In the latest Financial Services Outlook, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) housing experts Peter Wallison and Edward Pinto explain how decades of government intervention have gravely harmed America's housing market.

The general economic "health" of the U.S. manufacturing sector has re-emerged in a Presidential election year. In his 2012 State of the Union address, President Obama announced to Americans "that we have a huge opportunity, at this moment to bring manufacturing back," promising manufacturers special tax reductions and other federal...

In a just published piece, AEI economist and tax expert Alan Viard warns that the 2011 payroll tax holiday, which shaves 2 % points off workers’ Social Security tax rates, undermines historical practices and distorts federal budget priorities as it diverts $130 billion from the general treasury into the Social Security trust fund.

The number of schools ranked highly in guides such as Barron's Profiles of American Colleges is increasing, without any evidence that these schools' instructional quality is also increasing. Applicants and their families should be wary of letting these rankings serve as the main criteria in their college decisions.

I learned to appreciate the American free enterprise system by quitting a job in Spain.At age 19, I dropped out of school to pursue a career as a French horn player. After a few twists and turns, I wound up in the Barcelona Symphony, which was a Spanish...

The first order of business for a Republican president next year should be corporate-tax reform. But even if Republicans win big in the fall, undoing America's largest policy error will be an almost impossible political lift, unless enough people in both parties come to grips with the counterintuitive economics of corporate-tax reform.

On April 13, 2012, the US Department of the Treasury released new cost estimates for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Looking principally at actual and projected contractual cash flows, the document concludes that: "Overall, the government is now expected to at least break even on its financial stability programs and may realize a positive return." 

Yes, we need to reduce dishonesty and corruption among our corporations, but we should look to our political class as well.