Economic misconceptions persist due to misguided intuitions that overlook complex factors, a preference for principles over outcomes, the influence of epistemic bubbles, and political tribalism. Despite frequent refutation flawed ideas endure, requiring constant vigilance from economists.
-
Economist and Revolutionary – Adam Smith and 1776
Samuel Gregg examines Adam Smith’s analysis of the economic drivers behind the American Revolution. He highlights Smith’s revolutionary solutions for resolving the conflict and concludes by applying these enduring insights to contemporary global issues.
-
Permission to Earn a Living: History, Economics, and the Ethics of Occupational Licensing
Where occupational licensing exceeds genuine public safety needs, it substitutes centralized judgment and political privilege for the preferences of consumers and workers.
-
The Economics of Zoning, Explained
What are zoning laws, how do they work, and what are their economic effects?
-
A Brief History of Federal Transfers to the States
This explainer traces the evolving, mutually dependent relationship between the federal government and the states through four pivotal eras of fiscal transfers: the Antebellum Land Grants, the Civil War, the New Deal, and the Great Society.
