Protesters were drawn to Miami last week as negotiators worked on the Free Trade Area of the Americas pact. One of the protestors’ concerns is that free trade is creating a “race to the bottom” in which developing countries lower their environmental standards to attract international business. But their fears are misplaced. Here’s why. At […]

All modern societies are critically dependant upon bureaucracies. These organizations, be they for-profit, nonprofit, or governmental, are central to our well-being. Hospitals, schools, courts, and supermarket chains are all bureaucracies. They constitute our institutional environment. The natural tendency of a bureaucracy is to defend and perpetuate itself and to resist change. Private bureaucracies, however, differ […]

Last Fourth of July weekend I hiked up Mt. Baldy, a low summit in the small yet lovely Bridger Mountain Range just north of Bozeman, Montana. I started the hike from the “M” trailhead, surely the most traveled trail in Gallatin County. Mt. Baldy too is a popular local destination. One expects company out on […]

I recently returned from a seminar sponsored by the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE), and cosponsored by Montana State University. Since these programs have been much maligned by the media, Congress, and interest groups, I’d like to encourage a more balanced discussion by offering my experiences and impressions. FREE hosts a […]