In response to the coronavirus pandemic, local and state governments ordered households to self-quarantine and nonessential businesses to shut down. The economy slowed to a crawl and people lost their jobs. Three million new jobless claims were filed in the last week of March, and that was just the beginning of the crisis. Also at the month’s end, Congress scrambled to pass the third phase of the stimulus package, the CARES Act, to keep the economy from falling into a Great Depression–style recession. A key component of the act is a boost for unemployment insurance benefits to private- and public-sector employees.
The unemployment insurance (UI) benefit expansion offers much-needed financial support for newly unemployed workers, but it can be improved by additional legislation. I

Veronique de Rugy examines the President’s new spending proposal.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy offers an argument against calls to break up Amazon.
Read it at the National Review.

Veronique de Rugy breaks down the President’s budget and how it will look much different from what Congress will eventually pass.
Read it at AIER.

Veronique de Rugy explains the difference between Donald Trump and Boris Johnson on free trade.
Read it at AIER.

Veronique de Rugy writes on the multitude of problems with Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax proposal.
Read it at the National Review.

Veronique de Rugy explains how FDA policies led to the creation of dangerous black-market e-cigarette cartridges which have caused illnesses and deaths.
Read it at AIER.

Veronique de Rugy provides a break-down of the true cost of Warren’s and Sanders’ spending proposals.
Read it at The Hill.

Veronique de Rugy explains the need for a reform of the Export-Import Bank.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy examines the shortcomings of the USMCA, as compared to its predecessor, NAFTA.
Read it at AIER.

Veronique de Rugy writes on the abject failure of the subsidies handed out to Taiwanese tech company Foxconn to build a factory in Wisconsin.
Read it at Reason.

Veronique de Rugy writes on an increase in support for government intervention in industry.
Read it at AIER.

Chairwoman Finkenauer, Ranking Member Joyce, and members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on this important topic today. My name is Veronique de Rugy, and I am a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
Today, I offer these main points:
However well-intentioned, the imposition of strict licensing actually makes childcare harder for families by raising prices.
This increase in cost is not accompanied by a commensurate increase in quality or safety.
Strict licensing requirements raise barriers to jobs for childcare workers.
Reforming occupational licensing can play a significant role in increasing the supply of affordable childcare.
The Economics of Occupational Licensing
Occupational licensing is the practice of requiring

Veronique de Rugy explores the damage that a new set of steel and aluminum tariffs can cause.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy writes on the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on the American economy.
Read it at Reason.

Members of the advisory board, members of the board of directors, thank you for having me today. My name is Veronique de Rugy. I am a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where I have been studying the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank for many years.
During her confirmation hearing to become the new president of the Ex-Im Bank, Kimberly Reed made commitments to Senator Patrick Toomey in six areas, including
improving protection for domestic companies from economic harm that might arise from the Ex-Im Bank financing their foreign competitors and
ensuring that the Ex-Im Bank is not crowding out private financing options that would otherwise be available but for the Ex-Im Bank’s involvement.
The Ex-Im Bank posted notices last month in the Federal Register

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to testify today. I am a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason, where I study the US economy, the federal budget, and tax policy.
Polices that ensure American workers can stay attached to the labor market are worth pursuing. Unfortunately, government policies at the federal, state, and local levels today make it harder for some workers to tap into particular markets in which workers are paid higher wages and are most productive. As a result, some workers stay idle. The following are the main points of my testimony today:
The labor market and the state of American workers are better than commonly suggested.
A small but sizeable segment of working-age Americans have not shared in that progress, as

Veronique de Rugy explains the effects of central planned economic policies on innovation.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy writes on the continued irresponsible government spending brought on by tax-extender policies.
Read it at AIER.

For several years now, news headlines have reflected anxieties about the effects of globalization and freeing trade: Will jobs evaporate? Does China have an “unfair” advantage? Is the middle class disappearing? These fears need to be addressed, because they have resulted in the implementation of misguided policy prescriptions. All too often, these policies have hurt the very Americans they were supposed to help.
Among these prescriptions has been the use of tariffs and quotas, which restrict trade. Proponents offer various justifications for such protectionist policies. Some of the most common include “they do it” (i.e., other governments subsidize their exporters or impose high tariffs on imports from the United States), the notion that the United States and other developed countries owe

Veronique de Rugy breaks down Congress’ addiction to spending.
Read it at AIER.

Veronique de Rugy discusses the Fed’s proposal to lower interest rates and the effects it would have on the economy.

With the extension to October 23 of the deadline for public comment on the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of the United States’ proposed guidelines for determining additionality for medium- and long-term transactions, I request the opportunity to supplement the comments that I submitted on October 9, 2019.
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University is dedicated to bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems and to advancing knowledge about the effects of regulation on society. These comments, therefore, do not represent the views of any particular affected party or special interest group. Rather, they are intended to help the Ex-Im Bank achieve meaningful reform.
In my initial submission on additionality, I requested that the Ex-Im Bank disclose the $40 billion pipeline

Veronique de Rugy analyzes data on the Export-Import Bank, disproving the claims of supporters of the bank.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy writes on the negative consequences of Colorado’s paid leave proposals.
Read it at Creators.

Veronique de Rugy appears on Coast to Coast to discuss the market uncertainty revolving around trade disputes with the E.U. and China.

Veronique de Rugy appears on Fox Business News to discuss better-than-expected quarterly earnings numbers.

Veronique de Rugy appears on Cavuto: Coast to Coast  to discuss U.S.-China Trade uncertainty.

Veronique de Rugy discusses the impact of tariffs on U.S. retail businesses on Cavuto: Coast to Coast.

Veronique de Rugy appears on Cavuto: Coast to Coast discussing the economic impact on tariffs on Chinese goods.