The Project on Global Economic Liberty was established as socialism and central planning were collapsing worldwide. Under the direction of Ian Vásquez, the Project seeks to demonstrate that a country's domestic policies and institutions are the primary determinants of its economic progress and that the best path toward development is one based on open markets, private property rights, and the rule of law. Through publications, conferences, and policy forums, scholars in economic development studies address a range of issues including international financial crises, debt forgiveness, the informal economy, policy reform, the effectiveness of International Monetary Fund and World Bank lending, public pension privatization, the transition from socialism to the market, and globalization. The Project's emphasis on unilateral liberalization as the most effective way to achieve economic growth is the logical outgrowth of its research.

Highlights

• "The Globalization of Human Well-Being" by Indur Goklany (August 22, 2002).
• "Fixing Argentina," by Kurt Schuler (July 16, 2002).
• "Rethinking the Export-Import Bank," by Aaron Lukas and Ian Vasquez (March 12, 2002).
• "Argentina's Current Political-Economic Crisis," by Steve Hanke (March 5, 2002)
• "Dollarization, Still the Best Choice for Argentina," by Kurt Schuler (February 8, 2002)
• "How to Dollarize In Argentina Now," by Steve H. Hanke and Kurt Schuler (January 2, 2001)
• "A Retrospective on the Mexican Bailout," by Ian Vasquez (Winter 2002).
• "Argentine Endgame: Couple Dollarization with Free Banking" by Steve H. Hanke (December 4, 2001).
• "Report from Havana: Time for a Reality Check on U.S. Policy toward Cuba," Jonathan G. Clarke and William Ratliff, (October 31, 2001).
• "Liberating Workers: The World Pension Revolution," José Piñera (October 2001).
• "Ending Mass Poverty," Ian Vásquez (September 2001).
• The Current State of Chile's Private Pension System , testimony by L. Jacobo Rodríguez (July 31, 2001).
• The Case Against Capital Controls: Financial Flows, Crises, and the Flip Side of the Free-Trade Argument, Christopher Hartwell (June 14, 2001).
• Re-Authorize or Retire the Export Import Bank?, Ian Vásquez (May 8, 2001).
• Cato Handbook for Congress: Policy Recommendations for the 107th Congress: Cuba, International Financial Crises and the IMF, The International War on Drugs, and Foreign Aid and Economic Development.
• A Policy toward Cuba That Serves U.S. Interests, by Philip Peters (November 2, 2000).
• The Return to a Global Economy, by Ian Vásquez (November 2000).
• "A Chilean Model for Russia," by José Piñera in Foreign Affairs (September/October 2000).
• The Greening of the World Bank: A Lesson in Bureaucratic Survival, by James M. Sheehan (April 12, 2000).
• "The Search for Global Monetary Order," The Cato Journal, 20 (1).
• "The Role of Multilateral Institutions in African Development," by Ian Vásquez in Law and Policy in International Business 30 (4), Georgetown University Law School.

Books:

• Economic Freedom of the World: 2002 Annual Report, by James Gwartney and Robert Lawson (2002)
• Against the Dead Hand: The Uncertain Struggle for Global Capitalism, by Brink Lindsey (2002).
• The Race to the Top: The Real Story of Globalization," by Tomas Larrson (2001)
• Economic Freedom of the World: 2001 Annual Report, by James Gwartney and Robert Lawson (2001).
• Global Fortune: The Stumble and Rise of World Capitalism, edited by Ian Vásquez (2000).
• From Subsistence to Exchange and Other Essays, by Peter Bauer (2000)
• Economic Freedom of the World: 2000 Annual Report, by James Gwartney and Robert Lawson (2000)
• Economic Freedom of the World: 1998-1999 Interim Report by James Gwartney and Robert Lawson (1998)
• The Revolution In Development Economics, edited by James A. Dorn, Steve H. Hanke and Alan A. Walters (1998)
• China in the New Millennium: Market Reforms and Social Development, edited by James A. Dorn (1998)
• Renaissance: The Rebirth of Liberty in the Heart of Europe, by Václav Klaus (1997)
• Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995, by James Gwartney, Robert Lawson, and Walter Block (1996)
• Perpetuating Poverty: The World Bank, the IMF, and the Developing World, edited by Ian Vasquez (1994)
• Africa Betrayed by George B. N. Ayittey (1992)
• Prosperity Versus Planning: How Government Stifles Economic Growth, by David Osterfeld (1992)
• Peasant Betrayed: Agriculture and Land Reform in the Third World, by John P. Powelson and Richard Stock (1990)
• Meltdown: Inside the Soviet Economy, by Paul Craig Roberts and Karen LaFollette (1990)
• Economic Reform in China: Problems and Prospects, edited by James A. Dorn and Wang Xi (1990)
• South Africa's War against Capitalism by Walter E. Williams (1989)

