in turn enable further types of interactions beyond the realm of business. The genius of the market is that it enables a wide array of individuals, groupings, and associations to organize spontaneously to advance their various interests in a cooperative fashion that yields win-win arrangements.
Featured Posts
Blog
Distinguished guests celebrate liberty movement jubilee
I recently returned to D.C. from Tampa, Florida, where I attended the 60th anniversary meeting (“Diamond Jubilee”) of the Philadelphia Society. For those who…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Frontier economics with Kendall Cotton
In this week’s episode we cover the diamond jubilee of the Philadelphia Society, the cost of government regulation in the UK, the…
Blog
Bees are flourishing again. Thanks, capitalism!
You can relax, everyone: The honeybees are back. As Andrew Van Dorn of the Washington Post reported recently, America suddenly now has a record…
Search Posts
Blog
Distinguished guests celebrate liberty movement jubilee
I recently returned to D.C. from Tampa, Florida, where I attended the 60th anniversary meeting (“Diamond Jubilee”) of the Philadelphia Society. For those who…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Frontier economics with Kendall Cotton
In this week’s episode we cover the diamond jubilee of the Philadelphia Society, the cost of government regulation in the UK, the…
Blog
Bees are flourishing again. Thanks, capitalism!
You can relax, everyone: The honeybees are back. As Andrew Van Dorn of the Washington Post reported recently, America suddenly now has a record…
The Center Square
FACT CHECK: Biden touts inflation has “fallen”
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited in The Center Square on a Biden fact check: Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, called…
Blog
More credit card competition? Not really
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is worried about a lack of competition in payment card networks, so he’s planning to force the issue. His Credit…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Gig work with Liya Palagashvili
In this week’s episode we cover how to rebuild after the Baltimore bridge collapse, legal challenges to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new…
Washington Examiner
State of the Union 2024: Biden plays up ‘shrinkflation’ — what to know
CEI’s Ryan Young is cited in the Washington Examiner on current shrinkflation: “Shrinkflation is real, but it’s not a partisan issue. Shrinkflation is part…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Free markets and the common good with Iain Murray
In this week’s episode we cover fake environmentalism and the need to build, a look at policymaking inside the National People’s Congress…
News Release
SEC’s climate disclosure rule is redundant and vulnerable to legal challenge
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its final climate disclosure rule today, mandating public companies disclose information related to greenhouse gas emissions. The…
Blog
SOTU 2024: Unparalleled spending, regulation, and dependency
In bumper-sticker fashion, we have fondly summed up Joe Biden’s recent State of the Union Addresses (SOTU) as appeals for more spending, regulation and…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Politically homeless with John Tillman
In this week’s episode we cover an environmental conference in Miami, allegedly underfunded government schools, Google’s AI diversity debacle, and new…
Blog
I’ve got your ‘common good’ right here
As a classical liberal, I believe in the value of free markets and individual liberty, but as a Freedom Conservative, I also feel that…
Blog
Major asset managers drop climate activism
It’s all over the business news headlines this morning: Major money managers are exiting an international alliance focused on influencing climate change policy and reducing…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Moving the rocks off the lawn with Andrew Langer
In this week’s episode we cover elite opinion versus the average American, the popularity of vocational training, why Millennials are suddenly investing…
News Release
Report: SEC climate disclosure rule imposes costs without value
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is finalizing a rule to require publicly traded companies to disclose climate and energy-use related data and information. The…
Study
Big Problems with SEC Climate Disclosure Mandate
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is finalizing its mandatory climate disclosure rule[1] that will require publicly traded companies to provide the…
Blog
The Ray Charles Theory of Marginal Utility
Musician Ray Charles’ nickname was “The Genius,” given on account of his ability to blend different genres of music – big band, rhythm and blues,…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The culture of economic freedom with Sam Gregg
In this week’s episode we cover the old-fashioned roots of ESG investing, the blocked merger of JetBlue and Spirit Airlines, the future…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Against crony capitalism with Nick Sorrentino
In this week’s episode we cover emergency federal spending, workplace management trends for 2024, suppressing speech about public health, and defending…
Blog
A promising 40th anniversary year for CEI
This year CEI celebrates 40 years of eliminating excessive regulation and unleashing human potential. To kick off our anniversary year, we unveiled a new logo…
Citation
Big Business Took A Beating From Conservatives Over Woke Marketing In 2023, But Did It Change Anything?
