Liberal Institute

Occasional Paper 87

Non-Centralism: The Swiss Experiment Based on Local Government, Direct Democracy and Tax Competition

Robert Nef, 2009

Nef writes about institutional differences between Switzerland and Germany and why this is important for communal self administration in both countries. Non-centralism and democratic legitimatized taxation in Switzerland leads to more efficient production and distribution of public goods than the centralized financing of local government in Germany.

Occasional Paper 86

The Private Provision of Public Goods

Fred E. Foldvary, 2009

Foldvary illustrates the differences between public and private communal goods, criticizes the notion of implicit agreements between citizens and the state and presents examples contractual provisions of public goods in private communities.

Occasional Paper 84  

Thomas Cieslik, 2009

The United States remains an attractive destination for millons of migrants yearning for freedom and prosperity, especially from Mexiko. But illegal immigrants has stirred up controversy in both of the neighbour nations: the US and Mexico. The following essay outlines the contemporary debate over immigration in Mexico and the United States.

Occasional Paper 82

Migration matters - How Germany and the world can benefit from a free movement of people

Philippe Legrain, 2009

Immigration divides our globalizing world like no other issue. No government would dream of trying to ban the movement of goods and services across borders. But even within the EU, for which the free movement of labor is supposedly a fundamental principle, restrictions still exist. For P. Legrain such controls are morally wrong, economically stupid and politically harmful.

Occasional Paper 78

Addressing Climate Change in the Context of Other Problems ? A Plea for Realism over Ideology

Indur M. Goklany, 2009

Some governmental leaders, scientists and media outlets have claimed that climate change is the world?s most important environmental problem. The World Health Organization indicate that a dozen other environmental, food and nutritional risk factors contribute more to global mortality and burden of disease than climate change.

Occasional Paper 56

Reform of the financial scheme in Germany: A never-ending story?

Thomas Lenk, 2009

Professor Thomas Lenk, Director of the Institute of Finance at the University of Leipzig, describes the origins, functioning and complexity of the financial equalisation scheme in the German states or Länder. He is of the opinion that the scheme has become increasingly unmanageable and complex over the years.

Occasional Paper 55

Treaty Federalism: The Canadian Experience

Julie Simmons, 2008

According to J. Simmons, the effects of decentralisation usually vary, are diverse and contradictory. Federalism in Canada has not only been a process but also always a structure. The era of contract federalism found a way out of the impasse of the federal constitution of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Occasional Paper 54

The Treaty of Lisbon - a Threat to Federalism

George Herbert, 2008

George Herbert from St. Peter's College, Oxford University, describes the implications of the Treaty of Lisbon for federalism in Europe. He is of the opinion that it will not come to an EU that is federal in its organisation, as the people in the individual countries will insist on maintaining their national sovereignty.

Occasional Paper 51

Sport as Virtue . . . as Love . . . as Commerce

Lincoln Allison, 2008

What is sport: simply a pastime? Just a business? Is it a cultural activity? Lincoln Allison describes, how things among sportsmen and spectators have changed over the years and he shows that the concept of amateurism is neither financial nor social. 

Occasional Paper 50

Football and political freedom: the historical experience of divided Germany

Jutta Braun, 2008

During the Cold War football was highly politicised. The rivalry between the different systems of the East and the West was always a major player in international soccer events and a driving force for government aid for sports. This paper sketches the developments of soccer in eastern and western Germany from the early fifties up to "soccer unity" in the early nineties.

Occasional Paper 49

Sport, the State and the Market

Raymond D. Sauer, 2008

Spectator sport has never been more popular, at least as measured by audience, size and ticket prices. That we love sport does not imply that we should be seeking to protect it from the marketplace. Rather, an enjoyable and vibrant world of sport comes from allowing individuals to organize the competitions in ways that consumers find most appealing.

Occasional Paper 48
Freedom Properly Understood
Tom G. Palmer, 2008

Freedom is rightly considered to be the highest end of mankind. While many people agree on this, many people do not agree what freedom actually is. Quite often it is confused with the material goods that flow from it, such as wealth. health or knowledge. This often provides politicians with some justification for limitations of freedom in the name of these goods. Tom Palmer (Cato Institute, Washington) in his essay tries to clarify the discussion about what freedom actually is.