growth

January 24, 2018

Study: How minimum wage increases hurt consumers and the poor

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? Continue Reading...

June 12, 2017

When Lightning McQueen brought jobs to rural America

“Main street isn’t main street anymore. No one seems to need us like they did before.” Americans continue to face the violent winds of economic change, whether stemming from technology, trade, or globalization. Continue Reading...

January 24, 2017

Lessons from India’s ‘private city’

Given the acceleration of urbanization around the world, many are wondering how local governments and city planners will keep up with the pace. While advocates of free markets routinely argue for fewer top-down restrictions and more privatization of local services, others argue for increased controls and more advanced central planning. Continue Reading...

January 10, 2017

Saltiness and social justice

Does the theological conservatism of a church help or hinder its chances for growth? And what, if any, impact might that have on its social and political witness? In a new research study, sociologist David Haskell and historian Kevin Flatt explore the first of these questions. Continue Reading...

December 13, 2016

Cuba’s pioneers of capitalism: Marcus Lemonis goes to Havana

Although the Cuban people continue to suffer and struggle under the weight of communist rule, many have been encouraged by even the slightest of Raul Castro’s incremental changes toward private businesses. Continue Reading...

July 19, 2016

Deirdre McCloskey on Spiritual Change in the Great Enrichment

In Dierdre McCloskey’s latest book, Bourgeois Equality: How Ideas, Not Capital or Institutions, Enriched the World, she builds on her ongoing thesis that our newfound prosperity is not due to systems, tools, or materials, but the ideas, virtues, and rhetoric behind them. Continue Reading...

December 10, 2015

The 6 Elves of Capitalism

In “The Elves and the Shoemaker,” the famous fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, a cobbler and his wife struggle to survive, barely making enough to eat (never mind investing in the future of their business). Continue Reading...

November 16, 2015

Bourgeois Equality: The Modern World Can’t Be Explained By Material Causes

Economist Deirdre McCloskey is set to release the long-anticipated conclusion of the Bourgeois Era trilogy sometime next spring. The book, Bourgeois Equality: How Ideas, Not Capital or Institutions, Enriched the World, will build on her thesis that our newfound prosperity is not primarily due to systems, tools, or materials, but the ideas and rhetoric behind them. Continue Reading...

October 20, 2015

Raw Craft: The Art of Bookmaking and the Glory of Craftsmanship

Throughout its history, the American economy has transitioned from agrarian to industrial to information-driven. Given our newfound status, manual labor is increasingly cast down in the popular imagination, replaced by white-collar jobs, bachelor’s degrees, and ladder-climbing. Continue Reading...

June 04, 2015

No, Paul Ehrlich, Humans Aren’t Bags of Garbage

In a new mini-documentary, the New York Times kindly confirms what we already know about Paul Ehrlich. His predictions about overpopulation have been astoundingly wrong, and his views about humanity are no less perverse. Continue Reading...

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