Emily Hamilton and Sloane Argyle

February 14, 2022 | Urban Economics

Reforms to Portland’s rules around constructing accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, resulted in a 600% increase in the construction of accessory apartments, secondary suites, “granny flats” and other forms of housing which can be added to an existing home property. This has helped provide much-needed housing stock for lower-income residents in the area.

James Broughel

February 17, 2022 | Regulation

Colorado has an opportunity to advance meaningful criminal justice reform by streamlining occupational licensing requirements for those with criminal records. The bill before this committee would expand upon licensing reforms passed in Colorado in 2018, which reduced some barriers to employment for those with criminal records. In addition to the examples in the previous section, several other states have passed some version of criminal justice–related occupational licensing reform legislation. In 2021 alone, a diverse array of states including Arizona, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington, and the District of Columbia all passed legislation that further reduces occupational and professional licensure barriers for those with criminal records.

James Broughel

February 15, 2022 | Healthcare

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, licensed pharmacists as well as their support staff at pharmacies around the country have proven to be one of the American medical system’s most valuable resources. In Idaho, for example, pharmacists have been able to diagnose minor ailments and prescribe simple medications for several years. During the pandemic, this ability has facilitated a better public health response than would have occurred otherwise and may have helped prevent other parts of the healthcare system from becoming overloaded.

Stephen Matteo Miller

February 15, 2022 | Financial Regulation

From a historical perspective, higher capital seems an important tool at policymakers’ disposal to address concerns about financial instability. Although a bank merger creates a larger bank, the “fail” in “too big to fail” primarily concerns leverage and activity or asset risks. Concerns about mergers creating larger banks that might fail should be counterbalanced by the recognition that larger banks can better diversify across regions than smaller banks. These concerns may also conflate the size of institutions with the fact that larger banks tend to operate with less capital than smaller banks.