Research Reports
First Amendment
Davis v. FEC and the Constitutionality of “Clean Elections” Systems
In a “clean elections” system, taxpayer funded candidates must agree to limit their campaign spending. Imposing limits on campaign spending for candidates who forego taxpayer dollars and instead run traditional campaigns would be unconstitutional. Most…
First Amendment
SpeechNow.org and the Paradox of Buckley v. Valeo
The right to free speech, including the right to speak out about who should be elected to public office, is a fundamental American right, essential to democratic debate. So, too, is the right of individuals…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Interior Design | Interior Design | Occupational Licensing
Designed to Exclude
Americans used to be free to practice interior design work and succeed or fail based solely on their skills. But, to the detriment of consumers and would-be entrepreneurs, that is changing. The American Society of…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
They Want to Erase Us Out
This report documents how homes, farms and small businesses across Texas have been threatened by eminent domain for private gain.
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Interior Design | Interior Design
Designed to Mislead
Do people who design interiors “mislead” the public when they call themselves “interior designers” without government permission? Industry insiders advocating greater regulation say yes, but practicing interior designers who simply want to accurately describe what…
Economic Liberty | Occupational Licensing
Regulation through titling laws: A case study of occupational regulation
This case study examines a form of occupational regulation infrequently examined in academic literature – titling laws. These laws regulate who may legally use a phrase, or title, to describe their work to the public.
Economic Liberty | Interior Design
Misinformation & Interior Design Regulation
This report responds to a purported rebuttal of the Institute for Justice’s research on interior design regulations and details how its author, an advocate of increased regulation, fails to provide any evidence of the need…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Baltimore’s Flawed Renaissance
Baltimore’s redevelopment strategy has long been deeply flawed and eminent domain has negatively impacted the city’s renewal.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Simplify, Don’t Subsidize
An independent developer details the outrageous bureaucratic and regulatory hurdles small developers must pass in order to build private projects.
Other
The Dirty Dozen
Ever wonder how our nation changed from a country with a Constitution that limited government power to a land where the Constitution is interpreted to limit the rights of the citizenry? And what can be…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
California Scheming
The report summarizes the legal history and areas of contention behind eminent domain for private development in California.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Doomsday? No Way
When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld eminent domain for private development in the 2005 Kelo case, the public reacted with shock and outrage, leading to a nationwide movement to reform state laws and curb the…
Educational Choice
Fatally Flawed
In October 2007, the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute released a research report on public school choice and parental involvement, Fixing the Milwaukee Public School: The Limits of Parent-Driven Reform. Unfortunately, as this analysis finds, the…
Economic Liberty | First Amendment | Interior Design | Interior Design
Designing Cartels
This report examines titling laws, little-known regulations that require people practicing certain professions to gain government permission to use a specific title, such as “interior designer,” to describe their work. Although titling laws receive little…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
50 State Report Card
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s now-infamous decision in Kelo v. New London, 44 states have passed new laws aimed at curbing the abuse of eminent domain for private use.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Victimizing the Vulnerable
In Kelo v. City of New London—one of the most reviled U.S. Supreme Court decisions in history—the Court upheld the use of eminent domain by governments to take someone’s private property and give it to…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Development Without Eminent Domain
The former mayor of Anaheim, Calif., describes how that city’s leadership brought economic vibrancy to one neighborhood without resorting to any takings of private property. He also explores the successes and failures of other cities…
Economic Liberty
Brightening the Beacon
This report presents concrete actions that can be taken by the city of San Diego, the state of California and business leaders-to open opportunities and substantially strengthen the region's economic base.
Educational Choice
Private Choice In Public Programs
Georgia’s Special Needs Scholarship Program extends to a new group of students the same kind of educational choice already enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of Georgia citizens from prekindergarten through college. Prior to the adoption…
First Amendment
Disclosure Costs
This study examines the impact of one of the most common features of campaign finance regulations: mandatory disclosure of contributions and contributors’ personal information. While scholars have looked at the effects of other kinds of…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Eminent Domain & African Americans
Eminent domain has become what the Founding Fathers sought to prevent: a tool that takes from the poor and the politically weak to give to the rich and the politically powerful.
Educational Choice
Private Choice In Public Programs
Voucher programs that give recipients the free and independent choice of an array of providers, including faith-based organizations, have a long and established history in Arizona, including six different educational voucher programs that help more…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Dreher and Echeverria
In the fight to protect home and small business owners from the government’s abuse of eminent domain, it was only a matter of time until the apologists of the practice—taking property from one private individual…
Economic Liberty
One Test, Two Standards
Most of us have a drawer or a closest in our home where we put things that are not important enough to have their own place but are not quite worthless enough to throw away…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
A False Sense of Security
Washington state law is rife with opportunities for eminent domain abuse.
Educational Choice
Fiscal Analysis of Arizona’s Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Program
This report updates a 2005 analysis by Arizona’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) that looked at the fiscal impact of a proposed corporate tuition tax-credit scholarship program and reflects the program as actually passed in…
Educational Choice
Arizona Individual and Corporate Tax Credits
Arizona’s tax code, like that of many state, national and international governments, includes a series of tax credits individuals and corporations may use to offset taxes owed. Arizona’s individual and corporate scholarship tax credit programs…
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Myths and Realities of Eminent Domain Abuse
The report debunks several of the most prevalent myths about eminent domain for private gain.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Redevelopment Wrecks
Cities and developers tend to overhype the benefits of private development projects that use eminent domain. But many of these projects are failures.
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Opening the Floodgates
One year after the U.S. Supreme Court case, Kelo v. New London, local governments threatened eminent domain or condemned at least 5,783 homes, businesses, churches and other properties so that they could be transferred to…