Economic policies have unintended consequences

Economic policies have unintended consequences
- September 21, 2010
- An op-ed by Kenneth Small, economics professor, is featured in the Chicago Tribune September 20, 2010
From the Tribune:
Allen Sanderson’s “Economic Consequences of Pandering Problematic," Sept. 17) is right
to point out that many economic policies have unintended consequences. But he errs
by assuming those consequences are always negative. For example, he points out that
tighter fuel-efficiency standards for automobiles could cause a drop in average vehicle
size. But it's far from obvious that this will "kill more drivers and passengers."
On the contrary, tighter standards would encourage a shift from light trucks (such
as pickups and SUVs) to cars. At least three recent research studies show that such
a shift would save lives because these light trucks do much more damage to vehicles
they collide with — more than offsetting the extra safety to their own occupants.
For the full story, please visit http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/letters/chi-100920small_brief....
Share on:
Related News Items
- Students say mental-health breaks from class help them succeed. Here's how colleges are responding.
- Column: More than 6,500 guns seized at U.S. airports in 2022, including 142 locally
- No Alibis... forward! with Elizabeth Robinson
- What is a recession? Why the most horrifying term in economics isn't what you always think
- Weight bias is a problem in health care. Here's what doctors can do