Research Reports
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Public Opinion and Civil Forfeiture
In November 2010, as part of the Cooperative Congressional Election Study National Survey, the Institute for Justice asked a random sample of 1,000 participants nationwide whether they support various features of modern civil forfeiture laws.
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Civil Asset Forfeiture, Equitable Sharing, and Policing for Profit in the United States
Purpose Critics of asset forfeiture claim that forfeiture laws create financial incentives that inappropriately influence police behavior. The present study examines the relationship between measures of the financial incentive and legal burdens for civil asset…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Who’s Misleading Whom? Defining Titles in Occupations ‘On the Make’
Can occupational titles mislead the public? Should the use of titles be regulated to protect against such a possibility? Traditionally, occupational regulation is conceptualized as a restriction on the practice of an occupation through licensure,…
Economic Liberty
The Power of One Entrepreneur: A Case Study of the Effects of Entrepreneurship
This study examines the effects of entrepreneurship through qualitative case study methods. It examines the life and work of a single small-business entrepreneur in Tupelo, MS to discern how she affects her community both economically…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Blooming Nonsense
Leslie Massony and Monique Chauvin are established experts in their field, with awards and happy customers testifying to the quality of their work. Nonetheless, after years in the business, they had to take a state…
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Forfeiting Accountability
Georgia has some of the worst civil forfeiture laws in the country. But at least state law requires law enforcement to publicly report annual forfeiture proceeds and expenditures. Public reporting ought to help check abuse…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Analysis of the West End Redevelopment in the Township of Mount Holly
This paper reviews a fiscal impact study of the proposed West End Redevelopment in Mount Holly, N.J. A September 2008 study by Richard B. Reading Associates predicts that the redevelopment project will bring a significant…
Economic Liberty
Washington, DC vs. Entrepreneurs
Rather than pursuing their dreams, too many residents in Washington, D.C., move to more hospitable jurisdictions, take their businesses underground or simply give up.
Economic Liberty
No Brotherly Love for Entrepreneurs
At nearly every level, Philadelphia’s city government and related bureaucracies operate with a one-word vocabulary: Whatever the question is, the answer is “No.” From zoning to permitting to occupational licensing, would-be entrepreneurs hear that answer…
Economic Liberty
No Work in Newark
This study examines grassroots entrepreneurship in Newark and offers practical recommendations on how the city, which has become synonymous with urban dysfunction, could reform its laws and practices to encourage more small businesses to operate…
Economic Liberty
Miami’s Vice
Many Miami entrepreneurs are subject to occupation- or industry-specific regulations, which can take years of arbitrary education and cost thousands of dollars. Small business owners also must comply with paperwork and red tape that is…
Economic Liberty
L.A. vs. Small Business
Los Angeles entrepreneurs are being strangled by red tape, which makes it difficult, if not impossible, for entrepreneurs to earn an honest living in the City of Angels.
Economic Liberty
Houston, We Have a Problem
This report focuses on the areas Houston needs to improve in order to remain an opportunity city for all.
Economic Liberty
Regulatory Field
This report examines government-created barriers in industries that have traditionally provided a better way of life for the economically disenfranchised.
Civil Forfeiture | Private Property
Forfeiting Justice
Texas law gives police and prosecutors generous rewards for seizing people’s property—without even having to prove the owner committed any crime. And the law makes it so hard for owners to fight for the return…
Economic Liberty
Unhappy Days for Milwaukee Entrepreneurs
This report chronicles the ways in which the city of Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin make life difficult for small businesses, which threatens both entrepreneurship and the American Dream.
First Amendment | Political Speech
Keep Out
Campaign-finance laws protect political insiders by making it harder for upstart citizen groups to form and bring new voices to public debate.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Do restrictions on eminent domain harm economic development?
After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld in the Kelo decision the use of eminent domain for private-to-private transfer of property for economic development, public outrage was followed by attempts to restrict such use of eminent domain. Opponents…
First Amendment | Political Speech
What Does Research Say About Public Funding for Political Campaigns?
The best available evidence suggests that funding political campaigns with public dollars does little to reduce special interest influence, encourage competitive races or boost political participation.
Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
The Power of One Entrepreneur
An African hair braider from Tupelo, Miss., Melony Armstrong successfully challenged an anti-competitive licensing law in her state and has grown into an inspiring economic force who brings hope and opportunity to her community.
Economic Liberty
The Power of One Entrepreneur
Seattle-area bagel businessman Dennis Ballen’s thriving enterprise was almost driven out of business by a local law that barred him from advertising his business. He joined with IJ to fight for his First Amendment rights…
Economic Liberty
The Power of One Entrepreneur
New York City commuter van owner Hector Ricketts battled the politically powerful and heavily subsidized public buses for years. Despite overwhelming odds against him, Hector continues to grow his “dollar van” business.
Economic Liberty
The Power of One Entrepreneur
High-tech Dallas entrepreneur Thane Hayhurst helps businesses across Texas keep their computers running at peak efficiency, but he was threatened to be put out of business under a law that effectively requires anyone who conducts…
Economic Liberty
The Power of One Entrepreneur
Funeral home and cemetery owner Kim Powers Bridges battled bureaucrats in her home state of Oklahoma where she wanted to sell caskets online. Unsuccessful in that fight, she grew a brick-and-mortar business in Tennessee and…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Five Years After Kelo
On June 23, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision called Kelo v. City of New London,[1] ruled that private economic development is a public use under the Fifth Amendment…
Educational Choice
Special Needs Vouchers Aid Children and Promote Excellence
In the previous article, Dr. Corinne Harmon responds to my analysis of the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision in Cain v. Horne (Keller, 2009) that struck down two voucher programs for students with special needs—one for…
First Amendment | Political Speech
Mowing Down the Grassroots
Grassroots lobbying—encouraging citizens to contact public officials in order to affect public policy—is quintessential representative democracy in action. However, as this report documents, sweeping lobbying laws in 36 states threaten to strangle grassroots movements in…
Educational Choice
The Florida Supreme Court vs. School Choice
School choice is the civil rights issue of the twenty-first century. In the Information Age, knowledge is not just power—it is destiny. As a result, no issue more fundamentally divides the “haves” and the “have-nots”…
Educational Choice
Bulletproofing School Choice
This paper brings together the hard-won lessons of IJ’s experiences to help advocates and lawmakers craft effective school choice legislation likely to withstand a legal challenge.