In Canada, pressure against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax is mounting, as Manitoba did a sudden about-face on its intention to impose a $25-per-tonne carbon price this fall. The Canadian…
The trial-and-error based profit and loss mechanism, says Howard Baetjer, is an indispensable tool for guiding discovery and innovation in the economy.
Editor: The following essay by American Experiment Founder and Senior Fellow Mitch Pearlstein, “Poverty, Culture & Marriage,” was released as part of “The Tenth Annual Celebration of John Brandl and…
It’s always a satisfying day when something is written about how ideas truly do matter in American life, with many of the most important and influential ideas conceived, refined, and…
Thousands of French police fired tear gas and used water cannons against demonstrators who have been protesting French President Emmanuel Macron’s new taxes on diesel fuel, the most popular fuel in…
Diesel prices in France have skyrocketed more than 23 percent over the last 12 months and French motorists already spend more than $7.00 per gallon, USD. Despite these enormous costs, French…
Continuing his discussion of prices, Howard Baetjer explains what can go wrong when outside interference prevents genuine market prices from emerging.
An industrial wind facility in Kewaunee County, Wisconsin has been decommissioned after just 20 years of service because the turbines are no longer cost effective to maintain and operate. The decommissioning…
Prices, explains Howard Baetjer, are a powerful tool for getting people the knowledge they need to cooperate with one another in the market.
Minnesota’s new teacher licensure reforms bring effective improvements to a previously badly broken and complex licensing system. Finally, after a seven-year effort, the state’s teacher licensing system has been overhauled…
It has been decades since Congress addressed retirement plans in a comprehensive way; the Left is capitalizing on that by getting states to offer defined benefit plans for low-income private…
Minnesota faces a severe shortage of firewood. But why?
Having discussed supply and demand separately, Howard Baetjer explains how, together, they describe the way markets operate.
Howard Baetjer explains the “supply” half of “supply and demand.”
“How much hotter is your hometown than when you were born?” That’s the inflammatory headline of the New York Times interactive tool designed to demonstrate on a personal level that…
Howard Baetjer explains the “demand” half of “supply and demand.”
Angry anti-pipeline protesters crashed the party at The Theater of Public Policy Monday evening, as eco-activists who oppose building new pipelines to safely and efficiently transport oil decided the show…
Minnesota teachers pay dues to two national unions, the NEA and AFT, as well as the state union, Education Minnesota. In fact, the bulk of teachers’ dues goes to national…
Coming out of Election Day two weeks ago, much has been said and written about how conservatives and Republicans generally did lousy in suburbs across the country, and how they…
Building on the concept of opportunity cost, Howard Baetjer explains how specialization and trade make us richer.
Patrick J. Michaels is the director of the Center for the Study of Science at the Cato Institute. Michaels is a past president of the American Association of State Climatologists…
If they keep this up, the rabble-rousers opposed to the Enbridge 3 pipeline replacement project may yet prove there’s something to the layman’s definition of insanity. The hard-core group of…
Minnesota is now on track to spend $2.03 billion for about 15 miles of track. Note that you can add road lanes for about 10% of that cost. My theory…
All economic behavior occurs at the margin. The decisions of economic actors are “bit by bit” decisions, not all-or-nothing ones.