Occasional Papers

All papers can be ordered here.

Occasional Paper 101

The future task of Liberalism - A political agenda
Theme Report, Liberal International Congress, Pisa,
September 1988

Ralf Dahrendorf, 1988 (2011)

“Constraints set limits to what can be done but do not determine what has to be done”, wrote Ralf Dahrendorf more than twenty years ago. This sentence still applies, and has perhaps become even more relevant, to the situation in which political Liberalism finds itself in Germany today. Dahrendorf headed his article The future tasks of Liberalism – a political agenda, and the present political discussion is also about nothing more or less than that. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 93

The Dutch health care system – Can the Germans go Dutch?

Marcel Canoy, 2010

Since the health care reform of 2006 only private health insurances exist in the Netherlands. The reform seems to meet the financial standards: in 2009 the health sector has been the first time in the black. There are no waiting lists for specialists any longer, but therefore we find higher efficiency, lower costs and a better transparency of expenses. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 92

American Health Care Policy Issues

Arnold Kling, 2010

The belief that America has the world‘s greatest health care system implies limits on how much reform the public is willing to accept. The unsustainable projected fiscal path suggests that politically unpopular reforms are on the horizon. »PDF-file«

Occasional Paper 90

Liberalism, liberal policy and private property

Stefan Melnik, 2009

The author gathers principles that build the basis of the institution of property rights. The relation of property rights to other aspects of a liberal society (like rule of law and democracy) is thereby an essential element. The political adviser Stefan Melnik explains why private property is so important and why we should feel obliged to protect and inplement property rights. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 87

Non-Centralism - The Swiss Experiment ...

Robert Nef, 2009

Nef writes about institutional differences between Switzerland and Germany and why this is important for communal self adminsitration in both countries. Non-centralism and democratical legitimatized taxation in Switzerland leads to more efficent production and distribution of public goods than the centralized financing of local government in Germany. The paper is only available as PDF-file.

Occasional Paper 86

The private Provision of Public Goods - The History and Future of Communal Liberalism

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. This paper is only available as PDF-file.

Occasional Paper 84

The American Dream - Job Migration Into The United States, 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. PDF-file.

Occasional Paper 82

Migration matters - How Germany and the world can benefit from a free movement of people, Philippe Legrain, 2009

Immigration divides our globalising 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 labour is supposedly a fundamental principle, restrictions still exist. For P. Legrain such controls are morally wrong, economically stupid and politically harmful. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 80

Freedom, The Rule of Law and Market Economy. Concerning a cognitive dissonance

Dr. Detmar Doering, 2011

Market economy is often subject to suspicion. It appears to represent an aspect
of freedom that not everybody feels secure with. Already in Germany (but not
only here) stress on a supposed contradiction between the understanding of
the rule of law or civil rights freedoms on the one hand and market freedom
on the other hand is becoming more and more pronounced. PDF-file

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. PDF-file

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. PDF-file

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. PDF-file

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. PDF-file

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. PDF-file  

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. PDF-file

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. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 48

Freedom Properly Understood

Tom G. Palmer, 2008

Freedom is rightly considered to be the highest end of mankind. Many people agree, many people don't 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 provides politicians with some justification for limitations of freedom in the name of the goods. Palmer tries to clarify the discussion about what freedom actually is. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 47

Civil Society? NGOism at Work

Temba A. Nolutshungu, 2008

The author criticizes NGOs in the 'statist camp'. They are a mostly living with a bifurcated view to the world, villains on one side, victims on the other. As they permanently lobby for increased state intervention in their particular area, they hardly deserve the label 'NGO'. He also characterizes the approach of classical liberal NGOs, who believe in taking personal responsibility for one's own destiny. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 46

KYOTO - several years after

Martin Fronìk and Jiri Schwarz, 2008

Global climate change is in headlines every day. The most important documents for the debate are the Reports Climate Change 2007 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, written by the former chief economist of the World Bank. The writers elaborate the criticism of top academic economists on these two documents. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 45

Human Rights in Danger? Myths and Realities in the UN

Doug Bandow, 2008

On the whole, the Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations 60 years ago offers a positive vision for humanity. Bandow gives a disillusioned description of today's human rights engagement of the UN, which he regards a lost opportunity and failure. Should democratic states consider investing the bulk of their current UN contributions in a new organization, open only to liberal democratic nations? PDF-file

Occasional Paper 44

CSR: Capitalism at its Best or an Anti-Capitalist Mentality?