CEI’s Richard Morrison is cited in Daily Caller on ‘woke marketing:’ “Regardless of what InBev’s senior management or board members believe in their hearts about…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Centers of Progress with Chelsea Follett
In this week’s episode we cover the housing abundance agenda, antitrust concerns about corporate climate alliances, the future of global nuclear…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Making college pay with Preston Cooper
In this week’s episode we cover Javier Milei’s election as president of Argentina, how much money it takes to be happy,…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Getting out of control with Neil Chilson
In this week’s episode we cover the American Nuclear Society’s Winter 2023 conference, the opportunities and pitfalls of online side-hustles, and the…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The trouble with big-government conservatives with André Béliveau
In this week’s episode we talk about which state has the least-bad business taxes, how many Americans really love America, the continuing…
Blog
What we’re not seeing here: Why policy debates need Bastiat
I was honored to give a presentation this week to the George Mason University Economics Society. The title of my presentation was “Unseen Consequences: Frederic…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Polling capitalism with Karlyn Bowman
In this week’s episode we talk about the surprisingly low demand for free transit, the demographics of higher education in the U.S.,…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Financial regulation and ESG with Hester Peirce
In this week’s episode we talk about commuting via bicycle, regulatory reform legislation from Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), the new book…
Blog
Barbie, lemons, and economics
Wayne Crews and I have a fun piece up at RealClearMarkets that ties together the Barbie movie, the vintage toy market, and Nobel economist…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Threats to economic freedom, then and now with Iain Murray
On this week’s podcast we talk about recycled Legos, socially responsible pension funds, pessimistic views about politics, and a special…
Blog
Net neutrality is political predation
It’s fitting that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chose to dig up the net neutrality corpse just before Halloween. Now, our elected representatives need to…
Econlib
Reevaluating the Influence of James Buchanan on Libertarian Thought
James M. Buchanan was an economist known for his affiliation with the “Virginia School of Political Economy,” otherwise known as Public Choice theory. Trained at…
Blog
Congress can say no to Bidenomics in shutdown showdown
The contentious fiscal year 2024 budget battle, which might result in a partial federal government shutdown, is unfurling precisely as the national debt is…
Blog
Will polyester recycling become fashionable?
The Wall Street Journal ran a fascinating article last week on the future of innovation and technology, but it’s not about AI or semiconductors.
Blog
The Powell Memo was good, actually
This week the Competitive Enterprise Institute published my study (co-written with my colleague Iain Murray) on the 50-plus year history of the…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: freedom and conservatism with Avik Roy
In this week’s episode we talk about the future of nuclear power, the possible end of remote work, and the complexities of…
News Release
Leftwing conspiracy theories about 1971 “Powell memo” debunked in new CEI report
A new Competitive Enterprise Institute report debunks a leftwing conspiracy theory that free market interests seek a “corporate domination of America” (as Greenpeace put…
Study
Threats Then and Threats Now
Executive summary In 1971 Lewis Powell, a prominent Republican lawyer who would go on to serve on the Supreme Court, wrote a memo warning about…
Blog
S&P Global downplays its ESG ratings. Will rival ratings firms follow suit?
S&P Global, a premier financial data company, has recently put an end to its quantitative environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rankings. Rather than issue…
Blog
Are you ready for Jacobin the board game?
One of the most beautiful things about capitalism is that, wherever there is demand, there will be supply. Even though dedicated Marxists make up a…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The ESG Agenda with Jack McPherrin
In this week’s episode we talk about job recruiters who lie to applicants, post-Covid reforms to the CDC, debunking socialist takes…
Law and Liberty
The Moral Foundations of Freedom Conservatism
The Freedom Conservatism Statement of Principles, which several of us launched in July, is a simple restatement of the principles that have…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 34: Permitting Prosperity with Daren Bakst
In this weeks episode we talk about labor union history, demands for a 4-day work week, YIMBY policy wins, and Reason’s…
Blog
Inflation Reduction Act turns one, and wow that’s an ugly baby
As President Joe Biden celebrates the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (here’s the White House “Fact Sheet“) we…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 33: Federal Trade Commission Failures with Kimberlee Josephson
In this week’s episode we talk about defending financial privacy, new polling on what Republican voters want, reactions to new employment…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Government rules behind a paywall with Patrick McLaughlin
In this week’s episode we talk about banning incandescent light bulbs, mission creep at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, new nuclear capacity…
Blog
