Solving Egypt’s Subsidy Problem

Egypt is running out of resources to sustain its subsidy system, but amidst continued political unrest, reforming the entrenched system presents an especially difficult challenge. In a new paper, Cato scholar Dalibor Rohac demonstrates why reform is needed now and presents a realistic proposal that can be successful in the current political environment: immediately eliminate all subsidies in favor of cash transfers.

“Solving Egypt’s Subsidy Problem,” by Dalibor Rohac

Transit Spending Harms Growth

Contrary to the claims of many transit advocates, regions that spend more money on transit seem to grow slower than regions that spend less.

Cato senior fellow Randal O'Toole tackled the data and found that transit spending is not likely to support more rapid growth. Rather, to the extent that there is a causative relationship between transit spending and growth, transit spending has a greater influence on growth than growth has on spending.

Obamacare Web Problems Just the Tip of the Iceberg

Obamacare’s computer glitches reduced the president’s healthcare plan to fodder for late-night TV comedians. But in some ways the president was fortunate that the computer fiasco temporarily obscured the even bigger and more consequential problems facing the law. Cato scholar Michael D. Tanner summarizes Obamacare’s first month: “You may not be able to keep your current insurance plan; you may not be able to keep your current doctor; you are probably going to have to pay more; and the entire program could come crashing down in an adverse-selection death spiral.”

Multimedia

PODCAST: "The Politics and Policy of Employment Discrimination"

PODCAST: "Two Proposed NSA Reforms Emerge"

November's Cato Unbound: The Federal Reserve at 100

We have now had 100 years of central banking. So what do we have to show for it? Has the Federal Reserve been worth it? If not, what should we do?

That’s the topic of this month’s Cato Unbound, edited by Cato research fellow Jason Kuznicki. Opinions do differ on these questions, of course, and our all-star panel will present a variety of viewpoints, starting with Cato Senior Fellow Gerald P. O’Driscoll, Jr., who argues that a central bank is unnecessary in a classical regime of commodity money and free banking. George Mason University Professor Lawrence H. White, Bentley University Professor Scott Sumner and former Cleveland Federal Reserve President Jerry L. Jordan will all weigh in as well.