The Association of Private Enterprise Education will hold its international conference on April 11-13, 2010 at the Caesars Palace Las Vegas in Las Vegas. The Sound Money Project at Atlas will be presenting a panel,“Visible and Invisible Hands in Money.”

Panelists include:

• Edward Stringham (Trinity College), “The Natural Evolution of Gold-backed Monetary Notes”
• Marius Gustavson (Atlas Economic Research Foundation), “The Impact of Domestic Monetary Mistakes on the International Monetary System”
• Gerald O’Driscoll, Jr. (Cato Institute), “What Is Sound Money?”
• Alejandro Chafuen (Atlas Economic Research Foundation), “Corporatism and the Manipulation of Money and Credit”

Professor Leonard Liggio will be the moderator. Sound Money Fellow, Tom Duncan, will also be presenting at the conference on a separate panel, “Public Choice and Public Bads.” His paper is entitled “Cops! Or Close to It: the Case of Private Police in San Francisco.” He has been awarded a scholarship by APEE’s Young Scholars Program.

A friend sent along a documentary today entitled “The Third Wheel: A Documentary on Economic Freedom for the Urban Poor” that highlights the fight for free market transportation in India.

However, it’s a theme that will resonate with many around the world.

Here’s some information from the film’s organizers:

“The Third Wheel: A Documentary on Economic Freedom for the Urban Poor”
(27 minutes, English and Hindi)

A film by Prabodh and Centre for Public Policy Research under the banner of Liberal Youth South Asia, Directed by Saumitra Rath

View the film
Catch a short version of the film
Order your copy from prabodh.delhi@gmail.com (Rs 100)

About the film
Auto rickshaws are a common sight in most Indian cities.  Known as the transporter for the lower and middle class, they are an integral part of the transportation system of the country.  However, one wonders why there has been little improvement in their design or why they seem to be guilty of overcharging their customers and flouting the laws.  In India, as is the case with most professions, the auto-rickshaw is governed by a licensing system which has produced the unintended consequences, mainly being, financial mafia.  The film explores this omnipresent profession and tries to go beneath the surface to find out what is really gone.  And in doing so, it connects even those stakeholders who are usually ideologically opposed on most issues.

In January 2010, Delhi’s Environment Pollution Control Authority has recommended to the Supreme Court to remove the cap on number of licenses given to auto rickshaws for the same reasons as cited in the documentary-the emergence of the auto mafia.

Keep Reading →

Franklin Cudjoe, 2010 Young Global Leader Award

Life seems to grant rare opportunities to show a person how much they really mean to us. Sure, on a daily basis we say “thank-you” and tell people we appreciate them, but very rarely is there a time and place to tell the world about a person who has in effect, changed the lives of those around them. This person has done just that: helped to shape a better future for Africa.

The IMANI Center for Policy & Education was founded in the capital city of Accra, Ghana six years ago. Franklin Cudjoe, a young libertarian student was inspired by the ideas of freedom and liberty, and sought to put those ideas into action in his home country of Ghana. Over these six years, Franklin and his small team have faced many challenges, but none were big enough to stop the force of IMANI.  IMANI has been awarded Atlas’s prestigious Templeton Freedom Award and is a recipient of a Fisher Venture Grant. The IMANI team is committed to leveraging their resources to effectively impact their community. Their influence and reputation have grown rapidly, and they have changed the shape of Ghanaian policies in a tangible way.

I’ve known Franklin for three years.  Having worked with him and IMANI in Ghana, I was able to see firsthand what commitment really meant. Facing spotty internet service, random electricity cut-offs, and poor communications channels, Franklin would often stay up all night to pump out articles, interviews and all the time stayed fiercely loyal to his friends and family.  That was three years ago, and he hasn’t slowed down.
This year Franklin’s hard-work has been recognized globally by the World Economic Forum. Named  a Young Global Leader for 2010, Franklin has been honored as one of 200 young leaders from around the world recognized for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.  Of the selected young leaders, 17 are from sub-Saharan Africa. With this honor comes much deserved recognition as well as a renewed realization that liberty and economic freedom are worth staying up all night for.

Congratulations to Franklin Cudjoe, Founder and President of IMANI Center for Policy & Education and Editor, AfricanLiberty.org

Atlas will hold a Teach Freedom Initiative (TFI) half-day conference on the topic of sound money on April 9^th, 2010, at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel in Philadelphia, before the Annual Philadelphia Society Meeting.The theme of the conference is “The Attack on Sound Money and Entrepreneurship: Threatening Liberty in America.”

This mini-conference will begin with a luncheon talk on “The Attack on Sound Money,”  given by Dr. Judy Shelton, Atlas Sound Money Senior Fellow and author of Money Meltdown: Restoring Order to the Global Currency System. The event begin at 12:30 p.m. and end at 4:30 p.m., in time for the Philadelphia Society Meeting’s registration and reception.
Online registration is now available.

Photo courtesy of the Sheraton Society Hotel.

