Mr. Murray is Vice President for Strategy and senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Murray also directs the Center for Economic Freedom. He is the author of the best-selling books, “The Really Inconvenient Truths,” “Stealing You Blind: How Government Fat Cats Are Getting Rich Off of You,” and “The Socialist Temptation.” He has written extensively on free markets and the environment, labor policy, finance, the EU, and trade. He tweets at @ismurray and is a contributor to The Daily Economy blog.
Before coming to CEI, Iain was Director of Research at the Statistical Assessment Service. A former civil servant in the United Kingdom, Iain immigrated to the U.S. in 1997 and remains a British citizen. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of London and a Master of Arts from the University of Oxford. He is married with two children and lives in Northern Virginia.
Authored by Iain Murray
News
Misnamed ‘Railway Safety Act’ advances in House
The misleadingly named Railway Safety Act pushed by the Trump administration was inserted in the Build America 250 Act today and passed out of the House…
Court ruling against Trump tariffs upholds rule of law
The US Court of International Trade on Thursday ruled 2-1 against tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, finding a 1970s era law did not provide…
CEI celebrates important free market leaders and anniversaries: Our Words
Today, in celebration of the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations and the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s 42nd birthday, CEI is proud to…
Blog
Colorado legislature joins Illinois in breaking national payment system
- By: Iain Murray
One of the glories of the modern economy is that you can walk into a store anywhere in America, or indeed much of the world,…
Railway Safety Act in the balance
- By: Iain Murray
Today, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee is marking up the BUILD America Act — the surface transportation reauthorization bill. Among the amendments under…
CEI leads coalition supporting OCC preemption of Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act
- By: Iain Murray
CEI today sent a letter to Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency, cosigned by 22 other free market groups, supporting his office’s efforts…
Op-Eds/Articles
The Washington Examiner
Despite its reluctance, tariff setting is the job of Congress — not Trump
- By: Iain Murray
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling against the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs was fundamentally about the rule…
The Daily Economy
The Old World’s Last Export
- By: Iain Murray
It used to be said that the sun never set on the British Empire, so far-flung were its possessions. Britain has long since retreated from…
The Daily Economy
Keeping the Towers Open When Government Closes
- By: Iain Murray
On most days, America’s air traffic control system is invisible. The radar screens flicker, the controllers thread needles as planes approach and depart, and millions…
Studies
Giants of the Free Society
- By: Iain Murray
Introduction I was invited to deliver remarks to the Philadelphia Society on the subject, “Giants on Whose Shoulders We Stand: What We Owe to Adam…
Trade Under Blockade
Introduction President Donald Trump threw the world trading system into disarray with his “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2, 2025. The principles behind the General…
Adam Smith’s guide to life, loveliness, and the modern economy
- By: Christopher Culp, Fred L. Smith, Jr., Iain Murray, Jeremy Lott, John Berlau, Kent Lassman, Ryan Young, Stone Washington
Introduction: Going strong at 300 Ryan Young This essay collection celebrates Adam Smith’s 300th birthday. He is best known for being the first modern economist,…
Citations
Washington Examiner
Freedom Conservatives plot a post-Trump Republican Party
- By: Iain Murray
MAGA, “America First,” paleoconservatism, integralism, Christian nationalism, social conservatism, the disruptor Right, and fusionism all the way through to the Never Trumpers: The conservative Right…
The-A-Word
People can be authoritarian about anything. That includes liberals and freelance busting. This Q&A with Luke Conway explains why.
- By: Iain Murray
The-A-Word cited CEI’s expert on the rise of authoritarianism I was thinking about all this when Iain Murray of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a libertarian…
RealClear Markets
Global Regulators Want To Hamstring AI Innovation
- By: Iain Murray
RealClear Markets cited CEI on technological innovation Like many efforts at economic planning, subverting market forces — the forces that drive creative destruction — driving…
Regulatory Comments
Comments on Application Of The National Railroad Passenger Corporation Under 49 U.S.C. § 24308(E)
- By: Iain Murray
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), I respectfully submit this comment letter for the Board’s consideration in the FD 36496 proceeding. Founded in…
Comments to the CMA in re: Facebook/GIPHY merger
- By: Iain Murray
Submitted to the Inquiry via [email protected], 1 September 2021 Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments in the matter of the Competition and…
CEI Comments on Intermediate Bodies Rule
- By: Iain Murray
Dear Director Rosenfield, On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, I respectfully submit the following comments. Founded in 1984, the Competitive Enterprise Institute is a…
Podcast Episodes
Free Markets and the Common Good with Iain Murray
This week we cover fake environmentalism and the need to build, a look at policymaking inside the National People’s Congress in China, the new normal...
Threats to Economic Freedom, Then and Now with Iain Murray
This week we talk about recycled Legos, socially responsible pension funds, pessimistic views about politics, and a special immigration visa for microchip experts. Our interview...