Independent Institute: 62 books

From Vietnam’s recent acceptance into the World Trade Organization to its post-Vietnam War reform and socialist ideals, this overview concisely examines the cultural, political, and economic changes currently at work in Vietnam within a historical context and then discusses the effects such changes...

Based on newly discovered secret documents from German archives, diaries, and newspapers of the time, Gun Control in the Third Reich presents the definitive yet hidden history of how the Nazi dictatorship made use of gun control to disarm and repress its enemies and consolidate its power. The countless...

Exploring the forceful renewal of the boom-and-bust cycle after several decades of economic stability, this book is a research-based review of the factors that caused the 2008 recession. It offers cutting-edge diagnoses of the recession and prescriptions on how to boost the economy from leading economists. The...

Is the United States tort system in crisis? CBS television’s 60 Minutes has said the tort system metes out "jackpot justice," and Newsweek has called America a "Lawsuit Hell." Other observers of the legal system, however, argue that the tort crisis is a myth. Although both sides...

Agricultural subsidies in grains, cotton, milk, sugar, tobacco, honey, wool, and peanuts are analyzed in this examination of U.S. farm policy. Looking at such programs as food stamps, crop insurance, subsidized credit, trade credit, trade subsidies and import restrictions, conservation, agricultural...

Was the so-called “Reagan Revolution” a disappointment regarding the federal systems of special-interest regulation? Many of that administration's friends as well as its opponents think so. But under what criteria? To what extent? And why? When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, the popular belief...

In The Midas Paradox Scott Sumner provides a fresh, new narrative in regards to the Great Depression and its economic backstory. He points to various ways in which the modern day understanding of the Great Depression is flawed and how the causality of it has been largely misunderstood. The understanding...

Probably no issue during the most recent financial crisis aroused more passion than financial institution bailouts. Focusing on the policymaking behind the decisions to bail out these institutions—not just during the most recent crisis, but also throughout history—this account argues that the...

The stated purpose of antitrust laws is to protect competition and the public interest. But do such laws actually restrict the competitive process, harming consumers and serving the special interests of a few politically-connected competitors? Is antitrust law a necessary defense against the predatory...

The state of Mississippi’s lawsuit against tobacco companies in 1994 was quickly emulated by more than a dozen other states and then the federal government. Not to be outdone, more than a dozen cities and the federal government have followed the city of New Orleans’s lead and sued gun manufacturers....

Today’s insurance regulation in the United States is at a crossroads: while some segments of the insurance industry are moving away from a state-based approach toward regulation, others favor a greater role for the federal government—despite the opposition from other stakeholders. Written by leading...

Providing students of economics, politics, and policy with a concise explanation of public choice, markets, property, and political and economic processes, this record identifies what kinds of actions are beyond the ability of government. Combining public choice with studies of the value of property...

The school choice movement has gained political momentum in recent years, having established programs in Milwaukee, Florida, Texas, and elsewhere. Yet, as economist John Merrifield argues in this detailed analysis, today's school choice programs are nothing like the “free market in education”...

Despite more than 15 years of effort, it is widely acknowledged that internal reform of the public schools has produced little, if any, success. This has led to renewed interest in alternative forms of educational delivery to devolve decision-making through charter schools, public and private voucher...