International economics

May 04, 2015

The Freedom Of Free Trade

At The Stream, Anne Bradley writes about the freedom that free trade brings. Why does free trade matter? We live in a world of scarcity: we have unlimited wants and limited means (resources) to satisfy those wants. Continue Reading...

August 27, 2014

Some Thoughts on Economic Patriotism

The Burger King acquisition of Tim Hortons and the resulting plans to move the corporate headquarters under the taxing authority of the Canadian government is being derided by some as unpatriotic. Continue Reading...

July 02, 2014

What Christians Should Know About Comparative Advantage

Note: This is the latest entry in the Acton blog series, “What Christians Should Know About Economics.” For other entries in the series see this post. The Term: Comparative advantage What it Means: The ability of an individual or group of individual (e.g., Continue Reading...

April 10, 2014

How Bitcoin Could Help the World’s Poor

Bitcoin is dead, long live Bitcoin. A few weeks ago the IRS killed off any chance that Bitcoin could become a mainstream currency. That’s probably for the best since it clears the way for it to become something much more important: the world’s first completely open financial network. Continue Reading...

February 05, 2014

The Boring Work Of Development

Helping people get out of poverty is hard, dirty work. It isn’t glamorous. Most of those involved do not get to wander around the developing world wearing cool blue shades and giving sound bites. Continue Reading...

September 03, 2013

PovertyCure International Short Film Festival: Human Flourishing On Film

PovertyCure, an international coalition of more than 250 organizations and 1 million individuals (the Acton Institute is a founding partner), is seeking entries for their International Short Film Festival, slated for December 12, 2013 in New York City. Continue Reading...

April 16, 2013

What Christians Should Know About Bitcoin (Part 3 of 3)

[Note: This is the third entry in a three part series. You can read the introductory post here and part two here.] The Disadvantages of Bitcoin For people who are not obsessed with anonymity and are not waiting for the U.S. Continue Reading...

March 28, 2013

Diaspora-Driven Development

The African diaspora—nearly 140 million Africans live abroad—is such a major source of foreign income that it now outstrips foreign aid sent by Western donors. The money these expatriates send back home is collectively worth far more than the development donations sent by Western financial institutions, says Adams Bodomo: The exact amount of these remittances is unknown because not all of it is sent through official banking channels. Continue Reading...

February 22, 2013

Trade, Aid, and Bumper Sticker Strategy

In the forthcoming issue of Comment magazine, I examine how free trade orients us towards the good of others. In doing so, I argue against the value of pious banalities and cheap slogans. Continue Reading...

February 08, 2012

Samuel Gregg: The Vatican’s Calls for Global Financial Reform

In the journal Foreign Affairs, Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg offers an analysis of the Vatican’s recent pronouncements on economic policy, most notably the document issued in October titled “Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority” (also called “The Note”). Continue Reading...

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