Illinois enacted an HMO reform bill in 1999 that includes a provision barring health insurers from favoring certain types of pharmacies (e.g., mail order) over others (e.g., independent retail pharmacies). … Read More
Mail order pharmacy companies are expanding rapidly and capturing an ever larger share of prescription drug sales. The growth in mail order has little to do with consumer preferences, but is driven instead by pharmacy benefit management companies, which manage prescription benefits for health insurers and often use economic incentives to coerce consumers into using a mail order pharmacy. State and federal policy initiatives aim to level the playing field. … Read More
Like community-owned sports teams, cooperatives and employee stock ownership plans are organizational models that tend to root businesses in their communities. Both ESOPs and coops are powerful tools that give decision making authority to those who will feel the impact of the decisions they make. When authority and responsibility are linked, decisions will likely be made … Read More
Credit unions are not-for-profit, tax-exempt financial institutions that are cooperatively owned by their depositors. The United States is home to 7,600 credit unions, which collectively hold 10 percent of domestic deposits and have more than 90 million members (as of April 2010). Most of these institutions are very small. Fifty percent have assets below $20 million … Read More
The arrival of national chain stores often drives-up commercial rents, forcing out small, locally owned businesses that serve the everyday needs of the surrounding neighborhood. This typically occurs when a shopping area becomes a destination for tourists or others who live outside of the immediate area. Neighbors may find their local hardware store or grocery replaced … Read More
There are two primary pieces of local land use policy: the comprehensive plan and the zoning code. The comprehensive plan is essentially a vision statement containing general guidelines for development in a local jurisdiction. The plan is then implemented through the zoning code.… Read More
In the mid 2000s, several states considered legislation that would impose a tax on large retail stores. None of these bills passed, but we include two examples here. … Read More
In 1970 more than 95 percent of currency trades were for activities linked to what many call the “real economy” — investment, tourism, foreign aid, trade. Today only two percent are. The volume of currency trading is now some 50 times greater than the volume of trade in goods and services. We trade more than $100 … Read More
ATM surcharges are anti-competitive and threaten the viability of small banks and credit unions. In most regions, a handful of large banks own the majority of ATMs. By imposing surcharges, these banks create an incentive for customers of small banks and credit unions to move their account to one of the dominant banks in order to avoid the surcharge. Former Federal Trade Commission policy director David Balto argues that surcharges create a “perverse form of price competition where firms can actually gain customers by raising prices.”… Read More