Thousands of world leaders have gathered in the Swiss Alps, as the four-day-long World Economic Forum began today in Davos. Among the messages the elites heard was one written by Pope Francis which touched on the importance of family, human dignity, and the role of “the entrepreneurial world” in fulfilling the “moral imperative” to create an uplifting economy for all. Forum attendees should work toward eradicating unemployment, corruption, and unethical technological developments. The address – which was written on January...

Do you ever stumble upon a fact that seems like it must have some significance but you just can’t figure out what it might mean? That’s how I feel seeing the ratio of economists to clergy in major metro areas. Paul Winfree of N58 Policy Research looked at piled from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to calculate that ratio. He found that Washington, DC has “10 economists for every one member of the clergy, whereas in New York City...

In his popular book, Coming Apart, Charles Murray examined the key drivers of America’s growing cultural divide, concluding that America is experiencing an “inequality of human dignity.” Such a divide, Murray argues, is due to a gradual cultural drift from our nation’s “founding virtues,” one of which is “industriousness.” “Working hard, seeking to get ahead, and striving to excel at one’s craft are not only quintessential features of traditional American culture but also some of its best features,” Murray writes...

Oxfam has just released its annualreport, and the media have dutifully covered its conclusion that “82% of all growth in global wealth in the last year went to the top 1%, while the bottom half of humanity saw no increase at all.” Here are five significant concerns every Christian should have with it: Inequality is not the same as poverty The report admits, “Between 1990 and 2010, the number of people living in extreme poverty (i.e. on less than $1.90...

WhenJames Blaineintroduced his ill-fatedconstitutional amendmentin 1875, he probably never would have imagined the unintended consequences it would have over a hundred years later. Blaine wanted to prohibit the use of state funds at “sectarian” schools (a code word for Catholic parochial schools) in order to inhibit immigration. Since the public schools instilled a Protestant Christian view upon its students, public education was viewed as a way to stem the tide of Catholic influence. While the amendment failed in Congress, supporters...

Note: This is post #65 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. In this video by Marginal Revolution University, Tyler Cowen discusses asymmetric information, adverse selection, and propitious selection in relation to the market for health insurance. Health insurance e in a range of health, but to panies, everyone has the same average health. Consumers have more information about their health than do insurers. How does this affect the price of health insurance? Why would some consumers prefer to...

In surveying the damage caused by arbitrary increases to the minimum wage, our attention is typically drawn to stunted job growth among low-skilled workers or tragic tales of shuttered businesses. But are there other deleterious effects beyond those felt in business and the labor market? What about the impact on the actual price of goods?We are constantly told that businesses will simply “pass along the costs” to the consumer, but does the data actually prove that out? If so, which...

Capitalism is routinely ridiculed as an enemy of the “true artist,” with much of the finger-pointing bent toward profit and efficiency. Such forces, we are told, inevitably cause creators to drool only for money, care nothing for beauty, and cater exclusively mon consumer tastes. Yet while free economies introduce a range of unique challenges for artists and consumers alike, economic empowerment has also led to plenty of artistic empowerment as well: putting more time, resources, and creative capacity in the...

Many politically progressive Christians have latched on to the concept of a “Jubilee year” as a biblically endorsed excuse for debt cancellations and as a way to “dismantle economic inequality.” But as a new study by Charles A Goodhart and Michael Hudson explains, Jubilee Years didn’t originate in ancient Israel, they weren’t really about egalitarianism, and they can’t readily be applied outside of agrarian based economies. Here are a few highlights from their paper: The Israelites borrowed the idea from...

In this week’s Acton Commentary, we have an excerpt from On Islam by Abraham Kuyper (Lexham Press, Acton Institute, 2017). Islam in Algeria requires a short explanation. The Muslims in Algiers, insofar as they are Berbers, are of weak faith. To the extent that they abide by Islamic tradition, they are primarily Malikites, although Hanafism is steadily gaining ground. But they hardly bother with the faith’s formal demands, quietly put forward their own traditions under the name ofadaa, and participate...