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AMLO—IS MEXICO HEADED BACK TOWARD THE ROAD TO SERFDOM?

On Dec. 1, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, better known as AMLO, will become the next President of Mexico for the six-year term of 2018-2024. His stunning victory represents a watershed moment in the nation’s transition to a modern democracy. AMLO won with almost 53 percent of the popular vote; and his party, Morena, was able to ca...

CHOOSING A BIGGER POND: WHY NONPROFIT LEADERS NEED A GLOBAL NETWORK

Without profit motive, can nonprofit leaders be as innovative and successful as their profit-seeking counterparts? As it turns out, there’s a type of motivation that transcends the drive for profit and it can influence the behavior of nonprofit leaders towards improving results as well. It’s called social comparison—and research...

INSTITUTE FOR SPENDING REFORM TARGETS WASTEFUL PENTAGON SPENDING

For many in the United States, whether they be liberal interventionists or conservative defense hawks, military spending cuts are radical and fall far outside of the Overton window. In 2017, the total military expenditure by the U.S. was $610 billion, the largest in the world. The Institute for Spending Reform (ISR), an Atlas Ne...

LITHUANIAN REFORMS LOWER TAX BURDEN FOR 1.3 MILLION

In late June, the Lithuanian parliament consolidated the tax base for the country’s social security contributions and reduced the contribution rate. This reform was a part of the Lithuanian Free Market Institute’s (LFMI) project within Atlas Network’s Leveraging Indices for Free Enterprise Policy Reform, or LIFE, program. The re...

EUROPE THINK TANK SHARK TANK 2018 CONTESTANTS ANNOUNCED FROM BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA, SERBIA, AND UKRAINE

Atlas Network is excited to announce the finalists of this year’s Think Tank Shark Tank — Europe competition, which is sponsored by the Smith Family Foundation and will be held during Europe Liberty Forum from May 29-30 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Three think tank professionals will compete in a showcase of the region’s most excitin...

EASE OF DOING BUSINESS, PROPERTY RIGHTS, AND BLOCKCHAIN: ASIA LIBERTY FORUM 2018

More than 250 people from 30 countries gathered in Jakarta, Indonesia from February 10-11 for Asia Liberty Forum 2018. Hosted by Atlas Network with local co-host the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS), the conference featured several thought-provoking breakout sessions examining the trajectory of liberty, property right...

INSTITUTO MEXICANO PARA LA COMPETITIVIDAD (IMCO) WINS 2017 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD

For the first time in the history of modern Mexican democracy a credible, relevant, and effective anticorruption legal infrastructure exists. It holds Mexican politicians accountable and keeps them honest from the get-go, all thanks to Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad (IMCO)’s revolutionary “3for3” campaign. As of July...

ALEXANDRE PESEY OF INSTITUT DE FORMATION POLITIQUE WINS 2017 THINK TANK SHARK TANK COMPETITION

The winner of Atlas Network’s 2017 Think Tank Shark Tank competition is Alexandre Pesey, founder of Institut de Formation Politique (France), for his pitch to create a civic incubator (“The incubator Le Coquetier”) designed to identify, select, train, coach, and guide intellectual entrepreneurs across France. Through the project...

TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD WINNERS & FINALISTS

Awarded since 2004, the Templeton Freedom Award is named for the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton. The award annually honors his legacy by identifying and recognizing the most exceptional and innovative contributions to the understanding of free enterprise, and the public policies that encourage prosperity, in...

PETAR ČEKEREVAC’S LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT FOR SERBIA WINS 2017 EUROPE THINK TANK SHARK TANK COMPETITION

The winner of the Europe Think Tank Shark Tank competition is Petar Čekerevac – executive manager of Libertarian Club Libek in Serbia – for his organization’s proposed Lighthouse Outlet project to establish an online media outlet bringing together the brightest libertarian minds of Serbia. The proposed online platform will serve...

THINK TANK LEADERS GATHER IN BUDAPEST TO PUSH FOR INNOVATION IN FREEDOM ADVOCACY

One of the improvised strongholds during Hungary's anti-Soviet revolution in October 1956 was the Corvin cinema in central Budapest. Here, ordinary citizens joined hometown soldiers in a spontaneous attempt to take back their government. More recently, the site served as a memorable stop and cause for reflection for a gathering...

