Commentary

Across Civitas Outlook and the broader media landscape, our scholars provide timely insights into issues of national significance.

Stanford’s Graduate Student Union Tries to Stifle Dissent

The university may fire me because I won’t pay dues to a labor organization whose views I find repugnant.

Jonathan Hartley
Pursuit of Happiness
Aug 29, 2025
The 529 Education Revolution Is Here

Tax-free accounts have become more powerful, but some states are resisting.

Michael Toth, Dan Lips
Pursuit of Happiness
Aug 28, 2025
Do We Still Really Need the Bureau of Labor Statistics?

It is time for the monthly story of the labor market to be told more clearly, and more reliably, through data from other sources.

G. Dirk Mateer
Economic Dynamism
Aug 27, 2025
The Next Californias

Colorado, Washington, and Oregon have adopted many of the policies contributing to the Golden State’s decline.

Joel Kotkin
Pursuit of Happiness
Aug 25, 2025
Can Tariffs Replace Income Taxes?
Economic Dynamism
Aug 22, 2025
The Moral Collapse on Campus Is a Result of the Hollowing Out of the Humanities
Pursuit of Happiness
Aug 18, 2025
DC and LA Failures Play Into Trump’s Hands
Politics
Aug 14, 2025
Climate Lawyers Try a New Approach
Politics
Aug 11, 2025
YIMBYs Are Killing off the Family Home
Pursuit of Happiness
Aug 6, 2025
Democracy in Britain: The Lords’ Work
Constitutionalism
Aug 6, 2025
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Reading the New Conservatives
Richard M. Reinsch II
Politics
Jul 31, 2025
The Specter of Chaos in New York
Michael Toth
Politics
Jul 30, 2025
How We Built the Arsenal of Democracy
Arthur Herman
Economic Dynamism
Jul 25, 2025
The $130 Billion Train That Couldn’t
Joel Kotkin
Economic Dynamism
Jul 21, 2025
Trump and Wiles Are like a New Madden and Summerall
Michael Toth
Politics
Jul 17, 2025
Under Zohran Mamdani, the Jewish Exodus from New York Is Likely to Accelerate
Joel Kotkin
Politics
Jul 8, 2025
Other

Content

The Causal Effect of News on Inflation Expectations

This paper studies the response of household inflation expectations to television news coverage of inflation.

Carola Binder, Pascal Frank, Jane M. Ryngaert
Economic Dynamism
Aug 22, 2025
The Rise of Inflation Targeting

This paper discusses the interactions between politics and economic ideas leading to the adoption of inflation targeting in the United States.

Carola Binder
Economic Dynamism
Aug 11, 2025
Epstein & Yoo: Amicus Brief in Supreme Court of Maryland

Civitas Senior Research Fellows Richard Epstein and John Yoo, alongside the Mountain States Legal Foundation, filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Maryland.

Richard Epstein, John Yoo
Constitutionalism
Jul 24, 2025
AI and the Future of Society and Economy

Large language and generative AI models like ChatGPT are the equivalent of the first automobiles: fun to play with, somewhat unreliable, and maybe a little dangerous. But over time, the lesson for will be clear: Who Learns Fastest, Wins.

Joel Kotkin, Marshall Toplansky
Economic Dynamism
Jul 17, 2025
Automated Detection of Emotion in Central Bank Communication: A Warning

Can LLMs help us better understand the role of emotion in central bank communication?

Carola Binder, Nicole Baerg
Economic Dynamism
Jul 1, 2025
How to Save Our Urban Centers

What will the future of American cities look like?

Joel Kotkin
Pursuit of Happiness
Jun 26, 2025
National Poll from Civitas Institute: Americans Concerned About AI, Economic Issues

The Civitas Institute Poll, conducted from March 11-20, 2025, asked 1,200 Americans an array of questions about how things are going in the country.

Daron Shaw
Pursuit of Happiness
Jun 11, 2025

The Libertarian

The inimitable Richard Epstein offers his unique perspective on national developments in public policy and the law.

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Law Talk

Welcome to Law Talk with Richard Epstein and John Yoo. Our show is hosted by Charles C. W. Cooke.

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The Three Whiskey Happy Hour

Steven Hayward brings you the Power Line Blog's perspective on the week's big headlines.

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Trump’s Tariff-for-Income-Tax Swap

Economic Dynamism
Sept 15, 24
19:25

Kotkin: Non-Aligned Nations Navigating a Multipolar World

Politics
Sept 15, 24
47:01

Why Postliberalism Is Gaining Ground: Phillip Muñoz on America’s Founding Values

Constitutionalism
Sept 15, 24
1:23:20

Why the Damage to Fed Independence May Have Already Been Done

Economic Dynamism
Sept 15, 24
27:43

Arthur Brooks on the Secret to a Fulfilling Life

Pursuit of Happiness
Sept 15, 24
1:10:28
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