Parth J. Shah, 2008

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is widely accepted as a high moral achievement in modern market society. Self-interest and morality are still seen as opposites. Shah disapproves special ethics for business men. What we need is not corporate social responsibility but individual self-responsibility. Not special ethics for social groups are required. Business morality is simply personal morality. No more and no less. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 43

Soft Power and international rule-making

Frank Vibert, 2008

In international rule-making there is a mix of hard and soft techniques. In his paper Frank Vibert focuses particularly on soft power in the sense of making international rules of behaviour as a way of avoiding the use of coercive means also as economic sanctions and the use of force. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 42

Nation-Building in the Middle East: The new Imperialism?

Erich Weede, 2008

Since September 11, 2001, failed states within the Muslim world are perceived as training camps and bases for the global export of violence. The rich countries of the West and especially the United States undergo big efforts to avoid state-failure by nation-building everywhere on the globe. Erich Weede firstly outlines some obstacles to successful nation-building, followed by analysis of the experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 41

The Crisis of the WTO

Wolf-Dieter Zumpfort, 2008

The paper begins with a short overview of world trade after World War II, followed by a discussion of the current situation. WTO with its 151 member countries today is the legal backbone of world trade. The ongoing round of negotiations has come to a standoff. A failure would nullify all that has been achieved so far. If there is no outcome, what is at stake for world trade - and e.g. for the developing countries? PDF-file

Occasional Paper 40

A Market Driven Critique on the Role of the International Financial Institutions in the Development Process in Latin America

Juan Carlos Leal Sosa, 2008

The International Financial Institutions (IFI), World Bank and International Monetary Fund, are today in the struggle to survive or compete in the global world they help to create. In several crises in Latin America, the IMF stepped into its role as lender of last resort. The interventions of the IFI were vast - and sometimes unnecessary. Are they still up to date, as in today's world helping has become a private business?PDF-file

Occasional Paper 39

Early Childhood Education in Finland

Liisa Heinämäki, 2008

In this paper Early Childhood Education in Finland is presented by three main aspects: 1. Finnish Social policy as a frame for Early Years Education, 2. Arranging Services: systems and forms, and 3. Early Years Education: Principles and Guiding. Early Childhood Education and Care includes Caring, Educating and Teaching. ECEC is educational interaction taking place in young children's different living environments, aimed at promoting their balanced growth, development and learning. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 38

The Impact of Tax and Benefits on Family Structure

Patricia Morgan, 2008

Are we a social species? Not if UK household trends are anything to go by these just suggest increasing fragmentation or atomisation.As strongly deterrent tax, benefit structure and messy marital laws mean that less and less people will get married, the percentage of all children born to unwed mothers will go on rising and, in the ongoing contest between two reproductive strategies, the direction of the social dynamic is towards fewer conjugal families and more woman-state-child families. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 37

Quality, Quantity and Type of Child Care: Effects on Child Development in the USA

Jay Belsky, 2008

This paper summarises major findings emerging from the largest and most systematic investigation of the developmental effects of nonmaternal child care on children's development ever conducted in USA, the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (SECC). PDF-file

Occasional Paper 36

Free Markets and Peace - An International Overview

Erik Gartzke, 2007

Generating peace obviously is an important condition of allowing market mechanisms, limiting the ambit of government and of integrating nations through the network of voluntary exchanges. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 35

Agricultural Reform in New Zealand

Alastair Jardine, 2010

New Zealand's agricultural reforms (1984-1991) offer a number of lessons for other countries. Perhaps the most obvious is that farmers can prosper without substantial state assistance. Given the enormous dimension of the agricultural subsidies in the budget of the European Union it is worth looking at successful reforms that contain subsidies cut-back. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 34

Unfulfilled expectations: Israelis? changing view of the role of the state and its implications

Tamar Hermann, 2007

For a long time the Israeli Jewish society was characterized by a deeply rooted collectivist orientation. The strong state was seen in positive light. Only since the late 1970s slight changes in the attitude towards the state began to appear. In the present paper Tamar Herman, Professor at the Open University of Israel, analyses this process and its consequences for the Israeli society. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 33

Devolution as a Guarantor of Peace

Leon Louw, 2007

The term "devolution" does mean, that power is passed down to regions, districts, local governments, communities, etc. We know from experience that devolution does further liberty, peace, prosperity and is in harmony with principles of democracy. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 32