UEFF’S WORK TO ABOLISH BAN ON SALE OF AGRICULTURAL LAND IN UKRAINE WINS 2017 EUROPE LIBERTY AWARD

A major spectacle accompanied UEFF’s submission of a constitutional complaint to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, which was signed by 55 People’s Deputies (Members of Ukrainian Parliament). Two UEFF founders – Maryan Zablotskyy and Sergiy Fursa – publicly submitted the complaint to the Constitutional Court, joined by People’...

ATLAS NETWORK-SUPPORTED RESEARCH LINKS EASE OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION

New research supported by Atlas Network demonstrates impact of ease of doing business reforms on poverty.

OVERCOMING THE OUTSIDER’S DILEMMA: CAN PHILANTHROPISTS HELP THE DEVELOPING WORLD?

Today’s top-down, economic development aid model is unavoidably flawed. The nature of economic development requires idiosyncratic solutions that can’t be successfully designed or administered by outsiders. Instead, locally grown solutions aimed at transforming the institutional environment in favor of market growth, primarily th...

THINK TANKS IN BRAZIL, CANADA, GHANA, MEXICO, U.S. NAMED FINALISTS FOR 2017 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD

Awarded since 2004, the Templeton Freedom Award is named for the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton. The award annually honors his legacy by identifying and recognizing the most exceptional and innovative contributions to the understanding of free enterprise and the public policies that encourage prosperity, inn...

2017 AFRICA LIBERTY FORUM TACKLES CONTINENT’S BARRIERS TO PROSPERITY AND OPPORTUNITY

During Africa Liberty Forum 2017, more than 125 influencers and think tank professionals from 16 countries gathered to discuss the best and the brightest work breaking down the barriers to prosperity and opportunity on the continent. Sponsored by Atlas Network with organizing host the South Africa-based Free Market Foundation (F...

PROMOTING LIBERTY IN SPAIN THROUGH GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM

Spain has long had excellent think tanks that specialize in the economic aspects of freedom, and carry out the crucial work of producing high-level academic, theoretical papers. In 2015, though, a group of Spanish libertarians were concerned about the need to develop a more engaging approach toward civil society — a task that we...

POLL SHOWS THAT GREEKS TURN AWAY FROM BIG GOVERNMENT AS THEY SEEK JOBS AND GROWTH

The Greek economy has deteriorated steadily during the past eight years of unprecedented fiscal collapse, and the people may finally be fed up with big government, runaway spending, public-sector corruption, and job-killing regulations. A recent in-depth survey, published by the daily Kathimerini newspaper and the new think tank...

SLOVAKIA’S CATALYST FOR CHANGE

Modern Slovakia is like night and day compared to its years under communist rule, before the 1989 Velvet Revolution hastened the end of communist control, ultimately dissolving the Soviet Union in 1991. The nation has forged its own path since its Velvet Divorce separated Slovakia from the Czech Republic only two years after tha...

PULLING THE ANDON CORD: USING TEAMS TO MAKE DECISIONS

In the early 1980s, the workers at a General Motors plant in California had become so disillusioned with their jobs that they sometimes sabotaged the quality of the cars on purpose. The plant began to perform so poorly that the company shut it down. That failure, though, is only the first part of a great turnaround story. In a s...

ASIA LIBERTY FORUM SPOTLIGHTS EFFORTS TO REDUCE BARRIERS TO PROSPERITY IN THE REGION

Asia Liberty Forum brought together more than 225 leaders, advocates, and think tank professionals from 22 countries to explore the work being done to break down the barriers to prosperity in the region.

LFMI CASE STUDY SHOWS HOW STUDENTS ARE GETTING AN ECONOMIC EDUCATION FOR THE FUTURE

In 2002, Lithuania added economic education to its national school curriculum, mandating that 9th or 10th grade students take 31 hours of classroom study. Teachers, many of them working out of their field, struggled to make outdated textbooks relevant to their students, especially as the available material emphasized government-...

INVESTIGATORY POWERS ACT SUBJECTS UK TO DYSTOPIAN SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY

Intelligence agencies and police in the United Kingdom have been secretly using unauthorized techniques to eradicate what they defined as online “safe spaces,” where criminals, terrorists, and paedophiles are believed to hide. In 2015, the U.K. government proposed legislation to make these techniques lawful, and ultimately passe...

