Steve Swedberg is a Policy Analyst with the Center for Economic Freedom, focusing on financial, monetary, and transportation policy.
Steve holds a Master of International Public Affairs from the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which entailed a concentration in international trade and finance public policy. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, Government, and East Asian Studies from Lawrence University.
Before joining CEI, Steve was a Fiscal Analyst at the North Carolina General Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division where he analyzed transportation policy for the legislators of North Carolina. Additionally, he has K-12 education and housing policy research experience from the American Institutes for Research (AIR), as well as nine years of market research experience.
When he is not researching or analyzing public policy, Steve enjoys traveling, studying foreign languages, running, line dancing, playing billiards, reading, spending time with friends and family, and playing the clarinet and piano.
Authored by Steve Swedberg
News
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Report: Government limit on credit card interchange fees undermines consumers, small businesses
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report examines an Illinois law that will limit credit card interchange fees paid by merchants to the banks and credit unions that issue such…
Federal Reserve moves to keep interest rates steady during its June meeting: CEI analysis
The Fed has decided to keep interest rates where they are, signaling the focus is still on economic uncertainty and asserting its independence from…
Inflation still stubbornly high in May, future rate increase growing more likely: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index report for May shows inflation rose 0.5 percent across all sectors, with energy continuing to be a major factor in…
Blog
The house doesn’t always win: Why prediction markets aren’t gambling
- By: Steve Swedberg
“If it talks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.” That phrase is not reserved for ducks. It is…
Trump’s Strait of Hormuz insurance plan gambles with taxpayer dollars
- By: Steve Swedberg
As wars and skirmishes escalate, the risks to commerce increase and are reflected in market prices. In past conflicts, shipping firms faced soaring premiums as…
Section 301 and the problem of limitless tariff justifications
- By: Steve Swedberg
Earlier this week, the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced findings from a series of Section 301 tariff investigations concerning imports allegedly made with forced…
Op-Eds/Articles
Fortune
A quartz countertop tariff could double your kitchen renovation cost — and kill 13 jobs for every one it creates
- By: Steve Swedberg
Americans are already facing a difficult housing market in which buying a home or making renovations has become more expensive. Even something as basic as…
The Chicago Tribune
Springfield’s interchange fee ban takes a costly swipe at Illinois consumers
- By: Steve Swedberg
I have many fond memories of growing up in the Chicago suburbs, including eating out at Lou Malnati’s, visiting Chicago museums on weekends and tagging…
Studies
The Hidden Costs of Interchange Fee Bans
- By: Steve Swedberg
The state of Illinois risks transforming the Land of Lincoln into the Land of Patchwork Price Controls. The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA), passed by…
Questions for Kevin Warsh
Kevin Warsh is President Trump’s choice to succeed Jerome Powell as the Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Warsh’s credentials…
Citations
Washington Times
Inflation rises again, driven by energy costs amid Iran war
- By: Steve Swedberg
The Washington Times cites Finance and Monetary Policy Analyst Steve Swedberg on inflation and rising costs: “The economic data provide little support for lower interest…
The National News Desk
Inflation steady in February, but war risks new price surge
- By: Steve Swedberg
The National News Desk cited CEI’s expert on CPI data “The longer the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the greater the upward pressure on energy…
Reason
Fight Government Corruption With Deregulation
- By: Steve Swedberg
Reason cited CEI’s expert on regulatory budgets “When regulatory systems become dense, opaque, and discretionary, they create perverse incentives for corruption,” Steve Swedberg, a regulatory…