The Mercatus Institute, “a university-based research center [that] works to advance knowledge about how markets work to improve our lives,” has a web page devoted to research on Hurricane Katrina. Questions explored by the Mercatus researchers include: How did New Orleans communities that have recovered since Katrina do so? What effect did social entrepreneurship have on their recovery? What kinds of government policies could facilitate a quicker recovery from future disasters? Among the experts featured are two CEE Guest Speakers, Emily Chamlee-Wright and Steven Horwitz.

Watch our video interview with Dr. Chamlee-Wright in which she talks about her research on some of the above issues.

Also, watch our interview with Dr. Horwitz on the role of Wal-Mart in New Orleans’ recovery.

Finally, explore Mercatus’ fascinating website here.

In light of the recent death of a Walmart employee, who was trampled to death by a crowd of shoppers during a Black Friday sale, and whose family has brought a wrongful-death lawsuit against the company, The Business Ethics Blog’s Chris MacDonald discusses the use of tort law versus legislation in regulating corporate behavior.