debt

  The size of government matters because it shapes how much room remains for private choice, enterprise and investment. From a classical liberal perspective, government provides an essential framework for markets, but expanding its responsibilities carries costs. Taxation reduces the resources people can allocate themselves and can weaken incentives to work, save and invest. Public […]

  Earlier this month, U.S. gross federal debt exceeded $40 trillion. Some $10 trillion has been added in the past four and a half years. This debt level creates an increasingly difficult situation, as it is no longer so easy for the U.S. Treasury to place its securities at auction while preserving adequate market liquidity. […]

  America’s midterm congressional campaigns are now underway, marked by clamor over the so-called “affordability crisis.” Although driven primarily by Democrats, the hand-wringing narrative is prompting candidates across the political spectrum to propose all manner of government measures to correct purported market failures. But such interventions are, more often than not, the cause of higher […]

It is about the plans of the UK government to launch a decade-long programme of ‘investment’ in industry, infrastructure and Net Zero, greatly expanding the state’s role in the economy. The programme is to be funded entirely with new debt of £1.64 trillion: the same amount as the spending programme. This is 58% of the […]

We are pleased to announce a new collaboration between the Institute for Research in Economic and Fiscal Issues (IREF) and the European Center for Austrian Economics Foundation (ECAEF), focused on publishing a series of articles on economic and fiscal topics. It emphasizes our commitment to independent thought, academic freedom, and critical inquiry.   Introduction Governments […]