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.

Income Inequality Rightly Understood 

“Any discussion of income inequality that fails to address whether the source added value for others or simply extracted unearned rents, is not merely incomplete, but misleading.” ~Robert Mulligan

Tariff Truths

“President Biden has maintained his predecessor’s duties on some $370 million worth of Chinese imports. Both national conservatives and liberal protectionists are dead wrong about tariffs and growth.” ~Tarnell Brown

Unleashing the Power of Free Markets

“The granting of monopolies was being abused by the crown, and parliament determined to do something about it. Over time, it became obvious that granting monopolies had an adverse impact on the English economy.” ~Will Sellers

America’s DEI Commissars Threaten Freedom

“Today, people are told they are victims or victimizers. Victims expect the government to remedy their grievances… The pursuit of social justice would undermine equal treatment under the law.” ~Barry Brownstein

Milton Friedman Was More Like F.A. Hayek Than He Likely Knew

“While both men won the Nobel Prize in economics – Hayek in 1974 and Friedman in 1976 – economists regard the scholarly work of Hayek as differing almost categorically from that of Friedman.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux

Business Conditions Monthly December 2023

“Inflation expectations have edged higher, raising concerns about the erosion of purchasing power and living standards. In the lead-up to the November presidential elections, policymakers and market participants will closely monitor future economic data releases to gauge the trajectory of inflation and its implications for the broader economy.” ~Peter C. Earle

E Unum Pluribus?

“A divisive diversity of special rights and special treatment for those favored by government must necessarily come at the expense of equal rights for all.” ~Gary M. Galles

Harwood Economic Review 90 Years of New Perils

AIER’s dedication to classical liberalism drives us to address both long standing and unforeseen challenges to American values. This issue tackles emergent threats to freedom: wokism, growing Fed mandates, and ESG among others. As threats to liberty expand, our commitment to safeguarding fundamental American ideals does as well.

Industrial Policy Indignities

“Some low-value-added manufacturing, once economically sensible to do stateside, should now take place elsewhere. The alternative is tying up American workers in less-than-productive jobs.” ~David B. McGarry

Emergent Order in Inner Space

“In other words, the hand is invisible not because it is deftly hiding in the shadows, but because it isn’t there at all.” ~Paul Schwennesen

Coats, Pencils, and Division of Knowledge

“‘Wonder’ is not too strong a word to describe a social process that allows us to get so much bread and so much clothing for so little sweat of our brows.” ~Art Carden

China is Scaring Away Investors

“Xi expects business as well as people to serve the CCP. As authoritarian controls metastasize throughout the economy, everyone suffers.” ~Doug Bandow

America Can’t Afford Bidenomics

“The euphoria surrounding the January 2024 jobs report is misplaced. Policymakers should heed these warning signs and enact meaningful reforms to address root causes.” ~Vance Ginn

Two Kinds of Transitory Inflation

“Team Transitory’s narrative just doesn’t cohere. Whether we’re trying to explain the Great Inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s, or the inflation of the past two years, we need to rely on demand-side mechanisms.” ~Alexander W. Salter

New AIER Podcast: Econception

Experience the debut episode of AIER’s newest podcast ‘Econception,’ hosted by Dominic Pino. The economy is complicated, but markets work.

Public Choice Sheds Light on the Bipartisan Tax Deal

“If Congress really wanted to give taxpayers relief, it could have let Americans keep more of the money they earn, instead of having Americans jumping through hurdles to claim deductions with the hope of getting some of their money back.” ~Thomas Savidge

Reforms for West Virginia’s Future

“You could say the state is mired in the economic theories and nostrums of the past, a Great-Depression-era philosophy of government jobs and ‘managed’ competition.” ~William Ruger and Jason Sorens

Income Inequality Rightly Understood 

“Any discussion of income inequality that fails to address whether the source added value for others or simply extracted unearned rents, is not merely incomplete, but misleading.” ~Robert Mulligan

Tariff Truths

“President Biden has maintained his predecessor’s duties on some $370 million worth of Chinese imports. Both national conservatives and liberal protectionists are dead wrong about tariffs and growth.” ~Tarnell Brown

Unleashing the Power of Free Markets

“The granting of monopolies was being abused by the crown, and parliament determined to do something about it. Over time, it became obvious that granting monopolies had an adverse impact on the English economy.” ~Will Sellers

America’s DEI Commissars Threaten Freedom

“Today, people are told they are victims or victimizers. Victims expect the government to remedy their grievances… The pursuit of social justice would undermine equal treatment under the law.” ~Barry Brownstein

Milton Friedman Was More Like F.A. Hayek Than He Likely Knew

“While both men won the Nobel Prize in economics – Hayek in 1974 and Friedman in 1976 – economists regard the scholarly work of Hayek as differing almost categorically from that of Friedman.” ~Donald J. Boudreaux

Business Conditions Monthly December 2023

“Inflation expectations have edged higher, raising concerns about the erosion of purchasing power and living standards. In the lead-up to the November presidential elections, policymakers and market participants will closely monitor future economic data releases to gauge the trajectory of inflation and its implications for the broader economy.” ~Peter C. Earle

E Unum Pluribus?

“A divisive diversity of special rights and special treatment for those favored by government must necessarily come at the expense of equal rights for all.” ~Gary M. Galles

Harwood Economic Review 90 Years of New Perils

AIER’s dedication to classical liberalism drives us to address both long standing and unforeseen challenges to American values. This issue tackles emergent threats to freedom: wokism, growing Fed mandates, and ESG among others. As threats to liberty expand, our commitment to safeguarding fundamental American ideals does as well.

Industrial Policy Indignities

“Some low-value-added manufacturing, once economically sensible to do stateside, should now take place elsewhere. The alternative is tying up American workers in less-than-productive jobs.” ~David B. McGarry

Emergent Order in Inner Space

“In other words, the hand is invisible not because it is deftly hiding in the shadows, but because it isn’t there at all.” ~Paul Schwennesen

Coats, Pencils, and Division of Knowledge

“‘Wonder’ is not too strong a word to describe a social process that allows us to get so much bread and so much clothing for so little sweat of our brows.” ~Art Carden

China is Scaring Away Investors

“Xi expects business as well as people to serve the CCP. As authoritarian controls metastasize throughout the economy, everyone suffers.” ~Doug Bandow

America Can’t Afford Bidenomics

“The euphoria surrounding the January 2024 jobs report is misplaced. Policymakers should heed these warning signs and enact meaningful reforms to address root causes.” ~Vance Ginn

Two Kinds of Transitory Inflation

“Team Transitory’s narrative just doesn’t cohere. Whether we’re trying to explain the Great Inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s, or the inflation of the past two years, we need to rely on demand-side mechanisms.” ~Alexander W. Salter

New AIER Podcast: Econception

Experience the debut episode of AIER’s newest podcast ‘Econception,’ hosted by Dominic Pino. The economy is complicated, but markets work.

Public Choice Sheds Light on the Bipartisan Tax Deal

“If Congress really wanted to give taxpayers relief, it could have let Americans keep more of the money they earn, instead of having Americans jumping through hurdles to claim deductions with the hope of getting some of their money back.” ~Thomas Savidge

Reforms for West Virginia’s Future

“You could say the state is mired in the economic theories and nostrums of the past, a Great-Depression-era philosophy of government jobs and ‘managed’ competition.” ~William Ruger and Jason Sorens