Environmental economist Erik Nelson recently studied the impact of U.S. Endangered Species Act regulations on habitats considered most vital to the persistence of endangered and threatened species. With his research collaborators, Nelson found that the regulations have had no discernible effect on how people are using these protected lands.
His research project is a timely undertaking, because the White House, U.S. policy makers, and nongovernmental organizations are increasingly looking for evidence on which environmental regulations are working as intended and which ones are not. Read more.