Today, Douglas Irwin examines why the long-standing "most favored nation" principle is giving way to new concerns over economic security and China's rise; Hoover celebrates America’s 250th anniversary with a new anthology featuring many of the Institution's leading voices; and in a new episode of Economics, Applied, Steven J. Davis talks with two researchers about a policing strategy that dramatically reduced homicides in Baltimore.
The Economic & Security Commons
In a new essay for Freedom Frequency’s Commons Dispatch Channel, Dartmouth professor of economics Douglas Irwin discusses the history and future of the most-favored nation (MFN) trading principle, a long-standing foundation of world trade, including the American approach to free exchange. But as he explains, today the nondiscrimination principle is challenged as inadequate to the developments of this century, especially the rise of China and its state-supported, market-distorting strategy of export dominance. Irwin writes that exceptions to the principle of nondiscrimination increased during recent decades, with nations complaining that the World Trade Organization structure tied their hands in solving trade disputes. In particular, the United States under the Trump administration has sought to dethrone MFN, calling it a barrier to economic security, balance, and reciprocity. But others would retain the long-standing MFN ideal as a guarantor of equality and goodwill. Read more here.
America at 250
In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of American independence, the Hoover Institution has released Notes on Freedom: A Hoover Institution Treasury, a sweeping collection of essays, speeches, and reflections exploring the enduring meaning of liberty, opportunity, limited government, and civic responsibility. Featuring contributions from Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Herbert Hoover, Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell, Condoleezza Rice, H.R. McMaster, Stephen Kotkin, Niall Ferguson, Jimmy Lai, Shelby Steele, and many others, the anthology celebrates the ideas that have shaped the American experiment—and continue to guide its future. Learn more here.
The Hoover Institution has announced the winners of The American Experiment in Your Words, a nationwide spoken word competition commemorating America's 250th anniversary. Drawing more than 170 submissions from students across 34 states, the competition invited participants to reflect on the enduring relevance of the Declaration of Independence and America's founding ideals. Winners will be honored at Hoover's Summer Board of Overseers meeting, while their performances will be released across Hoover's social media channels. Read more here.
Crime
On Economics, Applied, Senior Fellow Steven Davis speaks with the University of Pennsylvania’s Aaron Chalfin and Cornell University’s Max Kapustin, economics professors both, about "focused deterrence," an evidence-based strategy that combines targeted policing with social services for individuals at highest risk of gun violence. After Baltimore adopted the strategy in 2022, the city's homicide rate declined by roughly 60 percent over three years. The conversation explores why the approach works and whether it can be replicated in other American cities. Watch or listen here.
Technology & National Security
A new report by Hoover Fellow Eyck Freymann and colleagues argues that quantum computing, sensing, and communications are advancing on different timelines with profound implications for national security. The report explains why allied cooperation—not technological self-sufficiency—will determine leadership in the quantum era, while examining China's rapid advances and the growing urgency of preparing for post-quantum cybersecurity. Read more here.
Monetary Policy
In this week's Grumpy Economist Weekly Rant, Senior Fellow John Cochrane argues that the Federal Reserve's recurring bailout problem stems less from risky investments than from the fragile way financial institutions fund themselves. Revisiting the financial crises of 2008 and 2020 as well as Silicon Valley Bank's collapse in 2023, Cochrane contends that meaningful reform requires addressing the structural incentives behind financial runs—not simply imposing additional regulation. Watch here.
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