News
Recent posts and articles from IGEG fellows, advisers, experts and scholars.
Institutions Gone Rogue Many government organizations hide scandalous behavior behind noble causes
Are government-created institutions out of control? Domestic and international government institutions and agencies are created on the premise that they will make things better for the people. But all too often, those who lead these institutions and agencies drift...
The Future of Money: How cryptocurrencies with real backing will become the ultimate disruptive technology
The world has been plagued by endless fluctuating exchange rates between countries and persistent and highly variable rates of inflation ever since the major countries of the world began to erode the gold standard during the twentieth century as a direct result...
Schooling the U.S. on Economic Freedom The growth of former communist countries is now the envy of the world
Once again, there is more evidence that economic freedom leads to success. Many of the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union have made enormous economic progress from the time they became free almost three decades ago....
Stuck on Stupendous Mistakes Government economists underestimate the sizzle of tax cuts
What do you call someone who keeps making the same mistake over and over and fails to learn from others who have made a similar mistake? If one doesn’t know history and basic math, and the fact that people adjust their behavior on the basis of incentives, then...
Drawing Opportunity from Disaster Restructuring Puerto Rico’s economy should accompany rebuilding the hurricane-ravaged island
The disastrous hurricanes that struck Puerto Rico might provide the excuse for the necessary, fundamental reform on the island. Puerto Rico has spent most of the past 12 years in recession, leading to its current bankruptcy. The bankruptcy was caused by gross fiscal...
If Oppression Could Inspire Happiness Socialism has yet to generate the utopia it promises
It is a fair bet that Sen. Bernie Sanders (and most of his followers), unlike tens of millions of others, never read George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” or Friedrich von Hayek’s “The Road to Serfdom.” Why do so many embrace a system — socialism — that has always failed,...
What the Hurricanes Teach Prudence, not foolishness, must guide response and adaptation
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were as powerful as the big South Florida hurricanes of 1926, 1928, and 1935, but the death toll was very small compared to the earlier hurricanes in the area, even though the population is now more than 10 times the size. The Great...
The Paul Ryan Problem Nice guys are no match for the ruthless ways of their opponents
It is tough to play hardball with your friends. Have you ever known someone who was exceptionally smart, very personable and highly accomplished, but was not particularly good at managing a large number of independently minded people? I have. His name is Paul Ryan....
The Tax Cut America Can’t Do Without High corporate rates mean less pay for the nation’s workers
How much should corporations pay in taxes? The enclosed table shows average corporate tax rates by country. You will notice that the United States has by far the highest tax rate. (Note: Some countries, notably Canada, Switzerland and the United States, are federal...
Examining Slavery through Real History Practices common in one era become taboo, thankfully, in another
It is a safe bet that everyone reading this column had an ancestor who was either a slave or slaveholder. It is also no coincidence that the effort to abolish slavery on a sustained and global basis did not occur until after the advent of the industrial revolution....
The Price-Level Dilemma The Fed has reached a dead end in its ability to influence the inflation rate
Is more inflation desirable? Those at the Federal Reserve seem to think so, and they have explicitly said their target is 2 percent, or about double the current level. Why would they argue for a further erosion of the purchasing power of the dollar? It is on the...
Making the Case for Political Fraud Campaign pledges broken could lead to donor lawsuits
If a political candidate asks you for a donation with a promise that he or she will do some specific act if elected and then fails to do so, should you be able to sue for fraud? If a contractor offers to build a new deck on your home within a specific time period and...
The Insurance Compulsion Fear of life’s uncertainties drives societies toward the misery of socialism
Venezuela is the latest global disaster caused by socialism. Over the last couple of hundred years, virtually every variety of socialism has been tried — from communism to national socialism (Nazism) and fascism, to various varieties of “democratic socialism” — with...
The Innovation Destroyers Most politicians praise innovation but they create regulations, taxes and agencies that kill it
Which government agency has done the most to destroy innovation? The American Founders tried to create an environment to foster innovation, because they understood new inventions would increase the well-being of the citizens. And that is the reason the Constitution...
Crony Capitalism against the Real Thing Collusion between government and business corrupts the free market
LAS VEGAS | For the past decade, a strange migration of a couple of thousand people from all over the world to Las Vegas takes place — in the middle of July. They come — at least most — not to gamble and certainly not for the weather where the normal daytime...
Book Review: ‘The Political Economy of Special Economic Zones: Concentrating Economic Development’ by Lotta Moberg
Special economic zones (SEZs) with variations known as free ports, free cities, etc have been created in more than 130 countries over the last half century, and to date some 3,000 plus have been formed. Special economic zones typically have no or low tariffs, low tax...
When Legal Protections Begin to Disappear Americans rely on strong protections for property rights and a judicial system based on due process
Do you mainly fear government or feel protected by it? The American Founders wrote a Constitution and designed a system of government that sharply limited the powers of the state — because they understood that the greatest danger to the liberty of the people was the...
Notoriously Inaccurate Economic forecasts come across as fake, sloppy or unknowable
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that 21 million people would be enrolled in the Obamacare insurance exchanges by 2016, back when the bill was voted on in 2010. The actual number turned out to be about 10 million — the projection being off by more than...