Orange Revolution: Origins, Successes and Failures of Democratic Transformation

Olexiy Haran, Petro Burkovsky, 2007

The Orange Revolution was a symbol of hope for people in the whole post-Soviet space. In 2004 the falsification of the Presidential elections led to massive and finally successful protests. Two years later, in 2006, the Ukrainian political system and the democratic forces faced serious problems. PDF- file

Occasional Paper 31

Consequences of Military and Foreign Policy Competion for Economic Development and the Growth of Big Government

Peter Bernholz, 2007

"War is the father of all things", so thought Heraclitus. Vergilius' opinion however was "No good is in war". The author takes for empirical reasons a middle position: Military and political competition of states has in the long run favourable influences in establishing market competition and is beneficial to economic growth. As a rule this does lead to a long-term reduction of the share of military exependitures. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 30

A Variety Of Visions For The Post-9/11 State: Which Is Most Capable Of Reducing Internal Conflict?

John A. Tures, 2007

Empirical data suggest that countries with governments which respect civil liberties and economic freedoms are less likely to have domestic conflicts than countries with non-liberal government. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 29

How the United Nations Undermines World Peace

Pierre Bessard, 2007

In this paper the author sharply criticises the United Nations for its statist and relativist approach. Behind a glossy façade the organisation did not unite nations, but governments. Pierre Bessard analyzes policies and ideology of the UN and demonstrates that its agenda is collectivist and anti-capitalist. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 28

The West Divided? The Future of Transatlantic Relations

Jacques Garello, 2007

Only five years after the events of September 11th 2001 a deep division among the Western governments became obvious. Jacques Garello, em. Professor at the Université d' Aix Marseille III, analyzes the main reasons for this division. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 27

Freedom and Competion: The Future of Europe

Sascha Tamm, 2006

The European integration has brought prosperity and lots of liberties to their citizens. But there are also undesirable developements as bureaucracy and centralisation. This paper contains a liberal concept for the future of Europe. PDF-file

Occasional Paper 25

The Politics of EU Tax Harmonisation

Richard Teather, 2006

The European Union has already many powers to raise and harmonise taxes. This not only tifles tax competition, say British economist Richard Teather. It is an attempt to impose the increasingly failing "social model" of  "old Europe" on those who do not wish to follow that path. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 24

The Moral Case for Tax Havens

Daniel J. Mitchell, 2006

International institutions like the OECD or the EU are increasingly impatient about so-called "tax havens" and ask for concerted political action against them. In his provocative study Daniel Mitchell (Heritage Foundation) not only argues that tax havens are a necessary pre-condition for genuine tax competition. He also argues that they are safeguards for the individual rights of those who are persecuted by dictatorial regimes all around the globe. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 23

The Economics of International Tax Competition

Gerrit Köster, 2006

In the debate over the advantages or disadvantages of international tax competition it is often overlooked that there are robust economic criteria for its evaluation. To put it more precisely: Under which conditions is tax competition the source of wealth, solid public finances and more employment through innovation? Gerrit B. Koester gives an introduction into the most elementary answers to these questions. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 21

Unfair Competition? Slovakia's Tax Policy

Martin Chren, 2006

Slovakia's dynamic tax policies have not only produced more economic growth, they have also invited criticism from high-tax countries of the EU. "Unfair competition" is the new slogan for those who would like to harmonise taxation on a very high level. Slovakia's tax policies are, however, not unfair at all, argues Martin Chren (Hayek Foundation, Bratislava). They are rather an incentive for others to ?clean up? their tax systems. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 20

Liberty: The Best Remedy Against Poverty

Otto Graf Lambsdorff, reprint 2005

Opponents of the free market often argue, that freedom was good for the rich, but bad for the poor. Otto Graf Lambsdorff (former chairman of the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung) argues that "on the contrary" the market economy was and is the only path to economic development for the poor. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 19

The Social Dimension of Liberal Policy

Hubertus Müller-Groeling, reprint 2005

"Liberal policy has per se an important social dimension", and "It is based on a model of society which is intrinsically social, and safeguards the freedom of the individual to fulfil his life plan in the civil society", says Professor Hubertus Mueller-Groeling, a former member of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation's board and former vice-president of the Institute for World Economics. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 26

Education without the State - British private and charitable schooling in the 19th century and beyond

James Bartholomew, 2006

A historical perspective does demonstrate that many results of the public education sector could have been easily achieved by private and non-governmental mean. On the contrary, the state?s influence often lead to a decline in quality. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 18