Good news about new business starts nationwide
The Economic Innovation Group has a fascinating report out this week on how we’re seeing a boom in new businesses being started – definitely a…
Blog
No, Florida, you can’t sue corporate directors for ‘going woke’
Recently Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called on the Sunshine State’s pension fund manager to consider action against Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev. In a…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 31: Reforming the States with Carrie Conko
In this week’s episode we talk about the Federal Trade Commission’s takeover of AI policy, shareholder lawsuits against “woke” corporations, an encouraging…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Ugh! Capitalism! with Jeremiah Johnson
In this week’s episode we talk about Democrat and Republican myths, corporate welfare in Ohio, scams in the carbon offset market,…
Forbes
Biden’s Competition Council Targets Free Enterprise, Expands Government
Joe Biden’s Competition Council, created by his executive order dubbed “Promoting Competition In the American Economy,” celebrated its second anniversary and convened its …
Blog
Republican Working Group issues first critical report against ESG
Last month, the Republican Environmental, Social, and Governance Working Group (ESG Group) unveiled an interim report outlining GOP efforts to combat the ideological subversion of…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: School Choice for Everyone with Ed Tarnowski
In this week’s episode we talk about trends in self-employment, how rent control leads to more evictions, empty corporate gestures on…
Blog
Don’t believe the ‘cost-of-thriving’ doom
There has been a lot of discussion in the last several years – and even more so in the last few weeks – about income…
Blog
Adam Smith on how trade makes us better people
2023 is the 300th anniversary of Adam Smith’s birth. This post is part of a series highlighting aspects of Smith’s thought that continue to influence…
Blog
Adam Smith and the wealth of America
2023 is the 300th anniversary of Adam Smith’s birth. This post is part of a series highlighting aspects of Smith’s thought that continue to influence…
Blog
Younger workers don’t favor full-remote work
Among people who follow the news on workplace (and workforce) satisfaction, the opinions of younger workers are often considered especially relevant, because we assume that…
Blog
America takes Entrepreneurship Index top spot, former Soviet bloc countries close behind
Retail software maker Shopify recently released its “Entrepreneurship Index,” a global ecosystem of entrepreneurial activity. Shopify ranks the top ten countries with economies that…
Blog
Here comes state capitalism. There go our liberties.
CEI’s own Wayne Crews told the Washington Examiner recently, “Everything from local tap water to space commercialization is being turned into a government project.”…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: growth and taxes with Alex Muresianu
In this week’s episode we talk about Gen Z and remote work, businesses moving between states, and inspiring evidence of human…
National Review
Global Britain Is Closed for Business
One of the supposed benefits of Brexit was that Britain would once again become “Global Britain,” able to adjust its regulatory approaches to one more…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Capitalists of the world unite! with Richard Salsman
In this week’s episode, we talk about conservatives defending the D.C. swamp, Andrew Stuttaford’s warning about green land grabs, a new Heartland Institute report…
Blog
Time to rip the veil of secrecy off government agencies’ in-house courts
In a previous piece, we explored some of the pros and cons of administrative law courts (ALCs). These are regulatory agencies’ special in-house courts,…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Letting people prosper with Vance Ginn
In this week’s episode we talk about Warren Buffet’s electric vehicle pessimism, sky-high school funding in New York City, a report…
Blog
Robert Lucas, economist of possibilities, 1937-2023
Robert Lucas, 85, passed away this week. He was a prominent macroeconomist who won the 1995 economics Nobel. Others have remembered Lucas’s contributions to rationality…
Blog
New credit card late fee rule hurts folks who pay their bills on time
There has rightly been an outcry after the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which sets policy for the government-sponsored enterprises (GSE) Fannie Mae and Freddie…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Freedom is intoxicating with Jacob Grier
In this week’s episode we talk about public opinion regarding capitalism, eliminating COVID relief slush funds, rolling back parking mandates, partisan…
Blog
Senate committee yells ‘all aboard!’ for controversial Railway Safety Act
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee approved the Railway Safety Act this morning, with all Democrats and Republican Sens. J.D. Vance (OH) and Eric Schmitt…
Blog
Americans agree: Politics doesn’t solve most problems
Our friends at the Pew Research Center have some new political survey results out, and the numbers are…not encouraging. The research summary finds:…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Grow for tomorrow with Adam Millsap
In this week’s episode we talk about judicial deference at the Supreme Court, Biden’s new mortgage rate policy, how Americans are thinking…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Smart urbanism with Max Dubler
In the latest episode, we talk about John Berlau and Stone’s Washington’s recent Wall Street Journal op-ed on financial regulation and free speech,…
Blog
Has Gary Gensler turned the SEC into a regulatory ‘Hotel California’?
