What Causes Wealth (and Dishonesty and Greed)?

A recent national Pew Research Center survey has found conflicting opinions regarding many Americans’ view of the rich: As Republicans gather for their national convention in Tampa to nominate a presidential candidate known, in part, as a wealthy businessman, a new nationwide Pew Research Center survey finds that many Americans believe the rich are different than other people. Continue Reading...

You Didn’t Kill That Business On Your Own

After relating how city regulations in Chattanooga, Tenn., helped kill a small business, economist Mark J. Perry offers a sympathetic sentiment for failed entrepreneurs: To paraphrase President Obama: Look, if you’ve been unsuccessful, you didn’t get there on your own. Continue Reading...

Demographic Winter is Coming

I was a guest on today’s Coffee & Markets podcast, where we discussed the complex challenges facing America as reflected in recent demographic trends. What do declining birthrates across the developed world indicate? Continue Reading...

What is a social entrepreneur and why do they matter?

There is a lot of talk today about “social entrepreneurs.” What is a social entrepreneur, and how does that differ from a business entrepreneur? Why do social entrepeneurs matter? According to the Ashoko website: Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. Continue Reading...

Lawlessness Keeping India in the Dark

Earlier this month, India experienced the worst blackout in global history. Over 600 million people—more than double the number of people in the U.S. and nearly one in 10 people in the world—were left without power. Continue Reading...

Get an MBA, Save the World

If you want to work in international development, says Charles Kenny, go work for a big, bad multinational company: Kids today — they just want to save the world. But there is more than one way to make the planet a better place. Continue Reading...

Teacher’s Union: We Want to Help You By Suing You

For decades teachers’s unions have been giving teachers—and unions—a bad name. A prime example is the intimidation tactics used by Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE): A Louisiana teachers union is threatening private schools with legal action if they accept money from a new voucher program – and the threat has already forced at least one school to put its participation in the program on hold. Continue Reading...