The European Union is planning to tax all airlines that travel to and from the 27 EU nations based on the amount of carbon emissions they produce.  The tax, to be collected beginning in 2013 for prior year emissions, will be calculated based on the length of each flight. The farther the airlines travel, the heftier the tax.

The European Union (EU) has announced plans to levy a tax on airline emissions for all planes landing and taking off from EU airports. This tax would be calculated not only based on mileage flown in EU airspace but also for the entire length of the flight (thus, Chinese and Japanese airlines would be taxed for an entire journey from Beijing or Tokyo).

In light of the academic challenge to the notion of competitiveness, AEI has gathered experts to research the value of the concept of competitiveness in different spheres. How do we define competitiveness, and is it worth pursuing as a policy goal? In what way do countries compete in various areas, including international trade, financial services and health care? 

Of course President Obama does not want any more nuclear powers in Asia. But his policies are hastening that reality.

As President Obama huffs and puffs about his tax plan, which is unlikely to pass in the Democratic-majority Senate much less the Republican-controlled House, Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, has provided a much broader view of where the United States stands amid great changes in the world and some useful guidance on what direction public policy ought to take.

Austerity measures in Europe have been the topic of a heated and mostly confused debate in the economic world. During the May summit of the leading industrial nations at Camp David, German chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders pushed for continued European austerity. Keynesian critics argue that these policies destroy economic growth.

From the economic point of view, the harm of substandard or counterfeit drugs depends on whether consumers can tell drug quality from direct or indirect information. If poor-quality drugs can always pretend to be of high quality, consumers are deceived and manufacturers are discouraged to produce high-quality in the long run.

Three considerations make it likely that Greece, Ireland and Portugal will choose to default before the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism in 2013