Daily economy news from the American Institute for Economic Research: data, stories, research, and articles touching on economics, politics, culture, education, policy, opinion, technology, markets, healthcare, regulation, trends, and much more.

AIER’s Editorial Policy.

Politicians’ Job Training and College Sales Pitch is Snake Oil

“Are job training programs actually providing useful training to the people affected by foreign trade? Don’t ask lawmakers. They’d prefer that people give them credit for the intent and ignore questions about outcomes.” ~James M. Hohman

Johan Norberg’s The Capitalist Manifesto: A Review

“What matters for the capitalist story to flourish is that its effect on the world continues to be positive, not whether market actors believe it while embodying its principles.” ~Joakim Book

Timiraos on Supply-Side Disinflation

“Slowing down total spending growth (current-dollar GDP) by hiking interest rates and shrinking the balance sheet clearly mattered. Supply-side improvements do too, but they’re likely playing the role of the sidekick rather than the hero.” ~Alexander W. Salter

Thankful for the Lessons of Failures

“Plymouth was a centrally planned community. Everything was controlled, regulated, and rationed by one central government authority. And like all central planning efforts, the results were scarcity, hunger, and desperation.” ~Thomas Krannawitter

Black Friday 2023 Will Test Consumer Confidence

“Although Black Friday is a day of discounts, rebates, and other sales promotions, examining the price changes in the most-marketed merchandise categories may provide some insights as to what consumers face this year.” ~Peter C. Earle

How to Rationally Consume News

“Most information is noise, and the human brain isn’t equipped for the overload that the modern world throws at us. Don’t clutter your brain with unnecessary stuff.” ~Joakim Book

TikTok: Five Cuts

“Americans already have a license to engage in free speech, in the form of the First Amendment. And if you are thinking that the United States has a long history of anonymous, public speech, you’re right.” ~James Harrigan

How Can We Stop Serving Students So Poorly?

“Efforts to improve things with charter schools have shown some great results, and vouchers are attractive as a means to make educators more responsible to parents than to administrators. But we are still in the early stages of a very long struggle.” ~Gary M. Galles

ESG as an Artifact of Zero Interest Rate Policy

“The reasons attributed to billions of dollars leaving the ESG sector include concerns about greenwashing and political backlash. That the flight of funds coincides almost perfectly with the start of inflation and turned negative shortly after the Fed began its contractionary policy bias is either not noticed or considered.” ~Peter C. Earle

A Short Guide to ESG: History

“Browsing the websites of ESG-advocating organizations gives the sense that ESG is cutting edge, technologically sophisticated, a wise investment strategy, and the road to increasing profitability.” ~Paul Mueller

Universal Basic Income? Universal High Income?

“Where would the money come from, existing program cuts, higher existing taxes, new taxes, and/or new money creation? Would a UBI simply displace the current hodge-podge of income transfers or add yet another layer?” ~Robert E. Wright

How Did the Social Justice Movement Take Hold?

Join Kate Wand and Barry Brownstein as they discuss the ideological roots of the contemporary social justice movement, emerging from a zero-sum political philosophy of grievance.

Economic Growth Remains One Way Out of Historical Tensions

“When the future looks bright and living standards are rapidly improving, old grudges and tensions lose their relevance. We end up forgetting them because the things ahead look so much more enticing.” ~Vincent Geloso

Politicians’ Job Training and College Sales Pitch is Snake Oil

“Are job training programs actually providing useful training to the people affected by foreign trade? Don’t ask lawmakers. They’d prefer that people give them credit for the intent and ignore questions about outcomes.” ~James M. Hohman

Johan Norberg’s The Capitalist Manifesto: A Review

“What matters for the capitalist story to flourish is that its effect on the world continues to be positive, not whether market actors believe it while embodying its principles.” ~Joakim Book

Timiraos on Supply-Side Disinflation

“Slowing down total spending growth (current-dollar GDP) by hiking interest rates and shrinking the balance sheet clearly mattered. Supply-side improvements do too, but they’re likely playing the role of the sidekick rather than the hero.” ~Alexander W. Salter

Thankful for the Lessons of Failures

“Plymouth was a centrally planned community. Everything was controlled, regulated, and rationed by one central government authority. And like all central planning efforts, the results were scarcity, hunger, and desperation.” ~Thomas Krannawitter

Black Friday 2023 Will Test Consumer Confidence

“Although Black Friday is a day of discounts, rebates, and other sales promotions, examining the price changes in the most-marketed merchandise categories may provide some insights as to what consumers face this year.” ~Peter C. Earle

How to Rationally Consume News

“Most information is noise, and the human brain isn’t equipped for the overload that the modern world throws at us. Don’t clutter your brain with unnecessary stuff.” ~Joakim Book

TikTok: Five Cuts

“Americans already have a license to engage in free speech, in the form of the First Amendment. And if you are thinking that the United States has a long history of anonymous, public speech, you’re right.” ~James Harrigan

How Can We Stop Serving Students So Poorly?

“Efforts to improve things with charter schools have shown some great results, and vouchers are attractive as a means to make educators more responsible to parents than to administrators. But we are still in the early stages of a very long struggle.” ~Gary M. Galles

ESG as an Artifact of Zero Interest Rate Policy

“The reasons attributed to billions of dollars leaving the ESG sector include concerns about greenwashing and political backlash. That the flight of funds coincides almost perfectly with the start of inflation and turned negative shortly after the Fed began its contractionary policy bias is either not noticed or considered.” ~Peter C. Earle

A Short Guide to ESG: History

“Browsing the websites of ESG-advocating organizations gives the sense that ESG is cutting edge, technologically sophisticated, a wise investment strategy, and the road to increasing profitability.” ~Paul Mueller

Universal Basic Income? Universal High Income?

“Where would the money come from, existing program cuts, higher existing taxes, new taxes, and/or new money creation? Would a UBI simply displace the current hodge-podge of income transfers or add yet another layer?” ~Robert E. Wright

How Did the Social Justice Movement Take Hold?

Join Kate Wand and Barry Brownstein as they discuss the ideological roots of the contemporary social justice movement, emerging from a zero-sum political philosophy of grievance.

Economic Growth Remains One Way Out of Historical Tensions

“When the future looks bright and living standards are rapidly improving, old grudges and tensions lose their relevance. We end up forgetting them because the things ahead look so much more enticing.” ~Vincent Geloso