Note: This is post #24 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. When prices are controlled, the mutually profitable gains from free trade cannot be fully realized, creating what is known as deadweight loss. In this video by Marginal Revolution University, Alex Tabarrok shows how to calculate deadweight loss using our example of a price ceiling on gasoline. (If you find the pace of the videos too slow, I’d mend watching them at 1.5 to 2 times the speed....

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon meets with members of European Parliament. On Monday night, Parliament passed a bill allowing Prime Minister Theresa May to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. On the same day, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for Scotland to hold a second referendum on declaring independence from the UK. Here are five facts you should know about these momentous developments within the transatlantic alliance: 1. The bill...

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte speaks as Geert Wilders looks on. (Richard van Elferen. CC BY 2.0.) As a wave of populism sweeps from Donald Trump’s Oval Office to the Brexit-ravaged headquarters of the European Union in Brussels, observers look to next week’s Dutch elections. Current polls show Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom (PVV) slipping a few seats behind Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy’s (VVD) – but, like Donald Trump, Wilders could outperform...

What do economists actually know? What can they possibly know? Assuming his usual role as the insider skeptic, economist Russ Roberts ponders those questions at length, concluding that far too much economic analysis is conducted and promoted with far too little humility. bination of economics with statistics in plex world promises a lot more than it delivers,” Robertswrites. “We economists should be more humble and honest about the reliability and precision of statistical analysis.” This is especially true in an...

Communicating the underlying pillars of a free and virtuous society is sometimes like describing the Kingdom of God: We can envision it, but detailing its operations to non-believers can be difficult. (This is largely for the same reason – both are so rarely observed upon earth.) Thankfully, the London-based Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has finished releasing a series of brief videos that describe the six pillars of a free society. Dr. Steve Davies, Head of Education at IEA, details...

Embed from Getty Images Bad policy is not transformed into good policy simply because it’s advocated by good people with good intentions. This should be obvious—especially to conservatives—yet it’s a lesson we continually have to relearn. Consider, for example, the case of “opportunity zones.” As National Review reported, last month a bipartisan group of congressmen introduced a new bill called the Investing in Opportunity Act (IOA), which would will allow investors to temporarily delay paying capital-gains taxes on their investments...

Protectionism is often associated with patriotic zeal and concern for America. While citizens should certainly have concern for their nation, protectionist measures do not necessarily secure the economic results desired. Acton’s director of research, Samuel Gregg, writes about the unintended effects of protectionism in a recent article for The Stream. These policies often hurt the very people they’re meant to help. Gregg, while admitting protectionism may be well-intended, indicates the superiority of free trade in bringing about human flourishing. Samuel...

On Mondaythe Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its report on the projected effects of the House Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. Here are five facts you should know about the federal agency that “scores” legislation: 1. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is an independent, nonpartisan federal agency within the legislative branch that provides analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process. (The CBO can sometimes be confused with the Office of Management and...

On February 9th, the Acton Institute ed Micah Watson to the Mark Murray Auditorium to speak on the topic of “C.S. Lewis vs. Democracy” as part of the 2017 Acton Lecture Series. Watson, an associate professor of political science and the William Spoelhof Teacher-Scholar Chair at Calvin College, guides us through an examination of the political thought of the brilliant and celebrated author known primarily for his works offiction and Christian apologetics. Lewis was skeptical of the ability of democratic...

With the recent appointment and confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, the movement for educational choice has plenty of reasons for optimism. Throughout the nomination process, opponents of DeVos ridiculed the school-choice movement for caring little about quality, equality, and opportunity, ignoring that these are the precise drivers of advocates for school choice. Given the abounding confusion and misrepresentation, I was reminded of a wonderful talk given by Professor Howard Fuller at the American Enterprise Institute, in which...