Cato scholars seek to promote a better understanding around the world of the benefits of market‐liberal policies and institutions, openness and engagement in the global economy, and a principled and restrained foreign policy. Those benefits include notable improvements in human well‐being as countries increase their levels of economic, civil, and personal freedoms. The United States should thus engage the world, trade freely, and work with other countries on common concerns, but avoid trying to dominate the globe militarily.
International
2020 Human Freedom Index
United States Ranks 17th in Sixth Annual Human Freedom Index
The United States ranks 17th in the sixth annual Human Freedom Index (HFI), the most comprehensive measure of freedom ever created for a large number of countries around the globe. The U.S.‘s overall freedom score decreased from the previous year of 2017, from 8.55 to 8.44 on a ten point scale.
Washington Helped ‘Liberate’ Egypt. Today It’s an Authoritarian Dystopia
Yet we still keep funding the repressive Sisi regime. Why?
Biden’s Closed Door Immigration Policies Are Not ‘Open Borders’
What’s concerning isn’t that Biden hasn’t “gotten around to immigration yet.” It’s that he has, and is intentionally choosing to perpetuate one of the worst immigration regimes in American history.
Espionage, Espionage‐Related Crimes, and Immigration: A Risk Analysis, 1990–2019
A cost‐benefit analysis finds that the hazards posed by foreign‐born spies are not large enough to warrant broad and costly actions such as a ban on travel and immigration from China, but they do warrant the continued exclusion of potential spies under current laws.
Despite Modi, India Has Not Yet Become a Hindu Authoritarian State
Indian democracy is flawed, but pessimists claiming that Modi will crush all dissent, abandon secularism, and make India a Hindu state have been proved wrong.
Political Dynasties, Term Limits, and Female Political Empowerment: Evidence from the Philippines
The second half of the 20th century saw women break gender roles and stereotypes in all spheres of life. Despite such dramatic shifts, women are still behind in leadership positions (particularly in politics) in both developed and developing countries.
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Cato Project on Jones Act Reform
The Cato Institute aims to shake up this status quo by shining a spotlight on the Jones Act’s myriad negative impacts and exposing its alleged benefits as entirely hollow. By systematically laying bare the truth about this nearly 100 year old failed law, the Cato Institute Project on Jones Act Reform is meant to raise public awareness and lay the groundwork for its repeal or reform.