Competition is good—but only when it encourages a “race to the top.” That’s true in business and among the states as well. Competition can encourage policy innovation. For example, Pennsylvania carefully (but reasonably) regulates hydraulic fracturing, and it is reaping the benefits as companies create jobs by safely extracting oil …
In the latest issue of the journal Democracy, Michael Wahid Hanna identifies Seven Pillars of the Arab Future. First on his list: economic growth and equality. Among the troubling Middle East economic indicators highlighted by Hanna are low economic growth, inequality, and high unemployment, especially for youth. He identifies five …
Despite billions of dollars in unused loan authority remaining under the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office, negative publicity surrounding the loan guarantee programs (which offer taxpayer dollars to government-approved companies) has tampered with applications, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. More than $51 billion in …
Although Hugo Chavez just died last week in Caracas, economic freedom predeceased him in Venezuela by at least a decade. When Chavez took power in 1999, the Venezuelan economy was rated at 54 points out of 100, according to The Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal’s annual Index of Economic Freedom. This …