Business, Government & the International Economy

- November 2021
- Article
Strict ID Laws Don't Stop Voters: Evidence from a U.S. Nationwide Panel, 2008–2018

By: Enrico Cantoni and Vincent Pons

U.S. states increasingly require identification to vote—an ostensive attempt to deter fraud that prompts complaints of selective disenfranchisement. Using a difference-in-differences design on a 1.6-billion-observations panel dataset, 2008–2018, we find that the laws have no negative effect on registration or turnout, overall or for any group defined by race, gender, age, or party affiliation. These results hold through a large number of specifications and cannot be attributed to voters’ reaction against the laws or measured by campaign contributions and self-reported political engagement. However, the likelihood that non-white voters were contacted by a campaign increases by 5.4 percentage points, suggesting that parties’ mobilization might have offset modest effects of the laws on the participation of ethnic minorities. Finally, strict ID requirements have no effect on fraud—actual or perceived. Overall, our findings suggest that efforts to improve elections may be better directed at other reforms.
- November 2021
- Article
Strict ID Laws Don't Stop Voters: Evidence from a U.S. Nationwide Panel, 2008–2018

By: Enrico Cantoni and Vincent Pons

U.S. states increasingly require identification to vote—an ostensive attempt to deter fraud that prompts complaints of selective disenfranchisement. Using a difference-in-differences design on a 1.6-billion-observations panel dataset, 2008–2018, we find that the laws have no negative effect on registration or turnout, overall or for any group...
- October 2021
- Case
Deficits and Debt: The U.S. Current Account

By: Laura Alfaro and Richard Vietor
- October 2021
- Case
Deficits and Debt: The U.S. Current Account

By: Laura Alfaro and Richard Vietor
- 2021
- Chapter
The Economics of Historical Immigration to the United States

By: Marco Tabellini
- 2021
- Chapter
The Economics of Historical Immigration to the United States

By: Marco Tabellini

About the Unit

The BGIE Unit conducts research on, and teaches about, the economic, political, social, and legal environment in which business operates. The Unit includes scholars trained in economics, political science, and history; in its work, it draws on perspectives from all three of these disciplines.

The following demonstrates one way of classifying the approaches the Unit takes to learning and teaching.

The Unit examines the “rules” and policies established by government and other non-business institutions that affect business in the United States.
The Unit turns to history to understand the origins of today’s business environment as well as some of the alternatives that have emerged from time to time.
The Unit examines other countries’ business environments and their historical development.
The BGIE group is deeply interested in the impact of globalization and the way rules are emerging to govern international economic transactions as globalization proceeds.

Recent Publications

Strict ID Laws Don't Stop Voters: Evidence from a U.S. Nationwide Panel, 2008–2018

By: Enrico Cantoni and Vincent Pons

November 2021 |
Article |
Quarterly Journal of Economics

U.S. states increasingly require identification to vote—an ostensive attempt to deter fraud that prompts complaints of selective disenfranchisement. Using a difference-in-differences design on a 1.6-billion-observations panel dataset, 2008–2018, we find that the laws have no negative effect on registration or turnout, overall or for any group defined by race, gender, age, or party affiliation. These results hold through a large number of specifications and cannot be attributed to voters’ reaction against the laws or measured by campaign contributions and self-reported political engagement. However, the likelihood that non-white voters were contacted by a campaign increases by 5.4 percentage points, suggesting that parties’ mobilization might have offset modest effects of the laws on the participation of ethnic minorities. Finally, strict ID requirements have no effect on fraud—actual or perceived. Overall, our findings suggest that efforts to improve elections may be better directed at other reforms.

Keywords: Voter ID Laws; Voter Turnout; Voting; Political Elections; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States

Citation

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Deficits and Debt: The U.S. Current Account

By: Laura Alfaro and Richard Vietor

October 2021 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Citation

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The Economics of Historical Immigration to the United States

By: Marco Tabellini

2021 |
Chapter |
Faculty Research

Citation

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Reforming the U.S. Immigration Regime: A Polarizing Issue in a Polarized Era

By: Marco Tabellini

September 2021 |
Teaching Note |
Faculty Research

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Woodside - Betting on the Future of Gas

By: Jurgen Weiss

September 2021 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Citation

Educators

Hester Pharmaceuticals (B): Securing Supply

By: Dante Roscini and John Masko

September 2021 |
Supplement |
Faculty Research

In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a rise in “reshoring” sentiment in the U.S., Hester Pharmaceuticals had to decide whether to build a new plant for its new oncology drug Akrozumab in Germany or in the U.S., or whether it should hire a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) to produce the drug. As it made its decision, Hester had to con

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Trade; Supply Chain; Global Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Italy

Citation

Most Individuals Prefer to Compromise among Competing Normative Principles of Taxation

By: Itai Sher and Matthew C. Weinzierl

2021 |
Working Paper |
Faculty Research

We use a novel survey to gather direct and indirect evidence on how individuals reconcile their simultaneous support for opposing normative principles when forming their policy preferences. Our evidence suggests that, when choosing policy, a minority (approximately one-third) of individuals follow the recommendations of the principle they most strongly support, while the majority of individuals prefer, instead, to compromise. Those who compromise give multiple competing principles weights that roughly correspond to their relative levels of support for them.

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Spire, the CubeSat Revolution, and the Government as a Space Data Customer

By: Matthew Weinzierl, Mehak Sarang and Brendan L. Rosseau

September 2021 |
Case |
Faculty Research

This case outlines the rise of Spire Global, a young space company using CubeSats to provide weather data and weather prediction services. In addition to tracing the evolution of a space startup from novel idea to publicly-traded company, the case also examines the broader questions posed by the success of Spire and similar space companies: what are the potential costs and benefits to the privatization of remote sensing satellites? What new possibilities are enabled for both governments and private entities by private remote sensing companies? How does the incipience of companies like Spire challenge the established weather data regime? What's the significance of highly-popular special purpose acquisition companies?

Keywords: Government Contracting; Business Startups; Public Sector; Cost vs Benefits; Competition

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