Patrick Mardini, president and founder of the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies (LIMS), provides a free market perspective on the fallout of the recent explosions in Beirut. Patrick also describes the precipice that Lebanon currently finds itself; with the choice to either embrace an open economy for trade and utilities, or...
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A massive explosion devastated Beirut on Tuesday, August 4, at 6 pm local time. The capital's port was ruined: at least 158 people were killed; more than 5,000 people were seriously injured; and the country’s food reserves were destroyed, most notably including the grain silos. Authorities announced that 2,750 metric tons of amm...
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Creating the conditions for liberty to thrive—and then marketing their ideas to growing audiences—is fundamental to the success of the African liberty movement. During the second and final day of the 2020 Africa Liberty Forum, panelists and commenters alike agreed that think tank leaders and aspiring liberty activists must work...
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The Lebanese Institute for Market Studies (LIMS) has revitalized the currency exchange of the U.S. dollar, allowing millions of citizens to withdraw currency at market value.
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With no simple solution in sight, Lebanese freedom fighters believe the time to act is now—for the future of their country.
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Government spending, taxation, and the size of government-controlled enterprises in Lebanon are large enough to have a measurable impact on the country’s economic freedom rankings, according to the latest Economic Freedom Audit conducted by Canada’s Fraser Institute in partnership with the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies (...
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The Foundation for Economic Freedom, an Atlas Network partner in Quezon City, Philippines, has won Atlas Network’s 2019 Templeton Freedom Award for their work to end restrictions on agricultural land patents, liberating billions of dollars in land values and potentially transforming the country’s entire agricultural sector. The...
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Lebanon has been plagued by hours-long power outages since the 1970s. That’s because the government is the monopoly supplier of power, stifling innovation and competition that would have led to better electricity service for consumers. Thanks to the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies, the power market is now open to private c...
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The modern administrative state has allowed regulatory agencies to undermine the separation of powers by combining all three branches—legislative, executive, and judicial—within their walls. This unconstitutional, tyrannical “fourth branch” of government poses a threat to individual liberty in America and around the world, and P...
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Rolling blackouts and billions spent on subsidies to a failing state-owned electricity company have been facts of life in Lebanon the last several years. Government losses from managing the problem account for forty-five percent of Lebanon’s total debt, putting the country on the brink of a Greek-style bankruptcy. In 2016, the L...
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Birashoboka!, a Kirundi word that means “It’s Possible,” is the rallying cry of Centre for Development and Enterprises-Great Lakes’ campaign to drive a national conversation on the power of free enterprise in solving the country’s endemic poverty. The campaign is also promoting a favorable environment for doing business in Burun...
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For decades, agricultural patent holders in the Philippines were prohibited from selling their land or using it as collateral because of Commonwealth-era legal restrictions that ignored the developing needs of the country’s economy. Thanks to the work of the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF), a new law has removed these anti...
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Nebraska is one of many states that have made it difficult to earn a living with burdensome licensure laws that protect entrenched special interests at the expense of both consumers and aspiring entrepreneurs. The Platte Institute in Omaha is playing a central role in reducing these laws and setting precedents that can be used a...
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State and local governments have amassed up to six trillion dollars in unfunded pension liabilities across the United States. In response, Reason Foundation established the Pension Integrity Project to provide customized, expert assistance with systemic pension reform and set local governments on the path to financial solvency.
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Rolling blackouts and spending billions on subsidies to a failing state-owned electricity company, Electricité Du Liban (EDL), have been facts of life in Lebanon the last several years. The subsidies to EDL from 2008 to 2017 have averaged 3.8 percent of GDP and constitute roughly half of Lebanon’s fiscal deficit. Recognizing thi...
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This year’s Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner, #LFFD18, brought together over 700 people from 56 countries to celebrate the victories toward freedom made in the past year, to discuss shared challenges, and to learn from one another how to most effectively advance free-market reforms. This important gathering was made possible by th...
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Atlas Network congratulates Petar Čekerevac of the Libertarian Club Libek for winning the 2018 Think Tank Shark Tank competition during Liberty Forum and Freedom Dinner, where three think tank leaders pitch exciting new projects to a panel of judges in an effort to win $25,000 in seed-funding. The 2018 Think Tank Shark Tank comp...
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Atlas Network is excited to announce the finalists of this year’s Think Tank Shark Tank competition, which is sponsored by the Smith Family Foundation and will be held during Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner on Nov. 7–8 in New York City. In Atlas Network’s Think Tank Shark Tank competition, three participants of Atlas Network’s tr...
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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.”
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The third annual Arab Liberty Festival, held from Dec. 8-9 in Rabat, Morocco, focused on promoting stable institutions that encourage entrepreneurship and rule of law throughout the Arab world. Hosted by the Arab Center for Scientific Research and Humane Studies and sponsored by Atlas Network, the Arab Liberty Festival brought t...
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“People in Lebanon suffer from an average of 12 hours of rolling blackouts every day,” said Patrick Mardini, founder and president of the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies (LIMS). “It’s not reasonable to make illegal the production of a service that people need,” said an entrepreneur he recently met. Mardini is tackling this...
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On May 9, the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies (LIMS) released the first video from its recent landmark LIMS Leadership Academy, which brought together activists and staff from six different political parties in Lebanon to learn sound economic principles. Titled “Economic Foundations of a Free and Prosperous Lebanon,” the e...
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“Lebanon is on the brink of a disaster,” warns Dr. Patrick Mardini, founder of new Atlas Network partner the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies (LIMS). “Debt has reached 144 percent of the GDP, and taxes and government borrowing are being spent on inefficient public administration.” Mardini, an assistant professor of finance...
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The second annual Arab Liberty Festival, held from Nov. 28 through Dec. 5 in Rabat, Morocco, focused on promoting economic freedom and classical liberal values throughout the Middle East. Hosted by the Arab Center for Scientific Research and Humane Studies and sponsored by Atlas Network, the Arab Liberty Festival brought togethe...
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