• Repairing the Lender-Borrower Relationship in International Finance, by Ian Vásquez (September 27, 1999).
• Chile's Private Pension System at 18: Its Current State and Future Challenges, by L. Jacobo Rodríguez (July 30, 1999).
• Replacing Potemkin Capitalism: Russia's Need for a Free-Market Financial System, by Kurt Schuler and George A. Selgin (June 7, 1999).
• In Praise and Criticism of Mexico's Pension Reform, by L. Jacobo Rodríguez (April 14, 1999).
• U.S. Assistance for Market Reforms: Foreign Aid Failures in Russia and the Former Soviet Bloc, by Janine R. Wedel (March 22, 1999).
• A Dollarization Blueprint for Argentina, by Steve H. Hanke and Kurt Schuler (March 12, 1999).
• The Global Financial Architecture, The Cato Journal 18(3).
• Official Assistance, Economic Freedom, and Policy Change: Is Foreign Aid Like Champagne? The Cato Journal 18(2), by Ian Vásquez.
• The International Monetary Fund: Challenges and Contradictions, Ian Vásquez (September 28, 1999).
• The International Monetary Fund: Has Congressional Conditionality Made It More Effective? Ian Vásquez (March 9, 1999).
• The Case for a Russian Currency Board System, by Steve H. Hanke (October 14, 1998).
• Time to Terminate the ESF and the IMF, by Anna J. Schwartz (August 26, 1998).
• Free Rider: South Korea's Dual Dependence on the U.S., by Doug Bandow (May 19, 1998).
• The IMF and U.S. International Policy, William Niskanen (May 5, 1998).
• The United Nations Debt: Who Owes Whom?, by Cliff Kincaid (April 23, 1998).
• The International Monetary Fund, Ian Vásquez (April 21, 1998).
• The Export-Import Bank, Ian Vásquez (July 17, 1997).
• Help or Hindrance: Can Foreign Aid Prevent International Crises? by Doug Bandow (April 25, 1997).
• Uncle Sam as Investment Banker: The Failure of Washington's Overseas Investment Funds, by Doug Bandow (September 19, 1996).
• The World Bank's Procurement Myth, by John G. Thibodeau (September 4, 1996).
• A Miasma of Corruption: The United Nations at 50, by Stefan Halper (April 30, 1996).
• Venezuela: From Showcase to Basket Case, by Roger Fontaine (March 25, 1996).
• Mexico: Policy Failure, Moral Hazard, and Market Solutions, by W. Lee Hoskins and James W. Coons (October 10, 1995).
• A New Aid Policy for a New World, by Doug Bandow (May 15, 1995).
• The World Bank's Finances: An International S&L Crisis, by Patricia Adams (October 3, 1994).
• The Somali Crisis: Time for an African Solution, by George B.N. Ayittey (March 28, 1994).
• Washington's Dubious Crusade for Hemispheric Democracy, by Ian Vásquez (January 12, 1994).
• European Monetary Reform: The Pitfalls of Central Planning, by Kevin Dowd (December 27, 1993).
• Soft Assistance for Hard Russian Reform, by Karen LaFollette (June 3, 1993).
• Doing What We Can for Haiti, by Ian Vasquez (November 5, 1992).
• Foreign Aid and India: Financing the Leviathan State, by Shyam J. Kamath (May 6, 1992).
• Currency Convertibility: A Self-Help Blueprint for the Commonwealth of Independent States, by Steve H. Hanke and Kurt Schuler (January 22, 1992).
• Washington's Iron Curtain against East European Exports, by James Bovard (January 7, 1992).

