In 1983, Professor Bruce Yandle of Clemson provided an economic perspective on prohibition. His paper, “Bootleggers and Baptists: The Education of a Regulatory Economist,” described how an alliance of bootleggers and Baptists, who for quite different reasons, had incentives to seek restrictions on the Sunday sale of alcohol. Baptists sought moral improvement, while bootleggers supported […]

Each summer FREE organizes and hosts a series of small academic conferences in the Bozeman area. In addition to academics and professional environmentalists, we work with opinion leaders and decision makers throughout America. Our arena is public policy focused on environmental issues viewed broadly. We foster understanding and are non-partisan. FREE has involved Article III […]

Many of my friends are worried about their future and that of our nation. This is surely understandable. Jobs are insecure, retirement funds are dissipating, and our governments are poised to become significantly more intrusive and constraining. As a result of these obvious problems, many fear that American policies are moving us toward the European […]

The fallout from global economic recession ripples through Montana. In addition to unsettling lives, the economic downturn has important consequences for Montana’s energy policies. Here are some. Governor Schweitzer hopes Montana can be a leading producer of synthetic fuels, and he’s advocated for the construction of a 22,000 barrel-per-day coal to liquid plant near Roundup. […]

Exit interviews are normally comprised of questions posed to employees who leave an organization. It’s hard and expensive to replace good workers, and the causes of departure may need to be remedied. I believe exit interviews could be useful in another context; they could be given to contributors who terminate or reduce support for an […]

Over the past year we’ve made several modest improvement on our ranch. Hence, I’ve had the pleasure of observing and sometimes working with men who move and manipulate the concrete furniture of the world. They use machinery and tools to mold solid and liquid material into useful and pleasing products of long life. Their activities […]

With Bozeman’s boom fading or gone, focus turns to the likely impact of the stimulus upon employment. Naturally, some recall FDR’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) of 1935. This was one of many New Deal programs known by their letters and widely appreciated for their results. We still benefit from Forest Service trails and structures constructed […]

The version of the economic stimulus bill lumbering through Congress contains a pernicious provision barring foreign steel and iron from infrastructure projects and requiring that all such projects use only American-made equipment and goods. Steel and iron manufacturers and labor unions no doubt promote these “Buy American” provisions. But can they explain how banning inexpensive, […]

People employ state power when moral persuasion fails. Politically legitimized coercion and constraint can generate hugely beneficial reform. The Voting Rights Act of 1964 is one example; environmental laws provide other examples. In contrast, America’s Eighteenth Amendment, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol for consumers’ pleasure, was a huge failure. Industrial alcohol remained legal […]

“The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.” -F.A. Hayek, The Fatal Conceit On a family trip to Nicaragua we saw workers digging a multi-mile ditch in preparation for laying communication lines. The workers were using picks and shovels; we saw […]