In the past three years New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts have announced plans to build offshore wind farms that would generate hundreds of megawatts of power. Massachusetts and New Jersey have already awarded building contracts to panies and New York is in the process of reviewing bids. With an energy sector that is facing more and more pressure to decarbonize, the expansion of offshore wind is likely. But there is a major hurdle in the way. One rarely discussed...

One of the abiding joys of working at a think tank like the Acton Institute is that interesting people are always asking you big questions. I was recently asked, “Why should Christians support free markets?” The question is large, interesting, and necessitates the answering of a more basic question first, “Why should Christians be interested in economics?” Adam Smith, and his many antecedents, began crafting the analytical tools which we e to call economics in response to phenomena which they...

Jair Bolsonaro pleted his first 6 months as the president of Brazil. After nearly being killed by a socialist militant during his campaign and a surprising victory in the 2018 elections, the conservative politician has, against the odds, plished what few people could have imagined. In fact, a year ago, few were those who could have predicted Bolsonaro’s presidency. Nonetheless, Bolsonaro faces a troubled political scenario, an inheritance left by 14 years of leftist government. Bolsonaro has, so far, kept...

In the world of Brexit, Trump, Marine Le Pen, Viktor Orbán and all the rest, “nationalism” has e all too frequent a topic. In the 20th century the term became associated with fascism (the word es from “national,” after all), but the story of nationalism goes back much farther than Nazism and isn’t nearly so one-sided a concept as it’s often made out to be. Does nationalism necessarily lead to aggression and prejudice? If I may start with a platitude,...

Economist and Aquinas College Executive V.P. Stephen P. Barrows has been named Managing Director of Programs at the Acton Institute. Barrows, who also holds the titles of Provost and Dean of Faculty at Aquinas in Grand Rapids, begins his work at Acton on July 30. “I am delighted to be joining the Acton Institute and am eager to connect others to Acton’s inspiring and life changing ideas,” Barrows said. “Having benefited from the Acton Institute’s programming and seen its impact...

You may have head the apocryphal quote, often attributed to Martin Luther, that, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” But it turns out that planting trees today may help prevent the world from going to pieces tomorrow. A study published last week in the journal Science finds that the “restoration of forested land at a global scale could help capture atmospheric carbon and mitigate climate change.” As...

Leonard Read’s immortal essay “I, Pencil” has persuaded more people of the wonders of the free market than possibly any parable work – so many that the BBC recently posted an article attacking it. However, anyone reading both articles will conclude that Read’s es out looking sharper. The mere fact that Read’s article can still elicit rebuttals 60 years after it appeared in theDecember 1958 issueof FEE’sThe Freemanis testimony to its significance. As such a powerful and persuasive essay, it...

Alaska’s university system is currently facing $130 million in funding cuts to an annual budget of $900 million, which included $327 million in state funding last year. These potential cuts have sparked criticism from researchers at other universities, University of Alaska President James Johnsen, Alaskan state legislators, and citizens. If the cuts stemmed from a budgetary crisis, perhaps the response would have been gentler. However, Alaska’s Governor Mike Dunleavy is seeking to give the money back to Alaskans each year,...

Several decades of social science has shown a correlation between joblessness among disadvantaged youth and violent crime. While remediation has not been shown to lead to prevention, there is some evidence that summer jobs can. For example a2015 study published in the journal Science found that giving disadvantaged youth a summer job significanty reduces violent crime: In a randomized controlled trial among 1,634 high school youth in Chicago, assignment to a summer jobs program decreased violence by 43 percent over...

One of the truths lawmakers across the transatlantic sphere must grasp is simple yet seemingly self-contradictory: Higher tax rates sometime lead to lower government revenue. This is one tradition which has deeper roots in the U.S. than in Europe, thanks to economist Arthur Laffer and the influence of his “Laffer Curve.” Now, the Acton Institute’s friend, Etienne Chaumeton, has translatedan article on that topic into French forReligion & Liberty Transatlantic. “La courbe de Laffer vérifiée… au Canada” explains how Canada’sFraser...