As epidemiologists scramble to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on public health, economists are evaluating its impact on the global economy. Experts in both fields absorb the flurry of data, interpret it through their scientific training and the lens of similar historical events, and endeavor to recommend a path forward. Continue Reading...
Latest Posts
April 03, 2020
Creativity will kill COVID-19
It is in the most desperate of times that we must not forget our principles. Globally, we are facing desperate times. In the United States, unemployment rolls doubled in just one week, climbing to 6.6 million unemployment claims for the week ending March 28, 2020. Continue Reading...
April 02, 2020
Service is love for our God and our clients
For the Italian Nuova Bussola Quotidiana media outlet, I am publishing a series of short reflections on economics, virtue and spirituality during Lent entitled Lentenomics (go here for the first reflection on “sacrifice”). Continue Reading...
April 02, 2020
No one knows what a return to ‘normalcy’ after COVID-19 will look like
At some point, not today but perhaps in the next few weeks, we will be having more conversations about getting people back to work and restoring the $21 trillion U.S. economy. Continue Reading...
April 01, 2020
April Fools’ Day: Italians are not joking around anymore as civil unrest builds
Culturally the first of April – April Fools’ Day – is the same in Italy as in America. It’s a day of practical jokes and laughs. Only here it’s called April Fish Day, because it is related to the ancient end of the Pisces or Fish sign in the zodiac. Continue Reading...
April 01, 2020
Acton Line podcast: How to talk about rights in our polarized age
Today, our most contentious controversies are about morality. We disagree about questions of efficiency and democracy, but across political aisles, we also disagree about what’s right to do and who we’re becoming as a people. Continue Reading...
April 01, 2020
FAQ: Did Viktor Orbán just become a dictator?
On Monday, Hungary’s parliament passed a law aimed at combating the coronavirus, which gives Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the power to rule by decree. Critics warn this law gives the prime minister dictatorial powers and could allow him to suppress opposition media outlets. Continue Reading...
March 31, 2020
Government bailouts and debt: further thoughts on the coronavirus crisis
Rev. Robert Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute, reflects on the unprecedented levels of debt that our society is taking on in the name of fighting the coronavirus. How tolerant are we becoming to the government’s interventions? Continue Reading...
March 31, 2020
Jon Basil Utley, RIP
I had the privilege of being close to Jon Basil Utley (1934-2020) for the last 25 years of his life. Even though we disagreed on a few topics, we always did it with a smile. Continue Reading...
March 31, 2020
How are free-market think tanks doing on social media?
Alejandro Chafuen, Acton’s Managing Director, International, posted his annual analysis of think tanks’ use of social media last week in Forbes. He wrote:
Due to the coronavirus pandemic think tanks around the world are working under quarantine and have cancelled all events in the coming months. Continue Reading...