INEQUALITY, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF MOBILITY

For Christmas, our five-year-old son Sebastian wants a Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage. Our two-year-old daughter Arianna will also play with those cars, although we will continue to try to get her to like dolls. Despite these presents and all the presents in the years to come, however, my wife and I think the best present we ever co...

LITHUANIAN FREE MARKET INSTITUTE ‘ECONOMICS IN 31 HOURS’ TEXTBOOK WINS 2016 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD

In high schools across the world, most students graduate without any exposure to the concepts of market economics. The Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI), based in Vilnius, sought to change that by developing its Economics in 31 Hours textbook, which has been awarded this year’s prestigious $100,000 Templeton Freedom Award....

DR. TOM G. PALMER NAMED TO NEWLY ESTABLISHED GEORGE M. YEAGER CHAIR FOR ADVANCING LIBERTY

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 10, 2016 — Dr. Tom G. Palmer has been named the George M. Yeager Chair for Advancing Liberty at Atlas Network. Palmer has devoted his life to the promotion of the common-sense principles of liberty in the United States and worldwide. He has created and taught numerous educational programs, authored and edi...

INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE RETURNS TO CONNECTICUT TO DEFEAT EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE

More than a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court shocked the nation when it upheld the condemnation of an entire neighborhood in New London, Conn., for “economic development.” This infamous instance of eminent domain abuse sparked a nationwide backlash: 44 states reformed their laws to provide greater protection for property owner...

THE PROSPERITY STATES INITIATIVE: A POLICY LESSON FROM ‘WHEN HARRY MET SALLY’

According to various reports recently published by the Cato Institute, the Fraser Institute in Canada, the Legatum Institute in London, the Liberal Institute in Switzerland, and the Heritage Foundation, the United States clearly no longer ranks among the top 10 freest countries in the world. At best, we are among the top 20, alt...

THINK TANKS IN ISRAEL, LITHUANIA, SWEDEN, U.S. NAMED 2016 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD FINALISTS

Atlas Network is pleased to present the six finalists for the 2016 Templeton Freedom Award. The award is generously supported by Templeton Religion Trust and will be presented during Atlas Network’s Freedom Dinner on Nov. 10 in New York City at the historic Capitale. The winning organization will receive a $100,000 prize, and th...

ISRAEL CENTER FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROGRESS NAMED FINALIST FOR 2016 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD

Despite more than 30 years of economic reforms that have helped transform Israel, its economy remains saddled with bureaucracy and regulation that make life difficult and expensive. The economic reform campaign developed by the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress (ICSEP), based in Mevaseret Zion, has been named one of...

COMMON SENSE ECONOMICS TRANSLATED INTO NEPALI

In Nepal, translations of authoritarian, socialist works by Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, and others are widely available, but books that promote liberty and free markets are virtually non-existent. The Nepal Prosperity Institute (NPI) is working to fix this by translating pro-market books into the local Nepali langua...

CARDINAL INSTITUTE IN WEST VIRGINIA EXPLAINS HOW TO ACTUALLY HELP WV FAMILIES

The Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy was recently featured by the Exponent Telegram, a prominent West Virginia paper, in an article responding to a new report proposed by the liberal think tank West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy (WVCBP). The WVCBP report claims that the best way to increase employment, wages, a...

DEADLINE FOR STUDENTS TO APPLY FOR ROMANIAN CONFERENCE ON LIBERTY IS FAST-APPROACHING

The Center for Institutional Analysis and Development – Eleutheria (CADI) is hosting its conference “The Minimal State Solution for Romania” in the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Bucharest, Romania October 23rd through the 27th. This is the 2018 iteration of CADI’s “October School in Philosophy, Economics and Politics”....

THE STORY OF SWEDEN IS ABOUT MARKETS, NOT SOCIALISM

For years, Free to Choose Network has brought the importance of individual, economic, and political freedom to a mainstream audience through film. The renowned Swedish economist Johan Norberg's most recent film is Sweden: Lessons for America: A Personal Exploration by Johan Norberg, which debuted on public television a few weeks...

SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF RACE RELATIONS SEEKS TO EMPOWER FORGOTTEN POPULATIONS

The history of apartheid has left South Africa scared by inequality. However, current attempts to fix these injustices have left out 87 percent of the black South African population. In response, the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR)has put forth its plan for an alternative route to economic empowerment.

