Topic: Public Choice and Public Policy

Gain of Function Controversy Demands Greater Scrutiny for Government-Funded Science

– November 2, 2021

“Not every failure of government-funded science is as pervasive as the high-carb diet, as ghastly as the lobotomy, or as controversial as gain of function experiments. But the risk remains as long as the government remains a major funding source for research.” ~ Raymond J. March

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Eyes on the Politicized Prize

– October 12, 2021

“We may conclusively establish that the monopsony scenario of the minimum wage was directly anticipated and discussed by economists for decades before Card and Krueger’s paper.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

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The Great Barrington Declaration One Year On

– October 5, 2021

“Because science has been so completely politicized, it will take years longer to arrive at the truth than would have otherwise been the case. Here, we are left to offer advice with a nearly 2,500-year track record: First, do no harm.” ~ Phillip W. Magness & James R. Harrigan

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Fumento Misdiagnoses Remdesivir

– September 30, 2021

“Remdesivir gives a story of the triumph of innovation during a difficult period. The lesson we should take away is not ‘Do something, anything,’ it is to get government out of the way so we can find solutions.” ~ Raymond J. March

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The Sunk Cost Fallacy in the War on Terror

– September 3, 2021

“A sunk cost is an outlay (monetary or otherwise) that cannot be recouped once made. In economics, we teach our students that sunk costs should not factor into our decision-making.” ~ Abigail R. Hall Blanco

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Book Review: American Contagions: Epidemics and the Law from Smallpox to COVID-19

– August 29, 2021

“What should courts do in these kinds of cases and how should they make the tradeoff between pursuing public health and protecting civil liberties during public health emergencies?” ~ Byron B. Carson III

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Environmentalism as Religion: Unpacking the Congregation

– August 27, 2021

“Academics, such as Vogel et al., have learned to use these tools to stretch their limited findings into a full-blown rallying cry for their own preferred policies; in this case, socialism on a global scale.” ~ Jessica Rood & Ryan M. Yonk

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Who Fact Checks the Fact Checkers? A Report on Media Censorship

– August 11, 2021

“When we see fact checkers like NewsGuard, who not only fail to uphold their high-sounding principles but even publicly encourage working with the government to suppress speech, we should raise red flags.” ~ Phillip W. Magness & Ethan Yang

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The Refusal to Acknowledge Trade-Offs

– August 5, 2021

“In every policy discussion including those around public health, understanding that trade-offs will occur is an important part of the policy process. When we refuse to engage with that reality, we will almost always pay far higher costs than are warranted.” ~ Amelia Janaskie & Ryan M. Yonk

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Fight Covid-19 With Social Capital Not Stringency

– August 4, 2021

“While Covid-19 and its variants are reaching endemic status, people and their communities can play an active role in limiting its spread by bolstering social capital through resuming normal social and economic activities, not by imposing additional lockdowns.” ~ Byron Carson, Justin Isaacs & Anthony Carilli

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How a Psychic Healer Blog Convinced the Government to Fund “Long Covid” Research

– July 27, 2021

“The doors have, sadly, been thrown wide open to psychic healing and alternative wellness gibberish. Lockdowner scientists have, in turn, given these suspect claims and defective survey designs a welcome home in the most prestigious institutions of journalism, government, and the ivory tower.” ~ Phillip W. Magness

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A Conversation on Flaws in China’s Political Economy

– July 11, 2021

“On this episode of the Authors Corner, Ethan interviews AIER Senior Fellow Dr. Ryan Yonk on the development of China’s political economy, which blends authoritarianism with limited markets and civil liberties. They explore the initial history of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, and their modern ‘Socialist state-with Chinese characteristics’ under Xi Jinping.” ~ AIER

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