Foundations of Liberty: Free Markets 
Essential
The Use of Knowledge in Society
By Friedrich August von Hayek: "One of Hayek’s most important contributions to economic theory is his demonstration of the part prices play in disseminating widely diffused knowledge about consumer demand and the availability of economic resources in order to make rational economic calculation possible."
The Layman's Guide to Economics
Five easy lessons to master free market economics, without math or graphs.
Economics in One Lesson
By Henry Hazlitt: "This primer on economic principles brilliantly analyzes the seen and unseen consequences of political and economic actions. In the words of F.A. Hayek, there is "no other modern book from which the intelligent layman can learn so much about the basic truths of economics in so short a time."
Economic Freedom and Peace
"Since before the time of Thucydides, states have used wealth to acquire more territory and to dominate the affairs of their neighbors. Understanding the reasons that the powerful countries of today are less prone to dispute than their predecessors is critical to maintaining the peace and to extending its benefits more broadly."
Twenty Myths About Markets
Tom Palmer subjects popular fallacies about the market system to the critical scrutiny of economics and ethics.
The Freedom Philosophy
This anthology includes 14 essays on the political, economic, and moral foundations of a free society. These classic writings by Leonard E. Read, Frank Chodorov, Benjamin Rogge, F. A. Harper, among others, demonstrate the superiority of individual choice and capitalism over any forms of collectivism.
Entrepreneurs Are the Heroes of the World
By Johan Norberg: "The amazing fact is that entrepreneurs and innovators and businesses have turned luxuries that not even kings could afford into low-priced everyday items at your local store. That is the best defense of capitalism."
The Market Economy and the Distribution of Wealth
By Ludwig M. Lachmann: "Everywhere today in the free world we find the opponents of the market economy at a loss for plausible arguments. Of late the “case for central planning” has shed much of its erstwhile luster. We have had too much experience of it. The facts of the last forty years are too eloquent."
Strangulation by Regulation
By Peter Van Doren: "Why are America's markets so heavily regulated? Regulation usually rides in the Trojan horse of "market failure"-the perception that a particular market does not (or will not) operate efficiently without government intervention. Yet regulation persists in spite of evidence that it does not enhance efficiency. Why?"
Recommended
New on Free Will: Bruce Caldwell on Hayek
"This week, I talk with Bruce Caldwell, author of Hayek’s Challenge, a wonderfully lucid, comprehensive, and penetrating account of the development of Hayek’s economic and methodological ideas. Hayek is one of my enthusiasms, so I had a great time talking to Bruce, who knows as much about Hayek as anyone." - Will Wilkinson
Don't Shed a Tear Over Bid for Beer
By John D. Burger: "An unsolicited bid by the Belgian-Brazilian conglomerate InBev to take over Anheuser Busch has set off a backlash among the American public. Protesters of the proposed deal are relying on patriotic slogans such as "Keep Budweiser American" in an attempt to rally the masses against the originally friendly but increasingly hostile takeover bid. I find this reaction terribly embarrassing."
Munger on the Political Economy of Public Transportation
"Mike Munger and Russ Roberts deliver one of the best podcasts ever. Munger describes the way in which moving from a private bus system to a public system in Santiago Chile made essentially everyone in the city worse off. The puzzle that Roberts keeps pushing Munger to resolve is why the political incentives do not work to abolish the public system and revert to a private system." - Bryan Caplan
A Matter of Life and Death
By Karol Boudreaux: "By some estimates South Africa has taken in over three million illegal immigrants in the past year - not just people in search of better jobs, but also Zimbabweans fleeing Robert Mugabe's reign. The unfortunate byproduct of this influx of immigrants is a longstanding and mostly dormant xenophobia that has reared its head. "
Mexicans and Machines: Why It's Time To Lay Off NAFTA
"Like technology, trade gives us more good stuff than bad—yet Americans are likely to cheer technology and fear trade. No doubt TV talkers and White House wannabes will keep stoking our fears of foreigners until voters and viewers stop buying it—or until robots snag their jobs, too."
