Renewed Institutions. Effective Government. Shared Prosperity.
Strengthening liberal democracy through innovative policy solutions.
Recent Analysis
D.C.’s Paid Family Leave cuts take the ‘trust’ out of ‘trust fund’
With the cuts set to take place, while the payroll tax rate stays the same, even more of the money will be diverted, and workers will lose some of the flexibility they currently have available.
Why neither party is fiscally responsible
CMS takes another step toward higher-value, lower-cost outpatient care
Legal immigration in numbers: August 2026 status update
Featured Analysis
A policy playbook for building and fixing adult-use cannabis markets
With good design and implementation, cannabis legalization can do what prohibition cannot: reduce harm without producing a parallel criminal economy.
Washington, D.C.’s crime decline and its lessons for American policing
3 reasons the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act matters
The act rethinks an old approach to zoning that has contributed to the housing shortage; makes an offer of federal housing funds for communities actually allowing housing to be built; and strips away an outdated regulation that has put the American dream of homeownership out of reach.
What Silicon Valley can learn from the Eastern Establishment
Congress is asking the right questions about America’s doctor shortage
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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