FIRST VIDEO IN EGYPTIAN ‘FREE MARKET SERIES’ FEATURES ATLAS NETWORK’S TOM PALMER

The Egyptian Center for Public Policy Studies (ECPPS) has released the first in a series of engaging videos designed to inform and persuade Egyptian citizens and viewers from all over the world about the power of free markets. The video displays beautiful cinematography and explains the practical and moral value of market-based...

NEW BOOK BY FIRE PRESIDENT TAKES ON ‘CATASTROPHIZING’ AND ‘CODDLING’ OF AMERICAN MINDS

In the past few years, the atmosphere of college campuses in the U.S. has become increasingly hostile to free speech. A recent Gallup poll found that 61% of college students in the U.S. feel that the climate on their campus prevents people from speaking freely. Speakers are shouted down, threatened, and attacked on campuses acro...

A LESSON FROM AFRICA? BOTSWANA’S DEVELOPMENT AND VINDICATION OF CLASSICAL LIBERAL INSTITUTIONS

During a recent visit to Washington, D.C., I met with several think tanks and foundations, all of whom work with organizational partners in Africa. What struck me, anecdotally, was the absence of Botswana in all of it. Who works with them? Is it a case that few see the need to mention given its relative success?

ARGENTINIAN THINK TANK TO PARTICIPATE IN THINK20 SUMMIT

Fundación Instituto David Hume (FIDH) seeks to convince global leaders of the benefits of technology for developing economies. The Argentinian think tank has been selected to present its new policy brief, “Providing a Broader Framework to Social and Labour Relations,” at the Think20 (T20) Summit, September 16–18, 2019. In the b...

LAUNCH OF THE BALKAN LIBERTY NETWORK SIGNALS NEW CHAPTER FOR REGION

The movement to advance liberty in the Balkans is evolving into a well-consolidated network. Liberalni Forum in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Lucha Institute in Montenegro have partnered to establish the Balkan Liberty Network to reinforce the work of several independent classical liberal institutions in the region. The Balkan Libert...

TAJIKISTAN FREE MARKET CENTER HOSTS LECTURE SERIES

On August 9 the Tajikistan Free Market Center (TFMC) hosted their latest in a series of lectures on economics and liberty in the Central Asian country. This lecture, titled “Property and Prosperity,” was hosted in the city of Kulob and provided information about the correlation between free market policies, political freedoms, a...

NAVIGATING THE POST-JANUS LANDSCAPE IN WASHINGTON AND OHIO

Public unions throughout the country have been in upheaval since the June 27th decision in the Supreme Court case, Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Public union eligible employees now have the ability to opt out of union membership without fear of retaliation and are no longer required to pa...

NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS: THE CRISIS THAT REMAINS

Last night Atlas Network hosted Yeonmi Park at our September Global Policy Perspectives event in New York City. Park is a well-known human rights activist and North Korean refugee. After escaping the country and adjusting to life in the West, she began delivering speeches to the international public, including several talks for...

ORGANIZATIONS FROM ARGENTINA, CROATIA, EGYPT, US, NAMED FINALISTS FOR 2018 TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD

Awarded since 2004 the Templeton Freedom Award is named for the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton. The award annually honors his legacy by identifying and recognizing the most exceptional and innovative contributions to the understanding of free enterprise, and the public policies that encourage prosperity, inn...

TALE OF TWO OIL-RICH COUNTRIES: VENEZUELA VS. NORWAY

Venezuela has one of the largest repositories of oil in the world, so why is its economy collapsing? Two new research papers produced by Venezuelan think-tank Centro de Divulgacion del Conocimiento Economico para la Libertad (CEDICE Libertad) provide unique insights into this question. By examining the way Venezuela's oil indust...

DISCUSSING CORRUPTION, ECONOMIC FREEDOM, AND FUTURE PROSPERITY AT AFRICA LIBERTY FORUM 2018

In August, 106 attendees representing 35 organizations from 16 countries gathered together for Africa Liberty Forum 2018, which took place in Lagos, Nigeria and was co-hosted by African Students for Liberty. The forum focused on issues like corruption, challenges in the current foreign aid system, and unlocking the economic pot...

INDONESIAN THINK TANK PARTNERS WITH YOUTUBE CELEBRITY ON FOOD SECURITY

The Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS) has partnered with Indonesian YouTube celebrity Vincent Ricardo to publish the first in a series of videos aiming to educate the public about the reasons for high food prices in Indonesia and to encourage public action. This video calls for President Joko Widodo to lessen trade res...