In Defense of "Sweatshops"
Benjamin Powell: "Because sweatshops are better than the available alternatives, any reforms aimed at improving the lives of workers in sweatshops must not jeopardize the jobs that they already have."
Kidneys for Sale: Iranian Organ Donation
By Kerry Howley: "'What can Iran teach us about good governance?' is not a question often posed in Washington. But according to Benjamin Hippen, a transplant nephrologist in North Carolina, the Iranians have managed to do something American policy makers have long thought impossible: They’ve found kidneys for every single citizen in need."
The Biofuel Brew Ha-Ha
By Peter Suderman: Reason contributor Peter Suderman writes that the biofuels craze is boosting the price of beer, because farmers are shifting away from barley to biofuel crops made more lucrative by mandates and subsidies.
If I Were a Shill For Industry ...
By Donald J. Boudreaux: "A blogger recently complained that I (along with my fellow bloggers from George Mason University's Department of Economics) "seem to be shills for industry." This lazy accusation is as familiar as it is mistaken, for if I were truly a shill for industry ..."
The Five Dumbest Product Bans
By Eli Lehrer: "Even as the array of consumer products available to the average American expands each day, a bewildering variety of government regulations serve to limit consumer choice. From the aircraft on which Americans fly to the food they buy in the grocery store, government regulation limits product choice at every turn."
Health, Africa’s struggle
By Thompson Ayodele: "Foreign aid in the form of hard currency is flowing in unprecedented quantities into the ministries of health of many African countries.
"But despite this generosity things are not improving: medical staff are demoralised, access to essential medicines remains low and corruption remains a serious problem."
(D) All of the Above
By Daniel Ikenson: "As an advocate of free trade, I feel slightly vindicated by reports that the Obama campaign quietly assured the Canadian government that the Senator’s strident words about NAFTA in last week’s debate were merely political rhetoric. We’ve long been saying that opposition to trade is mostly an artifice of politics. But the story begs the question: Is Obama (a) economically illiterate; (b) dishonest, or; (c) naďve. The answer is (d), all of the above."
Ohio Needs More Foreign Trade
By Daniel T. Griswold: "But tinkering with a 14-year-old trade agreement [NAFTA] will not bring an industrial renaissance to Youngstown and other Rust Belt cites. The relative decline of those regions dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, when the American economy began a transition from heavy industry toward an information-based service economy."
Orders and Organizations
By Don Boudreaux: "More generally, it seems difficult for some people to grasp the fact that society and government are not identical -- or, more precisely, to grasp the fact that civil society can and does often thrive outside of government influence and, indeed, very often (I would say most often) in spite of such influence."
Atlas Hugged
Brian Doherty: "As executive vice president of the Cato Institute, Boaz is one of the media's primary go-to guys on libertarian thought and policy. And in his new book, "The Politics of Freedom," a collection of his short-form journalism from the past 25 years, Boaz pushes an interesting and counterintuitive belief about American politics. The political spectrum, he argues, contains a lot more libertarians than the two major party's stances would lead you to believe."
Living Large: America's Middle Class
"To hear the Lou Dobbses and Bill O'Reillys of the world--not to mention politicians ranging from Ron Paul to Hillary Clinton--the middle class of America (however you define that term) has never had it so tough. Between credit squeezes, out-of-control immigration, rising costs of education and health care and everything else, it's all darkness out there for those of us who are neither millionaires nor welfare cases, right?
In 'Living Large,' Drew Carey and reason.tv examine the plight of the American middle class. What do they find? "
The Economics of Tolerance
With Will Wilkinson: "When the economy's good, Americans tend to act better toward their fellow citizens. But commentator Will Wilkinson says in a sliding economy, we tend to slam the gates of opportunity."
Super Tuesday Winners and Losers
Michael D. Tanner: "A few thoughts in the wake of last nights elections:"
Flex-Fuel Nonsense
By Jerry Taylor: "Congress can no more guarantee that fuel prices will go down from now until the end of time than it can guarantee a robust sex life for fat, balding, middle-aged men. Fuel prices are subject to supply and demand curves that do not answer to Congress — particularly in global energy markets."
