NHTSA and the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards

Publication Date: January 01, 1986

On March 1, 1985, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) received separate petitions from GM and Ford, asking the agency to reduce corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards from 27.5 mpg to 26 mpg, beginning with the...

Energy Emergency Assistance

Publication Date: January 01, 1986

When the 1979 revolt in Iran disrupted that country's oil exports, the US government responded to the reduced availability of fuel by controlling both price and allocation. Some analysts have argued that those actions exacerbated the oil crisis...

Conflicting Findings: Evaluating WIC

Publication Date: January 01, 1986

This case is designed to foster discussion concerning a question public managers often face: How should one make decisions when available studies and data appear contradictory? A 1984 General Accounting Office (GAO) review found that existing...

Smith and the Public Health Battle

Publication Date: January 01, 1986

In this disguised case, Helen Smith is a newly appointed state administrator of personnel hired as part of a new governor's reform effort. Smith's task is to crack down on the practice of using outside contracts to bypass state-required job...

Competitive Bypass of Pacific Gas & Electric

Publication Date: January 01, 1986

In 1986, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), a private utility company serving most of northern and central California, was facing the loss of many of its biggest and best customers. The threat came not from conservation, general economic...

California Water Pricing

Publication Date: January 01, 1986

In many parts of California, water districts set prices so that agricultural users pay far less than residential users and far less than the true cost of water. While the adoption of a marginal cost pricing system would bring enormous efficiency...

Saving the Tuolumne (Sequel)

Publication Date: January 01, 1986

In April 1983, the City and County of San Francisco and two irrigation districts in Merced and Stanislaus counties commissioned a feasibility study of their long-standing proposal to dam the Tuolumne River for power and water. At the same time,...

Saving the Tuolumne

Publication Date: January 01, 1986

In April 1983, the City and County of San Francisco and two irrigation districts in Merced and Stanislaus counties commissioned a feasibility study of their long-standing proposal to dam the Tuolumne River for power and water. At the same time,...

Controlling Acid Rain, 1986

Publication Date: January 01, 1986

This case is designed to support a discussion of how to apply an economic evaluation of the appropriate level of control of an externality to a real problem with incomplete information of uncertain quality and high political stakes. It sketches...

George Shultz and the Polygraph Test

Publication Date: January 01, 1986

Shortly before Christmas 1985, Secretary of State George Shultz publicly threatened to resign over a pending administration directive that would have required thousands of government employees with access to highly classified information to...

Iowa State Legislative Computer (C)

Publication Date: January 01, 1985

This case focuses on the Iowa State Legislature during the process of acquiring a $1 million computer system. The system was intended to handle bill processing, update the state's code of laws, and allow quick and efficient budget analysis. Part...

Iowa State Legislative Computer (B)

Publication Date: January 01, 1985

This case focuses on the Iowa State Legislature during the process of acquiring a $1 million computer system. The system was intended to handle bill processing, update the state's code of laws, and allow quick and efficient budget analysis. Part...