by Dan Mitchell | May 14, 2014 | Blogs, Economics, Europe, Free Market
While theory is important, I suspect most people are more likely to be convinced by real-world evidence. This is why I frequently compare nations when arguing that free markets and small government are the best way of generating prosperity. Simply stated, I want...
by Dan Mitchell | May 12, 2014 | Blogs, Economics, Free Market
In the battle of ideas, supporters of capitalism and economic liberty sometimes face an uphill climb because of a perception of heartlessness. When companies get in trouble, we’re the mean people who don’t want to give bailouts. When workers are laid off, we’re the...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 30, 2014 | Blogs, Economics, Free Market
Using a comparison of Jamaica and Singapore, I recently argued that growth should trump inequality. Simply stated, a growing economic pie is much better for poor people that incentive-sapping redistribution programs that trap people in dependency. In other words,...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 29, 2014 | Blogs, Economics
There’s a new book by French economist Thomas Piketty, called “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” that supposedly identifies the Achilles’ Heel of the market economy. Piketty argues that the rate of return to capital is higher than the economy-wide growth rate and...
by Dan Mitchell | Apr 11, 2014 | Blogs, Economics, Free Market
In the pre-World War I era, the fiscal burden of government was very modest in North America and Western Europe. Total government spending consumed only about 10 percent of economic output, most nations were free from theplague of the income tax, and the value-added...
