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PRESS RELEASE: Performance Reports by Federal Agencies Show Major Improvements after 9 Years, but Pilot Report Format Threatens to Decrease Transparency May 14, 2008 The percentage of federal spending covered by government agencies with satisfactory performance reports rose to its highest level since the reports were mandated nine years ago. However, this is only 35 percent of $2.587 trillion in spending, according to the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

PRESS RELEASE: The Next Time Disaster Strikes, Call Your Neighborhood Big-Box Store March 19, 2008 A new Mercatus Center report argues that local knowledge and proper incentives lead to successful disaster response. The report examines the characteristics of big-box retailers and the US Coast Guard that allowed for an effective hurricane recovery effort, and what prevents FEMA from responding effectively.

PRESS RELEASE: Mercatus Center Scholar Testifies on Government Transparency and Accountability in Louisiana November 28, 2007 In his testimony to Governor-elect Jindal's Government and Fiscal Reform Advisory Council, the Honorable Maurice McTigue finds that some important accountability measures are already in place in Louisiana, but the application of these measures is uneven or the documents are obscure or almost impossible to find.  Mr. McTigue's testimony emphasizes some of the steps Louisiana can take to become more transparent and accountable to its residents.

PRESS RELEASE: Over-regulated Insurance Market Ensures Disaster in Coastal Regions September 13, 2007 State insurance regulation has created a system that subsidizes insurance for wealthy coastal residents at the expense of relatively poorer non-coastal residents.

PRESS RELEASE: Choosing Where They Can Live Is Not a Lagniappe for New Orleanians August 30, 2007 "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.

PRESS RELEASE: Power to the Neighborhoods: Let the People of New Orleans, Not the Government, Decide Its Future August 28, 2007 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.

PRESS RELEASE: BB&T Charitable Foundation Donates $2 million to Mercatus Center at George Mason University July 6, 2007 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.

PRESS RELEASE: Fairtrade Coffee Does Little to Help Farmers in Developing Countries June 25, 2007 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.

PRESS RELEASE: Homeland Security Spurs Another Increase in Federal Regulatory Spending for 2008 June 20, 2007 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.

PRESS RELEASE: Government Agencies Spend Big But Report Little About Programs and Expenditures April 3, 2007 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.

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