On Monday afternoon, David Davis of the UK and Michel Barnier of the EU revealed that their governments had agreed on the shape of their relationship during the first two years after Brexit. Here’s what it will look like: A 21-month transition period: The UK will officially leave the European Union on March 29, 2019. Monday’s announcement adds a 21-month transition period, which will end on December 31, 2020. During this phase, the UK will enjoy all “thebenefits, the advantages...

Throughout its history, the American economy has transitioned from agrarian to industrial to information-driven. In turn, “work with the hands” has e less and mon, replaced by widespread automation and a host of intangible services. Meanwhile, a quiet resurgence in craftsmanship has begun, whether one looks to the massive online marketplaces for handmade goods or the diverse range of specialized artisans who continue to find niches in a globalized economy. Take Jack Martin, owner of Hockaday Handmade Brooms, who still...

In light of Greg Forster’s Acton lecture on Whittaker Chambers, the famous Soviet spy who later converted to Christianity, I recently noted Chambers’ routine reminders munism is not, fundamentally, about a certain menu of economic theories or political tactics. “[Communism] is not just the writings of Marx and Lenin, dialectical materialism, the Politburo, the labor theory of value, the theory of the general strike, the Red Army, the secret police, labor camps, underground conspiracy, the dictatorship of the proletariat, the...

Note: This is post #72 in a weekly video series on basic economics. If money can’t buy happiness, why do we measure standard of living in economic terms, specifically GDP per capita? A primary reason is that increases in real GDP per capita also correlate to improvements in those things money can’t buy, such as health and happiness. In this video by Marginal Revolution University,Alex Tabarrok explains why it’s a helpful measure—and where it falls short. (If you find the...

“Human beings are called to be fruitful, to bring forth good things from the earth, to join with God in making provision for our temporal well being,” according toThe Cornwall Declaration On Environmental Stewardship,of whichActon Institute co-founder Fr. Robert Sirico was an original signer. “Our call to fruitfulness, therefore, is not contrary to but plementary with our call to steward God’s gifts.” This article about transatlantic policies thatput human well-being into opposition with environmental stewardship, whichappeared in MEP Daniel Hannan’s...

Note:This is the latest entry in the Acton blog series, “What Christians Should Know About Economics.” For other entries inthe series seethis post.The purpose of the series is not to present a theology of economics, but simply to provide a basic level of understanding that will help Christians think more clearly about how to apply their mitments to economics and public policy. The Term: Tariffs and Balance of Trade What it Means:Balance of trade is the difference in value over...

In the latest edition of The Independent Review, Gerald P. Dwyer Jr. reviews Samuel Gregg’s For God and Profit: How Banking and Finance Can Serve the Common Good. “The most unusual aspect of Gregg’s book is bination of topics advertised in its very title: For God and Profit,” says Dwyer, “We all know about defenses of free markets. God seldom appears in those arguments. What has God got to do with it?” Catholic social teaching is the framework Gregg uses...

Why are some countries rich while other countries are poor? A primary reason, as economists have been pointing out for hundreds of years, is productivity—the efficient use of such resources as labor and capital. Imagine that panies have the same number of workers and use the same amount of materials to make identical widgets. pany A is able to make 100 widgets in the time it pany B to produce 50 widgets. Company A obviously has some “secret sauce” that...

“While the economic arguments for free trade pelling, the political rationale requires a long-overdue overhaul,” says Samuel Gregg, Acton’s research director. Writing at Public Discourse, Gregg argues that America needs a patriotic case for free trade: So how does free trade bolster America’s standing in the world? Here are three particular benefits that free traders might consider emphasizing. First, free trade helps make America a more economically flexible and disciplined country. Openness to petition prevents, for example, American businesses from...

Former Russian intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia are clinging to life after being attacked with nerve gas in Salisbury. British Prime Minister Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson plan to target the finances of Russian oligarchs in retaliation. Russian elites have spirited their cash to the UK via a dizzying array of British banks, businesses, and luxury properties: British banks reportedly processed $738 million in funds from an elaborate Russian money-laundering scheme known as “The Laundromat”;Transparency...