Regulatory Studies

Parental Leave: Is There a Case for Government Action?

Paid parental leave provides workers with financial compensation during temporary absences following the birth or adoption of a child. Private companies often provide paid leave and the federal government mandates 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave. Some policymakers have pushed for further government action. They claim that government-supported leave would markedly improve workers’ lives by improving labor-market outcomes and reducing gender inequality. In a new paper, Cato scholar Vanessa Brown Calder provides economic research and federal data that suggest otherwise.

Candy-Coated Cartel: Time to Kill the U.S. Sugar Program

For decades, the federal government has been operating a program to control the production and importation of sugar. One of the program’s main purposes is to ensure minimum price levels for sugar that are typically significantly higher than those found on international markets, leading to higher costs for U.S. consumers. As a result, the federal government is, in essence, the leader of a nationwide sugar cartel. In a new paper, Cato scholar Colin Grabow explains the origins of the sugar program, and evaluates opportunities for its potential reform or abolition.

Tesla Takes On Michigan

In the area of technology and startup innovation, new market entrants routinely find themselves besieged by analog-age incumbents hijacking the levers of government in an attempt to squelch competition. Nowhere is that phenomenon more apparent than at the state and local level. In a new paper, technology entrepreneur and former federal prosecutor Will Zerhouni looks at Michigan legislative restrictions on Tesla as a case study of state and local interference with free-market operations.

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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 examines the Act in greater detail and evaluates options for reform.