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
News Release
Consumers will pay the price of a trade war between US & Canada: CEI analysis
Today, Canada announced retaliatory tariffs against the US, ranging from 15 percent to 50 percent on approximately $20 billion worth of American imports.
Blog
Vance wants to break the dollar’s global reserve currency status: Why American consumers would pay
A recently resurfaced video of Vice President J.D. Vance has brought renewed attention to his argument that the US dollar’s status as the…
Op-Eds
The Democracy They Warned Us About
The Democratic Socialists of America, an insurgency within the Democratic Party, is having a moment, and it is showing us something worth noticing: This…
Search Posts
News Release
Consumers will pay the price of a trade war between US & Canada: CEI analysis
Today, Canada announced retaliatory tariffs against the US, ranging from 15 percent to 50 percent on approximately $20 billion worth of American imports.
Blog
Vance wants to break the dollar’s global reserve currency status: Why American consumers would pay
A recently resurfaced video of Vice President J.D. Vance has brought renewed attention to his argument that the US dollar’s status as the…
Op-Eds
The Democracy They Warned Us About
The Democratic Socialists of America, an insurgency within the Democratic Party, is having a moment, and it is showing us something worth noticing: This…
Blog
One lesson socialists forgot: Price controls never work
Socialists in both parties may feel they are offering fresh solutions to today’s problems, whether it is government-run grocery stores from Democrats or…
Study
Don’t Panic: A Skeptic’s Guide to the AI Jobs Doomsday
As technology advances it has periodically bred the fear that progress will destroy jobs and livelihoods. History teaches that these fears are usually misplaced.
Britain Unbound
Brexit Unbound: Opportunities still ahea
Rory Broomfield reflects on his work with Iain Murray in their book Cutting the Gordion Knot in his article for Britain Unbound.
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The Great Realignment with Stephen Davies
In this week’s episode we cover US companies getting hammered by tariffs, jobs that are surprisingly not getting replaced by AI,…
Blog
Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations at 250
Last week I participated in a National Association of Scholars event on the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. The…
Washington Examiner
Freedom Conservatives plot a post-Trump Republican Party
MAGA, “America First,” paleoconservatism, integralism, Christian nationalism, social conservatism, the disruptor Right, and fusionism all the way through to the Never Trumpers: The conservative…
The Washington Examiner
Kevin Warsh set up for failure with Powell staying on and markets expecting rate hike
The Washington Examiner cites senior economist Ryan Young on the Fed and the Department of Treasury. Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive…
News Release
Foreign automakers’ threat to exit US market illustrates Trump tariff consequences
Foreign automakers are reportedly threatening to pull their most affordable models out of the US market if terms of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement aren’t renewed.
Blog
Let’s put the next SpaceX in our 401(k)s before its launch onto public markets
As Artemis II achieved liftoff for the first moon voyage in more than 50 years, space news also rocked the investment world with the…
Blog
The consequences of American socialism: A review of John Kenneth Galbraith’s Economic Development
John Kenneth Galbraith’s 1963 book Economic Development asks the same question Adam Smith asked: where does wealth come from? His answers are very…
Blog
The missing guardrail in crisis politics: Discipline
Modern American governance has developed a troubling pattern. Economic shocks like the 21st century’s financial panics and pandemic are often met with vast expansions…
Blog
Happy birthday to the Wealth of Nations – and to CEI
Today is the 250th anniversary of the publication of perhaps the seminal work of economics, Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes…
Comment
CEI Comments on Global Benchmark for Efficient Drug Pricing (GLOBE) Model
Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute Dear Dr. Oz, The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) submits these comments in opposition to the creation…
Blog
George and Sam: A friendship forged in freedom and entrepreneurship
In August 1783, after General George Washington had secured victory in the Revolutionary War but was still awaiting negotiation of Great Britain’s surrender, he…
Citation
DOJ investigation could push Powell to hold on to his seat at Fed
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on Powell Ryan Young, a senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said that Powell choosing to…
Reuters
A back-of-envelope evaluation of national tax rates and freedom levels
Reuters cited CEI’s expert on tax rates & political systems Richard Morrison, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute: “Low-freedom countries may…
Blog
Politicians need to think beyond stage one on credit card price controls
President Trump, in a Friday news dump on social media, proposed price controls on credit card interest rates. He wants to cap annual…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Climate policy endangerment with Marlo Lewis
In this week’s episode we talk about tariff refunds, Affordable Care Act subsidies, Ryan Young’s Books of the Year for…
Blog
Trump’s baby accounts: Wealth builder or redistribution trap?