THE LEBANESE INSTITUTE FOR MARKET STUDIES IS TURNING THE LIGHTS ON IN LEBANON

Daily power blackouts are a constant part of life for Lebanese residents. The Lebanese Institute for Market Studies (LIMS) has recently made a huge leap forward in eliminating the state monoploy on the production of power in order to prevent these shortages through its project “Turn the Lights On in Lebanon.”

AMLO—IS MEXICO HEADED BACK TOWARD THE ROAD TO SERFDOM?

SMITH FELLOW SPOTLIGHT: NATALIA MACYRA

The Smith Fellowship, one of the many programs of Atlas Network’s Leadership Academy, brings up-and-coming leaders from around the world to Washington D.C., where they receive varied training in marketing, fundraising, management, and other relevant skills. A recent alumna of the Smith Fellowship, Natalia Macyra, is general mana...

THINK TANK ESSENTIALS TRAINS THE LATEST CHEETAH GENERATION IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

Clearly defining and articulating an organization’s vision for the future is a common challenge among many organizations in Africa. In order to tackle this hurdle, 23 think tank professionals from across the continent gathered for a specialized Think Tank Essentials Training prior to the start of this year’s Africa Liberty Forum...

APPLIED ECONOMICS FOR AFRICA: A NEW TEXTBOOK FOR AFRICAN STUDENTS

Atlas Network is pleased to announce the publication of a new textbook: Applied Economics for Africa, by Dr. George B. N. Ayittey. Once published, it will be available for download on our website and AfricanLiberty.org.

NKAFU POLICY INSTITUTE WINS THINK TANK SHARK TANK IN LAGOS NIGERIA

Africa’s Think Tank Shark Tank is a regional competition aimed at supporting innovation in the promotion of liberty. Three professionals pitch their programs to a panel of judges, for a chance to win $5,000 in seed funding for their pitch project.

CHANGE IN BURUNDI & BEYOND: ‘IT’S POSSIBLE” — CDE WINS 2018 AFRICA LIBERTY AWARD

Centre For Development and Enterprises Great Lakes has won Atlas Network’s 2018 Africa Liberty Award for its Birashoboka project. The term “birashoboka” is a local Kirundi word from Burundi that means “it’s possible.” The goal of the campaign is to make it possible for Burundian, Rwandan, and Congolese entrepreneurs to thrive wi...

FIFTH ANNUAL FREEDOM CONFERENCE IN TEL AVIV DRAWS ATTENDEES FROM 25 ORGANIZATIONS

In March 2018, The Israeli Freedom Movement and the Ayn Rand Center Israel presented the Fifth Annual Freedom Conference in Tel Aviv. This conference is hosted every year as a way to bring together all of the parts of the liberty movement in Israel and to communicate and educate one another on the best ways to advance free-marke...

PRIVATE PROPERTY HOLDS THE KEY TO UNLOCKING ZIMBABWE’S POTENTIAL

The Coalition for Market and Liberal Solutions (COMALISO) is seeking to educate Zimbabwe on the importance of private property. Its project, “Happy Hut Million,” will use the successful case study of the tribe Fengu Xhosa, as an example that highlights the benefits of, as well as provides a blueprint for, the protection of priva...

ATLAS NETWORK’S SUMMER OF SOFTBALL COMES TO A CLOSE WITH WIN STREAK

For the first time ever, Atlas Network fielded a softball team in the Think Tank League of Washington, D.C. With over half the team never having played before, it seemed as though our team — Batless Network — may become the #WinlessNetwork.

RANKING THE BUSINESS CLIMATE COMPETITIVENESS OF ARGENTINA’S PROVINCES

The Argentinian think-tank Fundación Libertad recently released Índice Provincial de Desempeño Empresarial 2018 (IPDE, “Provincial Index of Business Climate”) — a study measuring the regulations that favor or hinder business activity in each of the 23 Argentianian provinces as well as the autonomous city of Buenos Aires. The IPD...

NEW CEI VIDEO EXPLAINS, PRAISES THE PLATFORM ECONOMY

The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), an Atlas Network partner, recently released a short, informative video about the platform economy and the threats this booming industry faces from government regulation. CEI Vice President for Strategy Iain Murray explains that entrepreneurs in the platform economy provide a trusted ch...