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Begin New Search Topic Economics Content Type Policy Brief Publishing Institution The Cato Institute

21. Has U.S. Income Inequality Really Increased?

Author:
Alan Reynolds
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
There are frequent complaints that U.S. income inequality has increased in recent decades. Estimates of rising inequality that are widely cited in the media are often based on federal income tax return data. Those data appear to show that the share of U.S. income going to the top 1 percent (those people with the highest incomes) has increased substantially since the 1970s.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States

22. Cato Education Market Index Full Technical Report

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The index presented in this report attempts to measure how closely existing school systems resemble free markets and rates education policy proposals on how conducive they are to the rise of competitive marketplaces. We define an education market as a system that provides the freedom for producers and consumers to voluntarily associate with one another, as well as the incentives that encourage families to be diligent consumers and educators to innovate, control costs, and expand their services. It is a system in which schools can offer instruction in any subject, using any method, for which families are willing to pay.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Education, and Markets

23. The Cato Education Market Index

Author:
Andrew J. Coulson
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The index presented in this report attempts to measure how closely existing school systems resemble free markets and rates education policy proposals on how conducive they are to the rise of competitive marketplaces. We define an education market as a system that provides the freedom for producers and consumers to voluntarily associate with one another, as well as the incentives that encourage families to be diligent consumers and educators to innovate, control costs, and expand their services. It is a system in which schools can offer instruction in any subject, using any method, for which families are willing to pay.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Education, and Markets

24. The Bottom Line on Iran: The Costs and Benefits of Preventive War versus Deterrence

Author:
Justin Logan
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
It appears increasingly likely that the Bush administration's diplomatic approach to Iran will fail to prevent Iran from going nuclear and that the United States will have to decide whether to use military force to attempt to delay Iran's acquisition of a nuclear weapons capability. Some analysts have already been promoting air strikes against Iran, and the Bush administration has pointed out repeatedly that the military option is “on the table.” This paper examines the options available to the United States in the face of a prospective final diplomatic collapse.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Economics, and War
Political Geography:
United States, Iran, and Middle East

25. Time to Stop Fooling Ourselves about Foreign Aid: A Practitioner's View

Author:
Thomas Dichter
Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The foreign aid industry has for decades tried one approach after another in an effort to make aid work. A career of field experience in the aid industry, however, confirms the empirical record that aid is unimportant to growth or poverty reduction and suggests that aid is not likely to work in the future. The belief that foreign assistance has been generally ineffective, moreover, appears to be widespread among aid practitioners with long field experience.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Economics, International Cooperation, and United Nations

26. Underdevelopment in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of the Private Sector and Political Elites

Author:
Moeletsi Mbeki
Publication Date:
04-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Economic growth in Africa, as in the rest of the world, depends on a vibrant private sector. Entrepreneurs in Africa, however, face daunting constraints. They are prevented from creating wealth by predatory political elites that control the state. African political elites use marketing boards and taxation to divert agricultural savings to finance their own consumption and to strengthen the repressive apparatus of the state. Peasants, who constitute the core of the private sector in sub-Saharan Africa, are the biggest losers. In order for Africa to prosper, peasants need to become the real owners of their primary asset—land—over which they currently have no property rights.
Topic:
Economics, Human Rights, and Politics
Political Geography:
America

27. The Dominican Republic: Resolving the Banking Crisis and Restoring Growth

Author:
Steve H. Hanke
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
After a decade of rapid economic growth, the Dominican Republic entered a downward spiral in 2003. The economy shrank for the first time since 1990, the inflation rate quadrupled, the Dominican peso collapsed, government debt more than doubled, interest rates soared, and the central bank incurred large losses.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Latin America and Caribbean

28. Monetary Options for Postwar Iraq

Author:
Steve H. Hanke and Matt Sekerke
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Following a swift military campaign to remove the Saddam Hussein government in Iraq, it has become clear that preparations for the postwar period have been inadequate and that the occupying forces lack a workable exit strategy. Specifically, the Coalition Provisional Authority has failed to anticipate the challenges that face the postwar Iraqi economy, including the introduction of sound money to facilitate exchange.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, and Arabia

29. The New Approach to Foreign Aid: Is the Enthusiasm Warranted?

Author:
Ian Vásquez
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The failure of past foreign aid programs has given rise to a new consensus on how to make foreign aid effective. According to the new approach, aid that goes into poor countries that have good policies and institutions is highly effective at promoting growth and reducing poverty. Disbursing aid to countries that have good policies contrasts with the traditional practice of providing aid to countries irrespective of the quality of their policies or providing aid to promote policy reforms. President George Bush's proposed foreign aid initiative, the Millennium Challenge Account, is based on the selective approach to foreign assistance, as are, in large part, the World Bank's calls to double foreign aid flows worldwide.
Topic:
Debt, Economics, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Third World

30. Reauthorize or Retire the Overseas Private Investment Corporation?

Author:
Ian Vásquez and John Welborn
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation is a government agency that provides loans and investment insurance to U.S. companies doing business around the world. Its four-year, renewable charter will expire in September 2003. Proponents of OPIC claim that the agency helps the U.S. economy and promotes economic development abroad.
Topic:
Economics, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States