By stifling competition, regulation diminishes the capacity of pension markets to serve pension plan participants. The prevalence of private pension failure suggests an excess, not an insufficiency, of regulation.

Who are the secretive Treasury officials who enforce government blacklists and dollar sanctions? Peter Earle reviews Saleha Mohsin’s book on how the dollar came to be weaponized.

Victor Espinosa’s “Modern Principles of Development Economics” highlights entrepreneurship and genuine savings as drivers of economic development, criticizes conventional development policies, and proposes institutional reforms to promote sustainable development.

The roots of development economics are embedded in affirmations of the state, as political ideas in the 17th and 18th centuries and the 20th century progressive movement show.

Is it unconstitutional to enforce a debt ceiling? Has the US government really never defaulted? Is there no alternative to raising the debt ceiling? Kupiec and Pollock investigate common claims.

ESG, “environmental, social, and governance” standards, distort incentives, advantage large firms over small businesses, empower special interest groups, and lead to a probable breach of fiduciary duties, says Allen Mendenhall.

Chris Calton reviews Michael Sonenscher’s criticism of capitalism and the division of labor.

Quinn Slobodian’s misplaced concerns about the exploitation of workers surface in his “Crack-Up Capitalism,” which displays an obsession with the evils of competition and seceding communities.

Greg Kaza reviews Ben Bernanke’s new retrospective on the Fed, which contains interesting admissions but still exhibits a “state of denial” about the Fed’s role in creating crises.

Gramm, Ekelund, and Early’s important new book shows how government agencies ignore welfare benefits and taxes when calculating actual income, resulting in overblown poverty and inequality numbers.