Events:

• "Debt Relief for Poor Countries: Are the World Bank and IMF Doing the Right Thing?" (July 2001) a policy forum featuring Adam Lerrick of Carnegie Mellon Univeristy, Michael Hadjimichael of the IMF, and Ian Vasquez of the Cato Institute.
• "Plan Colombia: Should We Escalate the War on Drugs?" (March 2001) a policy forum featuring Russel Crandall of Davidson College, James Mack of the U.S. Department of State, and Ian Vasquez of the Cato Institute.
• "In Defense of Free Capital Markets: The Case Against a New International Financial Architecture," (March 2001) a book forum featuring author David DeRosa of Yale University, Andrew Berg of the International Monetary Fund and Steve Hanke of Johns Hopkins University.
• The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else, (September 2000) a luncheon with author Hernando de Soto.
• "Market Liberalism in India" (September 2000) a luncheon with Barun Mitra, head of the Liberty Institute based in New Delhi.
• "Globalization, the WTO and Capital Flows: Hong Kong's Legacy, China's Future," (September 2000) a conference in Hong Kong cosponsored with the Hong Kong Centre for Economic Research featuring Richard Wong, director of the Centre, Joseph Yam, head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Sun Jianyong, Deputy Director General of China's Department of Social Insurance Funds Supervision.
• "Whither the Financial Services Industry After the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999?" (April 2000) a policy forum featuring Randall Kroszner of the University of Chicago, William Niskanen of the Cato Institute, and Robert Litan of the Brookings Institution.
• Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot, (April 2000) a book forum featuring coauthor Carlos Alberto Montaner and American Enterprise Institute scholar Mark Falcoff.
• From Subsistence to Exchange and Other Essays, (March 2000) a reception featuring author Peter Bauer and Nobel laureate in economics James Buchanan.
• "The Cuban Economic Embargo: Time for a New Approach?" (February 2000) a policy forum featuring Representative Mark Sanford, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Secretary Thomas Donohue, and Lexington Institute scholar Philip Peters.
• "The Future of Liberty in Latin America" (November 1999), by Distinguished Lecturer Mario Vargas Llosa, internationally renown author and former candidate for the presidency of Peru.
• Unintended Consequences: The Impact of Factor Endowments, Culture, and Politics on Long-Run Economic Performance (November 1999), a book forum featuring Deepak Lal, Professor of International Development Studies, UCLA.
• The Crisis in Global Interventionism (June 1999), a day-long conference featuring experts from four continents who discussed why recurring financial turmoil should provide a warning to countries that would move away from the free market. Participants also talked about the struggle between state corporatism in its various forms and laissez faire. Participants included Deepak Lal, Professor of International Development Studies at UCLA, and Sen. Don Nickles (R-OK).
• "Time for Mexico to Become a High-Growth Country" (May 1999), a Cato policy forum featuring Fausto Alzati, Centro Internacional Lucas Alemán para el Crecimiento Económico (Guanajuato, Mexico), and Roberto Salinas León, TV Azteca (Mexico City).
• "Is Foreign Aid Like Champagne? Assessing Overseas Assistance" (March 1999), a Cato policy forum featuring David Dollar, World Bank, and Nicholas Eberstadt, Harvard University.
• "Dollarization for Latin America?" (March 1999), a policy forum featuring Steve Hanke, Johns Hopkins University, Guillermo Calvo, University of Maryland, and William Niskanen, Cato Institute.
• "How the Russian Crisis Was Manufactured" (January 1999), a policy forum featuring Andrei Illarionov, Institute of Economic Analysis, Moscow.
• China as a Global Economic Power: Market Reforms in the New Millennium (June 1997), a conference in Shanghai, China.
• The United Nations and Global Intervention (October 1996), a full-day conference at the Cato Institute examining the UN's peacekeeping, social, and economic agenda.
• Getting it Right: Markets and Choices in a Free Society (June 1996), a book forum with Robert Barro, Robert C. Waggoner professor of economics at Harvard University.

Studies:

• "Six Policy Priorities for Mexico," by Roberto Salinas-León.
• "Ghana's Break From Authoritarianism and World Bank Tutelage: A Ghanaian Vision of Democratic Capitalism," by George B. N. Ayittey.
• "International Banking Regulation: Where's the Market Discipline?" by L. Jacobo Rodríguez.
• "The Case Against Capital Controls: Financial Flows, Crises, and the Flip Side of Free Trade," by Christopher Hartwell.
• "The Global Anti-Money-Laundering Crusade" by Brad Jansen.
• "Globalization Myths and Realities," by Lorenzo Bernaldo de Quirós.
• "The High Cost of Trade Protectionism in the Developing World," by Ian Vásquez.