Unprofitable Schooling: Examining Causes of, and Fixes for, America’s Broken Ivory Tower

Most economies advance by simultaneously decreasing costs and increasing quality. Unfortunately, when it comes to higher education, this has been turned on its head. Costs keep rising while quality declines. How has this happened? What can be done? A new book, edited by Cato scholars Todd Zywicki and Neal McCluskey, provides a sober and informative assessment of the state of higher education, critically covering historical assumptions, increasing government involvement, reflexive aversion to profit, and other, maybe unexpected, conclusions.

There Is No National Emergency on the Border, Mr. President

President Trump has declared a national emergency on the border to construct some portion of his promised border barrier. Lawyers will no doubt spill much ink arguing about the legalities surrounding the declaration and use of funds. However, according to Cato scholar Alex Nowrasteh, no reasonable person can look at the southern border and agree that it rises to the level of a national emergency.

Overdosing on Regulation: How Government Caused the Opioid Epidemic

Opioid overdose deaths have risen dramatically in the United States over the past two decades. The standard explanation blames expanded prescribing and advertising of opioids beginning in the 1990s. However, a new paper from Jeffrey Miron, Greg Sollenberger, and Laura Nicolae suggests that the opioid epidemic has resulted from too many restrictions on prescribing, not too few. “Rather than decreasing opioid overdose deaths,” the authors argue, “restrictions push users from prescription opioids toward diverted or illicit opioids, which increases the risk of overdose because consumers cannot easily assess drug potency or quality in underground markets.”

Religious Trump Voters: How Faith Moderates Attitudes about Immigration, Race, and Identity

A new public opinion brief by Cato scholar Emily Ekins uses survey data to examine how religious and nonreligious people who voted for Donald Trump think about culture war issues, particularly matters of race, immigration, and identity. Ekins finds that Donald Trump voters who attend church regularly are more likely than nonreligious Trump voters to have warmer feelings toward racial and religious minorities, to be more supportive of immigration and trade, and to be more concerned about poverty.

Recent Commentary

Events

February 28

Trade and American Leadership: The Paradoxes of Power and Wealth from Alexander Hamilton to Donald Trump

Featuring the author Craig VanGrasstek, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; with comments by James Bacchus, Former WTO Appellate Body Jurist; former US Congressman; Adjunct Scholar, Cato Institute; moderated by Daniel Ikenson, Director, Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, Cato Institute.

11:00AM to 12:30PM EST
Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute

February 28

Big Fat Nutrition Policy

Featuring Nina Teicholz, Author, The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet; director of the Nutrition Coalition; adjunct professor, New York University Wagner School of Public Policy; moderated by Terence Kealey, Visiting Senior Fellow, Cato Institute; author, Breakfast is a Dangerous Meal: Why You Should Ditch Your Morning Meal For Health and Wellbeing.

4:00PM to 5:30PM EST
Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute

More Events

Of Special Note

Freedom: Art as the Messenger

Freedom: Art as the Messenger

The Cato Institute welcomes artists working in any medium to address the concept of Freedom: Art as the Messenger. We are living in an era where people are finding their combative voice but having little conversation or dialogue. The goal of this inaugural exhibition is to provide a medium for that conversation.

This exhibition invites all investigative points of view in all media; 2-D, 3-D, audio, and video. A full spectrum of interpretation is invited — whether personal, emotional, general, realistic or imagined, communal, or individual — addressing Freedom in all its manifestations through art.

Special! 10 Copies for $10

Cato Pocket Constitution

To encourage people everywhere to better understand and appreciate the principles of government that are set forth in America’s founding documents, the Cato Institute published this pocket-size edition.

Now Available

Home Study Resources

The Cato Institute offers a wealth of online educational audio and video resources, from self-paced guides on the ideas of liberty and the principles of economics, to exclusive, archived lectures by thinkers such as Milton Friedman and F. A. Hayek. Browse through some highlights of our collections, for personal study or for use in the classroom.

The Jones Act: Charting a New Course after a Century of Failure

For nearly 100 years the Jones Act has restricted the transportation of cargo between two points in the U.S. to ships that are U.S.-built, crewed, owned, and flagged. Meant to bolster the U.S. maritime industry, the Act has instead led to a steady deterioration in the number of ships, sailors, shipyards, and has imposed large economic burdens. This full-day conference examined the Act in greater detail and evaluated options for reform.