Trump Is Still Losing His Own Trade War
The president’s tariffs have hiked prices and harmed consumers.
Economics
Rory Sutherland on How Red Bull Explains Why Capitalism Is Great
The Ogilvy ad man and Alchemy author says Ludwig von Mises is his hero and that efficiency has nothing to do with free markets.
How Many COVID-19 Infections and Deaths Did Lockdowns Avert?
Two new studies create counterfactual pandemic scenarios seeking to answer that question.
Will Big Labor Give the Boot to Police Unions? Be Skeptical.
Union leaders show very little interest in considering collective bargaining’s role in protecting bad cops.
Negative Interest Rates Will Damage an Already Crippled Economy
Some economists believe that a negative interest rate policy will stimulate the economy by reducing the cost of loans. That isn’t how it has worked in practice.
China Is Not Coming Close To Meeting Its Import Goals Under the 'Phase One' Trade Deal
That's probably because those goals were always completely unrealistic. Less than six months after the deal was signed, it's already coming apart.
3 Libertarian Tips for the #DefundPolice Movement
Reducing law enforcement requires more than merely cutting and shifting a budget.
The COVID-19 Recovery Is Starting. Extending 'Bonus' Unemployment Benefits Will Slow It.
If Congress extends boosted temporary unemployment benefits into early 2021, nearly five out of every six beneficiaries would be earning more money by not working.
Markets Are Finding Ways To Survive the COVID-19 Shutdowns
Even after government had imposed an almost unfathomable level of intervention on the economy, the markets are chugging along much better than expected.
Face Mask Volunteers DIY Their Own Kind of Division of Labor
Making masks, face shields, and other protective equipment is the bottom-up, COVID-19 version of rolling bandages or knitting socks for the troops.
Is a Universal Basic Income Program Worth the Costs?
There are problems with the UBI idea.
Michael Munger Says 'Price Gouging' Gives Us Information We Need
Such laws end up causing more shortages than they solve, especially during a crisis.
Police Unions and the Problem of Police Misconduct (Updated)
The available evidence suggests that police unions are a major obstacle to holding rogue police officers accountable.
Congress' Pathetic Effort at Revoking Trump's Trade War Powers Has Failed
Sen. Chuck Grassley says it's dead because lawmakers feared upsetting the president.
It's Going To Be Hard Enough To Get Kids Back to Day Care After COVID-19
The pandemic has exposed many of America’s destructive barriers to work. It’s time to eliminate them.
Charitable Giving Helps Mitigate the Impact of COVID-19. What's Wrong With That?
Rather than criticize the charitable donations of the very rich, we should be grateful for them.
Josh Hawley Wants To Wreck America's Economy To Own the Libs
In a Senate floor speech Wednesday, Hawley outlined a half-baked plan to tear down global trade. It's aimed at winning elections, not helping America prosper.
L.P. Presidential Candidate Jacob Hornberger Wants 'To Live in a Free Society'
The longtime activist is the front-runner for the L.P. presidential nomination and has a special message to young people.
South America Won the U.S.-China Trade War
Two economists calculate that U.S. farms lost $14 billion because of retaliatory tariffs, while South American countries boosted their exports by $13 billion to fill the gap.
Red Bull Is Disgusting. And It Perfectly Captures Why Capitalism Is So Great.
Ludwig von Mises is “my hero,” and free markets have nothing to do with efficiency, says Ogilvy ad man Rory Sutherland.
Twitter Is Shifting to Remote Work. Will Other Firms Follow?
Will changes to how many of us work outlast the pandemic?
Ghost Kitchens Can Help Feed New Yorkers While the City Is a Ghost Town
Regulations are making it harder for restaurants in NYC to adapt to COVID-19.
Is the Stock Market's Response to COVID-19 Optimistic or Just Plain Nuts?
It may be a statement about the decline of the dollar, but the best-case explanation of the resilient stock market is that it is sending us a positive message about a rapid recovery of both public health and corporate profits.
