New Research on Federal Financing in Higher Ed, California Occupational Licensing, and More

Reevaluating the Effects of Federal Financing in Higher Education

Veronique de Rugy and Jack Salmon | Policy Brief

From the brief: “Before making any sweeping policy proposals, policymakers should reconsider their support for significant expansions in federal student aid. Contrary to the argument that increases in federal aid will reduce the cost burden for students attending college, evidence suggests that students are suffering higher costs and debt burdens precisely because of expansions in federal aid. If federal aid funding continues to grow, higher education institutions may continue to capture this additional funding while increasing tuition and lowering institutional aid in response.”

California Occupational Licensing

Matthew D. Mitchell | State Testimony

From the testimony: "Aspiring entrants to a large number of professions—ranging from travel guide and door repair contractor to cosmetologist—are now required by the state of California to obtain a government-issued license to work. It can take months and hundreds or even thousands of dollars to obtain these licenses. Among 76 low- to moderate-income occupations licensed by California, the average aspiring worker is required to spend 827 days in training and pay $486 in fees before he or she may obtain a license.This does not count either the cost of the education or the income that people forgo when they spend months in often-unnecessary training. According to the Institute for Justice, California’s licensing laws are the most broad and onerous in the country.”

How the Fed Controls Monetary Policy

Scott Sumner | Policy Brief

From the brief: "The Federal Reserve System (Fed) performs many duties, including the regulation of commercial banks. However, its primary task is monetary policy. The Fed conducts monetary policy by adjusting the supply of and demand for the most highly liquid of all types of money—base money. Base money (or the monetary base) consists of the currency in people’s wallets as well as the reserves that banks have on deposit at the Fed. All the various actions the Fed takes to implement monetary policy affect the supply or demand (or both) for base money.”

A Snapshot of North Dakota Regulation in 2019

James Broughel and Thurston Powers | State Snapshot

From the snapshot: "State RegData also reveals that the 2019 NDAC [North Dakota Administrative Code] contains 63,203 restrictions and 4.6 million words. It would take an individual 254 hours—or more than 6 weeks—to read the entire NDAC. That’s assuming the reader spends 40 hours per week reading and reads at a rate of 300 words per minute. By comparison, there are 1.09 million additional restrictions in the federal code. Individuals and businesses in North Dakota must navigate these different layers of restrictions to remain in compliance.”