While attending an event on the flat tax in Beijing yesterday, I was handed a copy of the Property Rights Alliance’s 2010 International Property Rights Index, which looks at the Legal and Political Environment, Physical Property Rights, and Intellectual Property Rights. The report is created with the help of 62 organizations from around the world, and offers “the public, researchers and policymakers, from across the globe, with a tool for comparative analysis and future research on global property rights. The Index seeks to assist underperforming countries to develop robust economies through an emphasis on sound property law.”

The report can be found here.

Today, the McDonald-Laurier Institute, a brand new think tank in Ottawa, Canada, launched it’s website. This organization was just founded last year by Brian Lee-Crowley,  whom many of our readers know,  and will promote sound public policy on a national level. The aim of the organization is to restore understanding and respect for the founding traditions of Canada, ” The Macdonald-Laurier Institute for Public Policy exists to renew the legacy of these two towering figures of our history ( Prime Ministers Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir Wilfrid Laurier) , and the legacy of all those who had the courage and the wisdom to found Canada. We will do this by helping to make poor quality public policy in Ottawa unacceptable to Canadians and their political and opinion leaders by proposing thoughtful alternatives through non-partisan and independent research and commentary.”

Take a look at their site, and learn more about this new organization.

This year’s Hayek Essay Contest, hosted by the Mont Pelerin Society is now open. The question to answer, by individuals 35  years or younger is:

Examine whether authoritarian capitalism is a viable alternative to its Western liberal version, to promote long term economic growth and development.

Prize Information

First prize: $2500 cash award + travel grant*

Second prize: $1500 cash award + travel grant*

Third prize: $1000 cash award + travel grant*

The Hayek Essay Contest is open to all individuals 35 years old or younger.  Entrants should write a 5,000 word (maximum) essay. Essays are due by mail on May 31, 2010 and the winners will be announced on July 15, 2010. Essays should be submitted in English only. Electronic versions should be sent to: mps@heritage.org.

Winners of this essay contest recieve not only a cash prize but a travel grant to attend the 2010 Mont Pelerin Society Meeting in  Sydney, Australia  October 10-13, 2010.

Good Luck!

We’d like to congratulate Eamonn Butler and Madsen Pirie on being awarded the National Free Enterprise Award on February 23rd for rheir great work, fighting for freedom at the Adam Smith Institute in the United Kingdom. ” The National Free Enterprise Award is presented annually by a panel of 14 independent expert judges under the auspices of the Institute of Economic Affairs”

In addition to this honor, Eamonn Butler, director of the Adam Smith Research Institute will celebrate the launch of his new book, The Alternative Manifesto next week.

AkademiMerdeka.org is a joint web project of the Malaysia Think Tank and the Atlas Global Initiative and promotes free-markets, peace and liberty in Bahasa Melayu (spoken in Malaysia, southern Thailand, Singapore, and Brunei) and Bahasa Indonesia (spoken in Indonesia and East Timor).  On February 5-7 AkademiMerdeka.org held its Freedom Academy in Kuala Lumpur on the subject, “Constitutionalism and Understanding Rule of Law.”  Forty participants from ten different Malaysian states attended the event.

Interestingly, Malaysia Think Tank’s founders come from different political stripes – one is a member of the opposition party, one is member of the ruling party, and one is independent.  However, they are bound by libertarian ideas – and they put these ideas before party politics.  ”There are four main ideas - individual liberty, free markets, the rule of law, limited government - which we seek to embed into policymaking,” says Wan Saiful Wan Jan.  ”The problem is that we as a people have become accustomed to government intervention.  Across so many sectors, when there is a problem, the first question is ‘what should the government do to fix this?’ … when we could be saying ‘hold on: what can the community do, and how can we get the private sector - through open tenders and transparent competition - to help?” says Tunku ‘Abidin Tuanku Muhriz.

You can read more about their courageous effort in English here in the Singapore Strait Times,  and here in Malaysian Today.  You can also take a look at Wan Saiful’s article in Utusan Malaysia Online, “Reject efforts to create world carbon police.”

Just a reminder that students interested in attending The Fund for American Studies summer program in Hong Kong have only a few days left to submit their applications. For those who have forgotten:

Experience Hong Kong this summer in a unique educational environment with university students from Asia and the United States. The Asia Institute for Political Economy (AIPE) is an academic program designed to promote discussions of political economy with other young leaders. Analyze and debate issues of economics, global trade and economic developments with a group of outstanding students, well-known professors, and notable guest lecturers.

The Institute’s interdisciplinary curriculum engages students in a thorough examination of the fundamental concepts and theories of Political Economy, as well as an advanced course in American Studies. Guest lectures and panel discussions featuring professors from the University of Hong Kong, as well as other regional experts and business leaders, supplement lectures and discussions by the regular program faculty. These sessions enable students to apply the concepts of international political economy covered during the course to current issues in their own countries.
Hong Kong is truly one of the world’s great cities, and this is a unique opportunity to study the free market in the freest market. Apply now…