Making Sense of the Minimum Wage: A Roadmap for Navigating Recent Research
Jeffrey ClemensThe new conventional wisdom holds that a large increase in the minimum wage would be desirable policy. Advocates for this policy dismiss the traditional concern that such an increase...
View ArticleRestoring Responsible Government by Cutting Federal Aid to the States
Chris EdwardsThe federal government has a large presence in state and local policy activities such as education, housing, and transportation.That presence is facilitated by “grants-in-aid” programs,...
View ArticleA Reform Agenda for the Next Indian Government
Swaminathan S. Anklesaria AiyarIndia’s economic reforms since 1991 have largely been a tale of private-sector success, government failure, and institutional erosion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi won...
View ArticlePrinciples for the 2020 Surface Transportation Reauthorization
Randal O'TooleAmerica’s surface transportation infrastructure needs significant improvements and rehabilitation, yet Congress is uncertain about how to do this. Some want to significantly increase...
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Unplugging the Third Rail: Choices for Affordable Medicare
John F. EarlyMedicare expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) are now six times larger than they were in 1967. Forecasts for the next 75 years show that almost $1 of every $5 of GDP...
View ArticleTrump’s First Trade Deal: The Slightly Revised Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement
Simon Lester, Inu Manak, and Kyounghwa KimWhile the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement has received far more attention, a lesser-known U.S. trade deal has also been reworked. In...
View ArticleIs This Time Different? Schumpeter, the Tech Giants, and Monopoly Fatalism
Ryan BourneGrowing numbers of legislators and policy experts charge that tech firms such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft are “monopolies” with the potential power to harm consumers....
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Immigration Wait Times from Quotas Have Doubled: Green Card Backlogs Are...
David BierDuring his presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly promised that although he would build a border wall, it would have a door open to those willing to come to America legally. This...
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Closing Pandora's Box: The Growing Abuse of the National Security Rationale...
Simon Lester and Huan ZhuOver its first two years, the Trump administration has aggressively reshaped U.S. trade policy. One of its most controversial initiatives is the expansive use of national...
View ArticleThe Community Reinvestment Act in the Age of Fintech and Bank Competition
Diego ZuluagaWe have serious reservations as to whether any regulatory agency could have the wisdom necessary to administer such a system to the maximum benefit of competing economic interests.— Robert...
View ArticleDebunking Protectionist Myths: Free Trade, the Developing World, and Prosperity
Arvind PanagariyaMore than 170 years ago, Frédéric Bastiat noted in his masterly work Economic Sophisms that the “opposition to free trade rests upon errors, or, if you prefer, upon half-truths.”1 Ever...
View ArticleChallenging the Social Media Moral Panic: Preserving Free Expression under...
Milton MuellerSocial media are now widely criticized after enjoying a long period of public approbation. The kinds of human activities that are coordinated through social media, good as well as bad,...
View ArticleBailouts, Capital, or CoCos: Can Contingent Convertible Bonds Help Banks Cope...
Robert A. EisenbeisSince the 2008 financial crisis, banking regulators’ capital enhancement efforts have focused on permitting systemically important financial institutions to issue alternative forms...
View ArticleDo Immigrants Import Terrorism?
Andrew C. Forrester, Benjamin Powell, Alex Nowrasteh, & Michelangelo LandgraveThe relationship between immigration and terrorism is an important public policy concern. Using bilateral migration...
View ArticleTaxing Wealth and Capital Income
Chris EdwardsTaxing the wealthy is a hot issue among Democratic candidates for president. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is proposing an annual wealth tax on the richest households, while other...
View ArticleOvercoming Inertia: Why It’s Time to End the War in Afghanistan
John Glaser and John MuellerThe war in Afghanistan has become America’s longest war not because U.S. security interests necessitate it, nor because the battlefield realities are insurmountable, but...
View ArticleLegal Immigration Will Resolve America’s Real Border Problems
David BierThe U.S. government has allowed its asylum and border processing system to become overwhelmed. Central Americans are crossing illegally and often relying on asylum and other processing...
View ArticleHomeschooling and Educational Freedom: Why School Choice Is Good for...
Kerry McDonaldOver the past 50 years, homeschooling has grown from a fringe act to a widely accepted education model reflective of a diverse American population. Many parents choose homeschooling to...
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