The 737 Max crashes have made for sensational headlines at a time when air fatalities among major commercial airlines have become exceedingly rare. While the ongoing investigation may indicate that changes are warranted, federal authorities are likely to reflexively overregulate air safety. In the new issue of Regulation, Dennis L. Weisman and Peter Van Doren argue that overregulation can increase transportation fatalities as compliance costs drive up airfares and cause consumers to substitute higher‐​risk highway travel for air travel.

• Spring 2020 issue of Regulation

Congress created the H‑2A program in 1986 to allow legal foreign workers to temporarily work for U.S. farmers who were unable to hire qualified Americans. In a new brief, Cato scholar David Bier explains how the H‑2A visa program works, and suggests that Congress could expand on this successful program by making H‑2A visas available to year‐​round industries and streamlining its rules and regulations.

• “H‑2A Visas for Agriculture: The Complex Process for Farmers to Hire Agricultural Guest Workers,” by David Bier

The Trump administration has signed an interim deal with the Taliban to withdraw its military forces from Afghanistan. After nearly 20 years, $2 trillion, and an immense loss of life, this deal provides a glimmer of hope that the United States may soon be able to exit its longest war. “A full and expeditious withdrawal of all remaining U.S. military personnel from Afghanistan,” says Cato scholar Christopher A. Preble, “will allow the people there, who have been suffering under the scourge of war for over four decades, to fashion a durable political settlement, and allow Americans to focus on urgent problems here at home.”

• “Ending the War in Afghanistan vs Exiting It,” by John Glaser
• “An End to Our Longest War?,” Podcast featuring Christopher A. Preble, John Glaser, and Caleb O. Brown
• “Overcoming Inertia: Why It’s Time to End the War in Afghanistan,” by John Glaser and John Mueller