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
Trump administration decides to not renew current USMCA, adds to trade policy uncertainty
Today, the Trump administration announced its intent to not renew the US’s trilateral trade pact with Canada and Mexico, known as the USMCA.
Read the Full Study
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…
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…
Blog
How permitting is a hidden tax on housing
- By: Steve Swedberg
Imagine being a housing developer so entangled in permits, legal challenges, and environmental reviews that it takes five decades to have a housing project…
Mamdani’s road to housing hell is paved with rent freezes
- By: Steve Swedberg
As housing affordability becomes increasingly elusive, there are few things more politically alluring than telling voters their rent will not increase. It was a…
A $25 minimum wage cannot legislate away the high cost of living
- By: Steve Swedberg
Affordability is the political buzzword for 2026. Last week, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) announced plans to introduce the Living Wage for All Act,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…