Mercatus Center

Last week, Massachusetts legislators took a step to address housing scarcity in the Bay State, which has led to decades of rising home prices. If it’s signed by Gov. Charlie Baker, Section 18 of the state’s omnibus spending bill (H. 5250) may herald a new approach to local zoning authority, allowing localities deference in means but not the unlimited authority to exclude. Section 18, which originated as standalone bills introduced two years ago, is a “choose your own adventure” preemption. It...

In the final installment of a three-part series on academia and libertarianism, Peter Boettke and David Prychitko finish their conversation by first considering the impact of Prychitko's "The Market Process" on the field and younger scholars. The pair also discuss the role of disagreement within economics and importance of continuing within the tradition of being a lifelong learner. Boettke and Prychitko conclude their conversation by remembering the work of Paul Heyne and others as well as...

Veronique de Rugy explains that the forthcoming COVID relief bill would be better described as an "everything bailout bill." Listen on Soundcloud. 

Tyler Cowen outlines the benefits an open-access future for academic publishing in the post-COVID world. Read more at Bloomberg. 

Emily Hamilton examines the best practices that would help Tysons achieve its goal of becoming "downtown Fairfax." Read more at Greater Greater Washington. 

What's the best way to get people to comply with contact tracing? Read more at Al Arabiya. 

The Mercatus Healthcare Openness and Access Project (HOAP) offers some insights that could help the Texas legislature shape better policies for Texans. Read more at the Dallas Morning News. 

Veronique de Rugy has some advice to help the government avoid repeating the mistakes of 2020. Read more at Creators. 

An agenda that a true majority of Americans, left and right, could embrace would involve fighting corporate welfare, cutting regulations that exacerbate economic inequality, and engaging in a policy-driven debate on criminal justice reform. Read more at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. 

Distribution is complicated, and getting products the last mile to consumers requires decentralization. Middlemen make the system work. Read more at National Review.