Policy Insights
Mercatus research champions the merits of dynamic, market-oriented approaches to pressing policy problems. Our scholars regularly share these research-backed insights with decision-makers at the local, state, and national level.
Federal Reserve Framework Review
While it may escape the attention of most Americans, the Fed's framework review is an opportunity for our central bank to recalibrate how it pursues its dual mandate of price stability and maximum employment to create a more robust monetary policy framework that better serves the US economy. After its first framework review, in 2019-20, the Fed adopted the current flexible average inflation targeting framework.
Housing Reform in the States: A Menu of Options for 2024
As state legislatures meet in a year of inflated rents and record home prices, it remains abundantly clear that barriers to housing construction are causing affordability challenges. States play a vital role in setting the rules and incentives that influence whether localities decide to permit new housing construction. Overly restrictive local zoning is the fundamental cause of America’s housing shortage, and states can place limits on local zoning as well as reform the processes that make land use regulation a source of frustration for so many local officials and citizens.
AI Policy Guide
Artificial intelligence will have a huge effect on the economy. To ensure the effect is a net positive, policymakers need to understand AI at a deeper level to shape a governance regime that maximizes the social benefits of AI and mitigates its risks. This guide serves as continually updated resource to equip policymakers with the knowledge they need to make smart decisions about a fast-moving and complex issue.
Snapshots of State Regulations | 2024 Edition
Mercatus research indicates that regulatory accumulation worsens economic conditions, inadvertently increasing poverty rates, destroying jobs, and raising prices. The path to reversing these trends is clear: Improve regulations by reducing their number. Our State RegData project has produced "snapshots" of state regulations that can help policymakers engage in that process.
Five Top Things I’ve Been Reading (Thirty-fifth Edition) | The Ends Don’t Justify the Means (Substack)
Is Anyone Worth a Billion Dollars? | The Free Press
Democracy with Josiah Ober | Working Definition at The Ends Don’t Justify the Means (Substack)
Tracking Efforts to Shrink the Size of the Federal Workforce: July 2025 Update | The Unseen and The Unsaid (Substack)
Our Post-linguistic Future (Part II) | Corpus Mechanica (Substack)