Art Carden
Senior Fellow
Art Carden is a Senior Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research. He is also an Associate Professor of Economics at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama and a Research Fellow at the Independent Institute.
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Bounty Hunters and Privateers in The Mandalorian
Even if we had put bounties of billions on the heads of Osama bin Laden and his henchmen, we likely could have gotten a similar result at a much lower cost than the trillions we have spent on war since 9/11/01. I suspect there would have been a lot less collateral damage.
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We All Depend on the Kindness of Strangers
Again, these are strange and frightening times. I want things to get back to “normal,” or at least as close to normal as they can get, as soon as possible. Until they do, though, I will remain grateful for the strangers who are helping me weather this particular storm.
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The Anatomy of Government Failure in a Pandemic
It likely cannot be fixed by electing or appointing “better” people or by giving regulatory agencies like the FDA bigger budgets. Their failures are a product of their incentives, not their intentions–and until their incentives change, we can expect to see a recurring pattern of government failure.
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Those Shelves Wouldn’t Be Empty If We Hadn’t Stopped “Capitalism”
This is a difficult time for a lot of people, and it’s understandable and admirably humane to want to help others in their time of need. We aren’t doing them any favors, however, by saying that they won’t be allowed to pay very much for a bottle of hand sanitizer they can’t get anyway.
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An Economic Answer to the Question: Why Did Thor Get Fat?
Explaining Thor’s slovenly despair as the product of pizza, TV, and alcohol per se ignores root causes that might be a lot harder to change or dislodge.
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Planning and the Pokemon Problem
People solve the Pokemon problem and show that they are potential trading partners who won’t take advantage of others by tending to their reputations.
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The Best Way to Help Haitians? Help Them Get Out of Haiti
I hope that our children someday look back on restrictions on immigration with the same revulsion and disgust with which we look at slavery.
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•
Forget Exemptions: Grant Everyone Freedom from Tariffs
Instead of granting firms exemptions from the tariffs on a case-by-case basis, let’s grant everyone an exemption and get rid of the tariffs altogether.
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•
Why We Are Wealthy
The Wealth Explosion by Stephen Davies is one of the books the world needs. Much of the growing literature in what is called the “New History of Capitalism” credits (or blames) different kinds of exploitation like slavery, colonialism, and empire for the prosperity of Europe and its overseas offshoots. Some historians argue, for example, that…
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Wandering Oaken Should Be Your Favorite Frozen Character
The recent release of Disney’s Frozen II brings up a lot of very good memories from the last several years. My daughter is nine, which means I know pretty much every line to every song in Disney’s runaway mega-hit Frozen. A few years ago, she was in her grandparents’ living room with her step-cousin Anna.…
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•
Bounty Hunters and Privateers in The Mandalorian
Even if we had put bounties of billions on the heads of Osama bin Laden and his henchmen, we likely could have gotten a similar result at a much lower cost than the trillions we have spent on war since 9/11/01. I suspect there would have been a lot less collateral damage.
-
•
We All Depend on the Kindness of Strangers
Again, these are strange and frightening times. I want things to get back to “normal,” or at least as close to normal as they can get, as soon as possible. Until they do, though, I will remain grateful for the strangers who are helping me weather this particular storm.
-
•
The Anatomy of Government Failure in a Pandemic
It likely cannot be fixed by electing or appointing “better” people or by giving regulatory agencies like the FDA bigger budgets. Their failures are a product of their incentives, not their intentions–and until their incentives change, we can expect to see a recurring pattern of government failure.
-
•
Those Shelves Wouldn’t Be Empty If We Hadn’t Stopped “Capitalism”
This is a difficult time for a lot of people, and it’s understandable and admirably humane to want to help others in their time of need. We aren’t doing them any favors, however, by saying that they won’t be allowed to pay very much for a bottle of hand sanitizer they can’t get anyway.
-
•
An Economic Answer to the Question: Why Did Thor Get Fat?
Explaining Thor’s slovenly despair as the product of pizza, TV, and alcohol per se ignores root causes that might be a lot harder to change or dislodge.
-
•
Planning and the Pokemon Problem
People solve the Pokemon problem and show that they are potential trading partners who won’t take advantage of others by tending to their reputations.
-
•
The Best Way to Help Haitians? Help Them Get Out of Haiti
I hope that our children someday look back on restrictions on immigration with the same revulsion and disgust with which we look at slavery.
-
•
Forget Exemptions: Grant Everyone Freedom from Tariffs
Instead of granting firms exemptions from the tariffs on a case-by-case basis, let’s grant everyone an exemption and get rid of the tariffs altogether.
-
•
Why We Are Wealthy
The Wealth Explosion by Stephen Davies is one of the books the world needs. Much of the growing literature in what is called the “New History of Capitalism” credits (or blames) different kinds of exploitation like slavery, colonialism, and empire for the prosperity of Europe and its overseas offshoots. Some historians argue, for example, that…
-
•
Wandering Oaken Should Be Your Favorite Frozen Character
The recent release of Disney’s Frozen II brings up a lot of very good memories from the last several years. My daughter is nine, which means I know pretty much every line to every song in Disney’s runaway mega-hit Frozen. A few years ago, she was in her grandparents’ living room with her step-cousin Anna.…