In Zimbabwe, It's Crisis as Usual
A new round of hyperinflation was taking a heavy toll on daily life, even before the coronavirus hit.
Creativity Flourishes, Even Amid a Pandemic
Marveling at people's endless ability to love, connect, and create.
Would Gov. Cuomo Rather Have No Businesses in New York Than Businesses That Employ Fewer People?
His proposed law would require that corporations return bailout funds if they don't rehire the same number of employees.
America's Long-Term Debt Crisis Is Now a Short-Term Problem
Even in a healthy economy, rising debt and deficits posed challenges. The current crisis has magnified those problems.
Quarantine Fatigue and the Social End to the Coronavirus Pandemic
What might learning to live with COVID-19 look like?
Working From Home May Be a Permanent Feature of the Post-Pandemic World
That has interesting implications for where people will base themselves in the future.
Open Borders vs. COVID-19: A Soho Forum Debate
Center for Immigration Studies' Mark Krikorian debates George Mason University economist Bryan Caplan on immigration and coronavirus.
Coronavirus Curfews Are Counterproductive and Un-American
Making businesses close early will not stop the spread of COVID-19.
We Need Economists, Civil Libertarians, and Epidemiologists in the COVID-19 Discussion
The tradeoffs among considerations of health, prosperity, and liberty are catching up with us even if we don't want to acknowledge them.
Sen. Josh Hawley's Plan To Abolish the World Trade Organization Is Based on Fake Economics and False History
Hawley is charting the next path for the Trump-style anti-trade nationalism that has infected the Republican Party.
Texas Will No Longer Send People to Jail for Violating Strict Social Distancing
Gov. Greg Abbott made the change after a Dallas salon owner was jailed for reopening her salon.
Andrew Cuomo's Morally Grotesque Rationale for Maintaining COVID-19 Lockdowns
Even the president is a better moral philosopher than New York's governor.
'This Was Avoidable': Michigan Republicans Sue Governor Over Emergency Response to Coronavirus
Some lawmakers allege that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has overstepped the bounds of her authority.
New CRISPR Coronavirus Test Could Be a Pandemic 'Game-Changer'
Cheap accurate testing would enable the safe reopening of the U.S. economy.
'Feeding My Kids Isn't Selfish': Salon Owner Gets Jail Time for Reopening in Dallas
Texas salons are allowed to reopen on Friday. Shelley Luther will be sitting in jail.
The Coronavirus Butterfly Effect
Global manufacturing is an intricate ecosystem of specialized players, their fates closely intertwined.
The Trump Administration Is Still Charging 25 Percent Tariffs on Disinfectants Used To Combat COVID-19
"The tariff is making it more difficult for companies to supply our nation's essential workers with antiseptics and sanitizing products they need."
Masks Can Be a Symbol of Privacy and Personal Responsibility, Not Tyranny
Plus: Family Dollar guard murdered over mask enforcement, doctors see "multisystem inflammatory syndrome" in kids with COVID-19, and more...
It's 'Access' to Birth Control Versus Employer Beliefs Again at the Supreme Court
The Obamacare contraception mandate continues to cause legal trouble.
Lockdown Is Ending, Whether Governments Approve or Not
Executive orders may have encouraged the lockdowns, but they always depended on voluntary behavior.
America Wasn't Ready for Coronavirus
Early takeaways from the country's response to a pandemic
What It's Like To Be a Rational Optimist in a Pandemic
Matt Ridley on how the coronavirus caught him by surprise, the crucial role of dissent in politics, and the importance of innovation for survival
The Seen and the Unseen of COVID-19
As long as it's neither safe nor legal to conduct normal business, Bastiat's seen economic activity is beyond our reach. The unseen doubly so.
Sen. Josh Hawley Wants a Bogus Criminal Investigation Into Amazon
The lawmaker says that the company's data practices violate antitrust law. They do not.
