neighborhood Big-Box Store

When large disasters strike, many rely upon the government for assistance. A new study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University suggests that real relief is likely to come from the local big-box chains.

Over-regulated Insurance Market Ensures Disaster in Coastal Regions

State insurance regulation has created a system that subsidizes insurance for wealthy coastal residents at the expense of relatively poorer non-coastal residents. 

Choosing Where They Can Live Is Not a Lagniappe for New Orleanians

"Even prior to Hurricane Katrina, dilapidated government projects were dark spots in a colorful and animated city. Many now stand empty and damaged, challenging policy makers to address the issue of public housing without replicating the errors of the past," writes Emily Schaeffer in a new Mercatus Center Policy Series publication, The Housing Voucher Choice Program: More than Just a Lagniappe for New Orleans.

Power to the Neighborhoods: Let the People of New Orleans, Not the Government, Decide Its Future

Commonly found in the suburbs of large cities, Private Neighborhood Associations provide or contract for some or all of the services that a larger city usually supplies to its residents. It's a model that could work well in New Orleans, assert  study authors Sanford Ikeda and Peter Gordon.

BB&T Charitable Foundation Donates $2 million to Mercatus Center at George Mason University

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University announced today that it is the recipient of a $2 million contribution from the BB&T Charitable Foundation.

Fairtrade Coffee Does Little to Help Farmers in Developing Countries

Buying Fairtrade coffee may ease your conscience and line the pockets of coffee retailers, but it does little to improve the lives of coffee farmers and laborers in developing countries. According to a study by Colleen Berndt, published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, coffee marketed as “Fairtrade” fails to provide financial benefit to farmers, while imposing significant costs.

Homeland security spurs another increase in federal regulatory spending for 2008

Spurred on by steady increases in staffing and spending within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. government is budgeting yet another increase in the amount of tax money it spends on federal regulatory activities, according to an annual regulatory spending analysis compiled by the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. 

Government Agencies Spend Big But Report Little about Programs and Expenditures--$2.18 Trillion Spent by Agencies with "Below Satisfactory" Reports

The most-funded federal agencies are the least transparent, particularly when it comes to explaining how their work benefits the public, revealed a study released today by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.  

Helpful links:

About the Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Find Scholars and Faculty by Research Area

Browse by Research Area

Press Releases

Mercatus in the Media