Unintended Consequences
By Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt: "But with a government that is regularly begged for relief — these days, from mortgage woes, health-care costs and tax burdens — and with every presidential hopeful making daily promises to address these woes, it might be worth encouraging the winning candidate to think twice (or even 8 or 10 times) before rushing off to do good. Because if there is any law more powerful than the ones constructed in a place like Washington, it is the law of unintended consequences."
The Foolishness of Economic 'Stimulus'
By Donald J. Boudreaux: "The best way for policymakers to foster such growth is to avoid panicking over any current economic downswing. Instead, they should focus on getting the economic fundamentals right. Such emphasis might not make things better – or even make things appear to be better – today, but it will make our tomorrows as bright as possible."
Dismal Science Sees Upbeat Future
By Alexander Tabarrok: "Forget the talk of recession. The world is about to enter a new era in which miracle drugs will conquer cancer and other killer diseases and technological and scientific advances will trigger unprecedented economic growth and global prosperity."
What to Expect When You’re Free Trading
By Steven E. Landsburg: "All economists know that when American jobs are outsourced, Americans as a group are net winners. What we lose through lower wages is more than offset by what we gain through lower prices. In other words, the winners can more than afford to compensate the losers. Does that mean they ought to?"
The Real Key to Development
By Mary Anastasia O'Grady: "The Index [of Economic Freedom] also reports that the freest 20% of the world's economies have twice the per capita income of those in the second quintile and five times that of the least-free 20%. In other words, freedom and prosperity are highly correlated."
An Empirical Analysis of Street-Level Prostitution
By Steven D. Levitt and Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh: "Unlike most other crimes, prostitution is based on markets, and thus potentially of special interest to economists. It is thus surprising that amidst the burgeoning literature on the economics of crime, there is little analysis of prostitution."
The Failure of U.S. Organ Procurement Policy
By T. Randolph Beard, John D. Jackson, and David L. Kaserman: "In this article, we calculate how many lives will be lost if the United States continues in its current policy course. We do this to motivate policymakers to stop implementing one ineffectual policy action after another and attack the organ shortage with more effective weaponry in the form of financial incentives."
The Micromagic of Microcredit
By Karol Boudreaux and Tyler Cowen: "If a poor family is able to keep a child in school, send someone to a clinic, or build up more secure savings, its well-being improves, if only marginally. This is a big part of the reason why poor people are demanding greater access to microcredit loans. And microcredit, unlike many charitable services, is capable of paying for itself—which explains why the private sector is increasingly involved. The future of microcredit lies in the commercial sector, not in unsustainable aid programs."
Paths to Property
By Karol Boudreaux and Paul Aligica: "The study finds that the “easy option” of agencies entering less-developed countries and using blueprints to try to recreate institutions in Africa that work effectively in the West often fails miserably. Indeed, the failures of such approaches can give the whole privatisation and property rights process, vital for sustainable economic growth, a bad name."
Raw Deal
By Sallie James: "Hollywood had better hope that a services liberalization deal reached Dec. 17 between the United States and the European Union holds. Without a successful resolution to the long-running Internet gambling dispute, American movies, music and software could be vulnerable to copyright infringement."
Regulatory Competition: A Primer
By Jennifer Smith-Bozek: "A given government jurisdiction—local, state, or federal—can provide regulatory alternatives to compete with those of another government. Regulatory competition can attract more businesses and jobs, yield regulations that are more efficient and less expensive, and thereby provide more options to consumers."
What to Be Thankful For
By David Boaz: "Not long ago a journalist asked me what freedoms we take for granted in America. Now, I spend most of my time sounding the alarm about the freedoms we're losing. But this was a good opportunity to step back and consider how America is different from much of world history -- and why immigrants still flock here."
Politically Determined Entertainment Ratings and How to Avoid Them
By Cord Blomquist and Eli Lehrer: In this new report, published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the authors "determine that the best rating systems have three attributes: They attempt to describe, rather than prescribe, what entertainment media should contain; they are particularly suited to their particular media forms; and they were created with little or no direct input from government."
Sweet Land of Liberty?
