Doing Well in Doing Good

Can capitalism work for charity? Economists are no strangers to knee-jerk argumentation. Their soundest arguments are often those that strike most sharply at the beliefs non-economists hold dear, and statistics are not often enough to unseat them. Conventional wisdom, then, would suggest that Dan Pallotta should lower his expectations for the controversial argument laid out … Read more

Comeback to the Future

A proposal for rejuvenating the Republican Party American conservatism is in disarray. Democrats won decisively in the 2006 midterm and 2008 presidential elections. Once reliably conservative constituencies like married couples and regular churchgoers are shrinking in size, and young voters voted overwhelmingly Democratic. Conservatism is out of power and out of steam. With both the … Read more

Beyond Borders: An Introduction

Confronting global challenges in a more interconnected world “A wise man’s country is the world,” Aristippus, an ancient Greek philosopher, once said. Many others have since echoed his sentiment that individuals ought to identify with broader humanity rather than with nations.  In more recent decades, astronauts have joined this chorus, suggesting that a world without … Read more

After the Oil Price Crash

Understanding the impact on oil-exporting countries On June 23, 2008 the price of oil peaked at over U.S. $140 a barrel, and by the following February fell drastically to below $39 a barrel. As Venezuela, Russia, and oil-dependent economies across the Middle East saw their oil revenues dry up over the course of a few … Read more

A Persistent Evil

How the world can end human trafficking Some evils are hard to shake. To the surprise of many, an estimated 27 million people are currently enslaved worldwide. As a result of human trafficking, people across the globe are routinely coerced into exploitive relationships for the monetary benefit of others, often for the purpose of forced … Read more