Renewed Institutions. Effective Government. Shared Prosperity.
Strengthening liberal democracy through innovative policy solutions.
Recent Analysis
The modernization gap
This paper examines how states use dedicated modernization funds and what happens after that funding ends. It reviews all 50 states and reflects interviews with 20 state technology, program, procurement, and budget leaders.
The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026: 4 ways the new permitting package gets transmission policy right
A future U.S. refugee program will center states’ interests and leadership
Niskanen Center supports introduction of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026
Featured Analysis
Affordability, fast and slow: A playbook to address the cost of living
The root cause of our Slow Affordability problems is that certain essentials are supply constrained even as demand for them inexorably grows.
Built for the veteran: How the Department of Veterans Affairs built a product organization and rebuilt institutional trust
Family benefits in America 2025 report card
This annual report card develops a more holistic understanding of family benefits, their impact on family resources, and how those resources support families as parents’ employment circumstances shift and evolve over time.
Washington, D.C.’s crime decline and its lessons for American policing
Highlights
Hypertext
A Niskanen Center journal that debates how to best renew America’s political, economic, social, and cultural institutions.
Niskanen Center State Capacity USCIS Project
A practical application of state capacity principles to make the U.S. government more capable, responsive, and effective at administering legal immigration and delivering on its promises.
The Permanent Problem
A blog, podcast, and forthcoming book by Brink Lindsey about the challenges of capitalist mass affluence — in particular, how to make it sustainable, and how to translate material plenty into a society where most people can expect, in the words of John Maynard Keynes, to “live wisely and agreeably and well.”
The Realignment
The United States is in the midst of a dramatic political realignment with shifting views on national security, economics, technology, and the role of government in our lives. Saagar Enjeti and Marshall Kosloff explore this with thinkers, policymakers, and more.
The Vital Center
The podcast focuses on current politics seen in the context of our nation’s history. It highlights the policy initiatives of the Niskanen Center and other non-partisan institutions while drawing upon current academic scholarship and political literature from years past — including Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.’s 1949 classic “The Vital Center.”
The Science of Politics
The Science of Politics features up-and-coming researchers delivering fresh insights on the big trends driving American politics and policy today. In 30 minutes, you’ll get beyond punditry to data-driven understanding. Each episode goes in-depth on one hot topic in the news with two researchers who have just published relevant empirical studies. Hear about their new discoveries and get the broader context that’s lost in the daily news shuffle.
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