By Donald J. Boudreaux: "In this sweet land of liberty it is surprising how readily we modern Americans let others rule us. I'm not talking about Americans letting some foreign government rule us. That won't happen anytime soon. There's no risk that, say, we will quietly surrender to an invading army sent from the likes of Moscow or Beijing. I'm talking about being ruled by homegrown politicians and petty tyrants who butt their noses into the sizes of our toilets, the amount of salt we consume and countless other provinces of our daily lives."
Munger on Fair Trade and Free Trade
"Mike Munger, frequent guest and longtime Econlib contributor, speaks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about fair trade coffee and free trade agreements. Does the premium for fair trade coffee end up in the hands of the grower? What economic forces might stop that from happening?"
What if Economic Conservatives Stay Home on Election Day?
By Michael D. Tanner: "There is no doubt that religious conservatives are an important part of the Republican coalition. Yet the media, and more importantly, the candidates, seem curiously unconcerned with another discontented part of that coalition: economic, small-government conservatives."
Economics in Many Lessons: A Better Brew for Rwanda
By Donald J. & Karol C. Boudreaux: "In some parts of the long-suffering continent, good things are happening and too few people, in Africa and elsewhere, know about them."
Adam Smith - A Primer
"Despite his fame, there is still widespread ignorance about the breadth of Adam Smith’s contributions to economics, politics and philosophy. In Adam Smith – A Primer, Eamonn Butler provides an authoritative introduction to the life and work of this ‘founder of economics’. "
Fat on the Farm Bill
By Dr. Sallie James: The Farm Bill is the ultimate example of concentrated benefits and diffused costs. Farm subsidies are hard to justify on their merits, and even harder to justify when they go to massive corporate farms.
Let Them Eat Laptops
By Daniel R. Ballon: "The '$100 laptop,' which actually costs $188, can only be purchased at a minimum quantity of 250,000. OLPC targets countries like Nigeria, where one out of three children suffer from malnutrition. There a $50 million minimum investment could instead be used to feed more than a million children for an entire year."
With Government Money Come Strings
By John Stossel: "f vouchers contain this potential danger, what can be done to help get kids out of dismal government schools? A better alternative is a tax credit for any parent who pays for private schooling or anyone else who helps put child through non-government schools."
What Can the United States Learn from the Nordic Model?
By Daniel J. Mitchell: "Conservative critics correctly condemn the large welfare states, but often overlook the positive results generated by laissez-faire policies in other areas. Liberals, meanwhile, exaggerate the economic performance of Nordic nations in an effort to justify welfare-state policies, while failing to acknowledge the role of freemarket policies in other areas."
Free Trade: America’s Opportunity
By Leland Yeager: "Want to read an economist's economist? Want an example of scholarly writing that is crystal clear? Want to understand better the case for free trade? If so, you can do no better than to read this 1954 monograph." - Dr. Donald Boudreaux, Chairman of the Economics Department of George Mason University
In Defense of Scalpers
By David Harsanyi: "In the end, I’m not sure why it’s fair to allow monopolies to sell tickets and not individuals. Turning a profit on your investment doesn’t sound like a crime to me. It sounds like America."
What FDR Had In Common With the Other Charismatic Collectivists of the 30s
By David Boaz: "When economic crisis hit — in Italy and Germany after World War I, in the United States with the Great Depression — the anti-liberals seized the opportunity, arguing that the market had failed and that the time for bold experimentation had arrived."
The Humanitarian with the Guillotine
By Isabel Paterson: "Most of the harm in the world is done by good people, and not by accident, lapse, or omission. It is the result of their deliberate actions, long persevered in, which they hold to be motivated by high ideals toward virtuous ends."
Economic Freedom Breeds Prosperity
By James Dorn: "The key lesson from Hong Kong's "small government, big market" model of development is that economic freedom is the best path toward sustainable development, understood as increasing the range of choices open to people. "
Two Kinds of Order
John Marks suggests "that the fundamental differences between liberal and socialist societies arise because liberal societies depend primarily on evolutionary rationalism and spontaneous order, whereas the structures of socialist societies take constructive rationalism and designated order as their model."