A White House roundtable this week spotlighted Michael and Susan Dell’s $6.25 billion philanthropic contribution seeding newborn investment “Trump Accounts” beyond the…
Blog
Rare earths and China: Choose deregulation, not price controls
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened to implement price controls on unspecified goods if China continues to restrict rare earth mineral exports. Over at the…
Blog
A Nobel for human progress
This year’s economics Nobel Prize went to three students of the two most important questions in economics: Why have living standards in rich countries…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Reforming Social Security with Romina Boccia
In this week’s episode we cover a new study on pharmaceutical tariffs, whether to expect a new Great Depression (via…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Welfare and work with Kevin Corinth
In this week’s episode we cover new inflation data, public attitudes about Social Security, and California’s self-inflicted energy crisis. Our…
Blog
Trump revokes Biden’s bogus competition order, but it’s only a start
President Donald Trump just revoked President Biden’s 2021 “Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” That’s welcome news, as I explain…
American Greatness
Chester Arthur was a Champion of Government Accountability, not the Architect of the Deep State
Was America’s 21st president responsible for spawning a perpetual class of unaccountable power-wielding bureaucrats? In an article for American Greatness, Thaddeus…
RealClear Markets
Of Women, Energy and Entrepreneurship: The Karen Buchwald Wright Story
RealClear Markets cited CEI’s experts on Energy and Entrepreneurship Awards, Recognition, and Impact Karen’s achievements have garnered national recognition. In 2016, The…
Blog
The cold wind of socialism
In an episode of the Netflix series The Crown, an aging Winston Churchill refers to the Labour Party’s return to power as the…
Blog
Trump’s ‘Golden Share’ breaches government’s proper role
On June 13, President Trump issued an executive order declaring that the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon…
Blog
Trump’s newborn nest egg accounts
In the face of recurring economic shocks—we’ve suffered 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and COVID-19 in the 21st century alone—the reflex to throw hundreds…
Blog
How IAIS advances DEI policies
As explained in an earlier blog post, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has drifted away from its mission and is actively…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Waste, fraud, and tax hikes with Emily Ekins
In this week’s episode we cover workplace injuries, MAGA antitrust in theory and practice, portable benefits for gig workers, and…
Blog
Fred Smith and the Hourglass of Market Evolution
Our much–loved CEI founder Fred L. Smith Jr. would often insist that we not refer merely to antitrust or antitrust policy,…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Debt and taxes with Jack Salmon
In this week’s episode we cover the death of ESG investing, next moves on regulatory reform, Wall Street enthusiasm for…
Forbes
Next SEC Must Restore Capital Formation Mission
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rightly garnered criticism from both political parties over the last few years for…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Freedom to farm with Bill Wirtz
In this week’s episode we cover a new ranking of state governors, reforms to emergency powers, new research on working…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Removing barriers to abundance with Chris Koopman
In this week’s episode we cover our record-high budget deficit, green trade wars, and what US adults are watching on…
The Spectator World
Inside Tucker Carlson’s ‘Zyn competitor’
The Spectator World reports on CEI’s Prometheus dinner A Promethean night with CEI Having attended Competitive Enterprise Institute events in the…
American Radio Journal
This week on American Radio Journal:
Lowman Henry talks with Jim Burling from the Pacific Legal Foundation about the hidden story of America’s housing crisis; Scott Parkinson from the Club for Growth has the Real Story on…
Blog
Magatte Wade to accept Julian L. Simon Memorial Award and share her story at the CEI dinner
According to demographers, about one-quarter of the world’s population is expected to be African at the middle of this century. Many are currently quite…
Nonprofit Quarterly
Project 2025: What Does It Mean for Racial and Economic Justice?
Nonprofit Quarterly cited CEI’s CEO about Project 2025 The document has been widely described as a “blueprint” for a possible…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Searching for digital privacy with Jen Huddleston
In this week’s episode we cover the new book What Went Wrong with Capitalism, the problem with price controls (via…
Blog
Scrapping tipping taxes is now a bipartisan issue. Good.
Never let it be said that Democrats think that Donald Trump is always wrong. Vice President Kamala Harris recently endorsed…
Blog
The politics of proxy voting and the importance of shareholder representation
As the 2024 election quickly approaches, many Americans consider how their vote will affect political races. While our focus tends to be on the…
National Review
Does Capitalism Really Need ‘Changing’?
In her influential book Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, economist Mariana Mazzucato argues that capitalism is in…
Blog
Harris’s rent control support clashes with even progressive economists
As one of his last policy initiatives before officially dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, President Joe Biden unveiled a housing plan that…
Blog
Top-down economic ‘moonshot’ incompatible with bottom-up ideals
In her book Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, economist Mariana Mazzucato proposes rebranding the United States’s economy. An advocate behind…
Microsoft Start
Letting Businesses Decide How to Deal With Theft
MSN cites senior economist Ryan Young on self-checkout lanes: Ryan Young, a senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said, “Self-checkout lanes can…
Review-Journal
Yes, you do have the right to a jury trial
The Constitution says you have the right to a jury trial. At least in its in-house court, the Securities and Exchange Commission argued against…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Taxocracy with Scott Hodge
In this week’s episode we cover how the SEC is going to spam investors with a deluge of low-quality disclosures, the Supreme…
Blog
Reflecting on independence: More than fireworks and barbecues
As we enjoy barbecues, fireworks, and parades on the Fourth of July, we also reflect upon the deeper significance of our nation’s Independence Day…
Blog
Can moderators ask debate questions that don’t presume a progressive policy agenda?
Numerous policy issues are shaping this year’s first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as the entire campaign atmosphere. These…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Protecting taxpayers with Tim Sandefur
In this week’s episode we cover the problems with the SEC’s new climate rule, the recent Supreme Court decision on income…
News Release
Report: SEC Climate Disclosure Rule Spams Investors, Arms Climate Alarmists
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today released a report on the controversial Securities and Exchange Commission climate disclosure rule, examining its legal and…
Study
Climate Disclosure Spam
Introduction “Despite cost-saving changes from the proposed rule, the final rule will prove expensive for public companies and their shareholders who will be paying…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Up from poverty with Josh Bandoch
In this week’s episode we cover pork-barrel spending in Congress, reform of federal guidance documents, restaurants with minimum age requirements,…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Economic facts and vibes with Joey Politano
In this week’s episode we cover advances in dentistry, the slow pace of EV charger deployment, a victory for free speech…
News Release
Report considers economist Adam Smith’s guide to life, loveliness, and the modern economy
Upon the 300 year anniversary birth year of legendary economist Adam Smith, the Competitive Enterprise Institute today published a collection of essays exploring…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Liberty movement jobs with Claire Kittle Dixon
In this week’s episode we cover the war on prices, the great un-wokening of corporate America, the attack on credit…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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:…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