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler hadn’t testified before the U.S. House of Representatives for 18 months. Republican members made up for lost…
National Review
The Free-Market Case Needs More Than Just Morality
George Leef and Mike Munger are right (of course) that we need to make the moral case for capitalism. Yet I would…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 17: Political Fusionism with Stephanie Slade
In this week’s episode we talk about Michael Strain’s and Dominic Pino’s recent arguments for economic optimism, Jessica Melugin’s defense of…
Blog
Don’t Cede Fairness to the Left
CEI’s Founder, Fred Smith, rightly understood that people will only listen to us if we communicate at the level of their values. And one value we know…
Blog
Data Alone Can’t Make the Case for Abundance
As public policy researchers, it’s absolutely necessary that our recommendations rely on strong, sound data. In our advocacy, though, that’s not sufficient. As I explain in…
Discourse
Making the Case for Abundance
Few things are more important than ensuring that people have plenty of the critical goods they need to pursue happiness, including jobs, energy, housing and education.
The Washington Times
Don’t Cede Fairness to Liberals
Most people care about fairness. Humans are, after all, moral creatures. And yet it’s mostly the political left that speaks of “fairness.” That’s unfortunate, because…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 16: Tar Heel Activism with Brooke Medina
This week we talk about political pessimism in popular polling, the return of the Malthusian environmentalists, the problem with Buy American…
Blog
Free Enterprise Scholarship in Alabama
Some fans of economic freedom have been worried in recent years that anti-capitalism is rife on U.S. college and university campuses, from Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 15: Eco-Modernism and Abundance with Alex Trembath
In this week’s episode of the Free the Economy podcast, we talk about the likelihood of blue state bailouts, issues with “…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 14: Conservative Economics with Dominic Pino
This week we talk corporate mega-mergers that turned out for the best, political meddling with the Federal Reserve’s inflation policy, “woke” language…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 13: The Future of Online Privacy with Spencer Purnell
This week we talk about Silicon Valley Bank and political favoritism, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate agenda, the relationship of…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 12: Consumer Welfare and Big Government with Patrick Hedger
This week we talk about the drama with Silicon Valley Bank and the proposal from Wayne Crews for an Abuse-of-Crisis Prevention Act, how…
Blog
Why Congress Must Think Twice About Adopting Biden’s Brazen Budget Proposal
Last Thursday, President Joe Biden finally unveiled his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year 2024. This marks the third straight year that Biden…
City Journal
“E” Doesn’t Stand for Environment
The Securities and Exchange Commission is nearing a decision on a proposed rule that would require publicly traded companies to indicate how their investments affect…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 11: True Diversity and Economic Opportunity with Patrice Onwuka
This week we talk about a warning from Wayne Crews and The Wall Street Journal on the burden of over-regulation, the policy…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 10: Legalize Jobs with Shoshana Weissmann
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we talk about Mercatus Center’s Michael Farren’s case for the…
Blog
College-Educated Women Advance in Workforce
The Pew Research Center recently published some interesting data on women in the workforce. For the first time ever, women with college degrees have…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 9: Unconstitutional Taxation with Dan Greenberg
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we start by perusing National Review’s series on Adam Smith’s 300th…
Blog
Happy 300th Birthday, Adam Smith
Our friends at National Review have created a fascinating publication series to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Adam Smith, legendary…
Fee.org
The Real Race Revolutionaries: How Minority Entrepreneurship Can Overcome America’s Racial and Economic Divides
Alfredo Ortiz has a message for all of the progressive politicians and activists working to close the economic gap between white and non-white Americans: Please…
Blog
Shrinkflation, Slack-filling, and the Real Effects of Inflation
The Washington Post’s Laura Reiley recently raised an alarm, with a St. Valentine’s Day theme, on a consumer merchandising trend called “slack-filling.” She noted…
Blog
Why the ETF is Uniquely American and Ideally Capitalist
A 30-year-old rule by the Securities and Exchange Commission succeeded in lowering barriers to entry for cheaper and more flexible investment options. In January, the…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 7: Economics for Everybody with Ryan Young
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we talk about Adam Millsap’s proposal to encourage abundance with…
Blog
Busting the Myth of Overpopulation
Recently PragerU released a new video on “The Myth of Overpopulation,” featuring the Cato Institute’s Marian Tupy. Marian (also the editor of HumanProgress.org)…
Blog
America Needs an Abundance Agenda
An abundance agenda—public policies that lead to diversity in consumer goods and financial security for families—should be an economic and moral imperative. That’s what Richard…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 6: The Cultural Impact of YouTube with Javier Hernandez
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we talk about the myth of overpopulation, the problem with…
Blog
Avoiding Passive Income Scams
Recently, on episode three of the Free the Economy podcast (about 5:30 in), we discussed the promise and perils of “passive income” investments. On…
Blog
Free the Economy Episode 5: Corporate Purpose and ESG with Russ Greene
Welcome back to the Free the Economy podcast. In this week’s episode we talk about the economic and cultural impact of YouTube,…