Category Economics

In my previous column I identified some illiberal policies that, although I wish these had never been put into place, I’d not now eliminate immediately with the push of a button. I advocate instead that these policies be wound down…

As states periodically consider renewing and increasing economic development incentives, they would do well to consider the problem of the Winner’s Curse. The Winner’s Curse is a common result of competitive auctions, where the bidder who “wins,” say, a used…

Though he’s best known for his powerful metaphor of “the invisible hand,” philosopher and proto-economist Adam Smith saw a role for government in setting market conditions.  The founding father of economic liberalism believed government force was necessary to structure the…

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) moved forward with an anticipated 25-basis-point increase in its federal funds rate target on Wednesday. It no longer, however, “anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate in order to attain…

Peter C. Earle, AIER Research Faculty and former Wall Street trader, joins AIER Senior Editor James Harrigan and Antony Davies on the Words & Numbers podcast to talk about what happened to Silicon Valley Bank. Earle outlines how the bank…

February’s inflation data were an unwelcome surprise. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew at a continuously compounding annualized rate of 4.4 percent on the month. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, grew 5.4 percent. The Fed still…

In his instructive political fable, The Awakening of Jennifer Van Arsdale, George Leef writes, “Liberalism is the one philosophy that requires no enemies… It minimizes conflict and calls upon people to resolve whatever problems arise through peaceful means.” By liberalism,…

The AIER Leading Indicator remained essentially neutral in February 2023, maintaining the level of 58 from the previous month. Our Roughly Coincident Indicator rose from 50 to 92 in February 2023, with the Lagging Indicator falling from 50 to 33.…

Ever since Aaron Burr gut-shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804, the legacy of the most controversial Founder and Framer has been fought over by people from throughout the political spectrum. Stephen F. Knott built a career studying Hamilton’s…

From early in 2020 until well into 2022, government officials in most countries imposed an array of draconian policies that were said to be necessary to protect the populace against COVID-19. In supposedly democratic nations like the United States, Great…