Independent Schooling in South Africa

Jean Redpath, 2006

In South Africa tuition fees have, contrary to the law, excluded many children of the poor from public schools. The relative privileged position of formerly white schools has been reinforced. At the same time private schools have increase in the low income segment, where the low quality of the public schools has created a new demand fort hem. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 17

Education and the Free Society

Kenneth Minogue, 2006

Education, understood as the activity of sustaining and transmitting of culture needs freedom as a condition of ist existence. Potentially it is always in conflict with other interests and institutions in society. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 16

Europe and Education

Ulrich van Lith, 2006

Competing educational and training systems strengthen Europe and her member states. A European capital market for investment in human capital has to increase the competitiveness and integration of Europe. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 15

An Overview of Parental Choice Education in the United States

Jennifer Marshall, 2006

Choice in education in the US leads to mor equality of chances and gives more opportunities to disadvantaged student from a low-income family background. School choice has improved the achievements of public schools and their students and has contributed to more contendment of the parents. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 14

The Impact of Dezentralized Knowledge on Education

Peter A. Henning, 2006

How does the extreme growth of data and knowledge and its half-life period affect the use and quality of education. Education in the 21st century will means the access to electronic ressources of learning ? at any place and not ending at a certain age. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 13

The State versus the Poor

David C. Berliner, 2006

The positive correlation between family income and educational achievement has the effect that in the US the school system does not reach ist goals. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 12

The Use of International Comparative Assessment Studies

Jaap Scheerens, 2006

International comparative educational assessment studies can be useful in analysing and comparing the average national standards, the differences between the achievements of schools and students, and the effects of given pre-conditions of the school system. They can answer questions about efficiency and quality standards. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 11

Sustainability criticised

Richard D North, 2005

"Sustainability" has become something like a universal standard of politics beyond criticism. But what's behind this? In his paper "Sustainable Development: A Concept with a Future?" British publicist Richard D. North points at the weak spots in this concept. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 10

Between Freedom and Censorship. Asian Political Parties in Cyberspace

James Gomez, 2005

During the last decade the internet became more and more important as an instrument of political campaigning and discussion. The political parties of Asia use this method too, but in very different ways. James Gomez describes in this paper the latest developments in this area. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 9

Human Rights and the Wars on Drugs and Terrorism

Rafael Pardo Rueda, 2005

The countries of Latin America face two threats: political and organized terrorism based on illicit drug trade. The fight against these threats gave the military forces the opportunity to defend their importance and their power during the ongoing process of democratization. The principles of the rule of law are not fully or not at all applied on their actions. Rafael Pardo, a former defence minister of Columbia explains how the fight against security threats became a threat to human rights itself and offers some proposals to improve the legal framework. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 8

The Drug War Against Civil Liberty and Human Rights

David B. Kopel, Michael Krause, 2005

In 1971 President Nixon launched the modern war on drugs. It is fought today by a huge expensive bureaucracy and militarized police units. The authors analyze how this policy violates America?s founding principles of individual liberty, limited government, and federalism and present some reform proposals. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 7

Liberty in the Modern World

Richard D. North, 2005

Modern people have more freedom than any in history, but perhaps understand it rather less. The author wants to remind ourselves that liberty ? rights and freedoms ? flows from good government and order and not at least from responsible citizens. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 6

What are Human Rights?

Hardy Bouillon, 2005

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights consists of logically inconsistent bundle of rights and claim-rights. Hardy Bouillon demonstrates in this paper that this problem can only be solved if human rights are put in terms of property rights. Claim-rights are always connected with violations of property rights and therefore capable of eroding human rights in general. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 5

Globalization: Threat or Opportunity to Women in the Developing World?

Jo Kwong, 2004

Women in developing countries are often poorer than their male counterparts. Is globalisation to blame? Jo Kwong shows that the freedom of the market and the freedom to organise themselves offers enormous chances to women. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 4

Do Intellectual Property Rights Harm Africa

James Shikwati, 2004

Why can you buy Coca Cola even in the smallest of all African villages, but why not medicine? James S. Shikwati (Nairobi) argues the case for better copy-right protection in developing countries.PDF-File

Occasional Paper 3

Could the Globalisation of Education Benefit the Poor

James Tooley, 2004

The state has failed to deliver good education for the great mass of the people in developing countries. But would globalisation and privatisation produce something better? Yes, it would, says British experts James Tooley, and comes up with some remarkable empirical evidence. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 2

Globalisation and Culture: Homogeneity, Diversity, Identity, Liberty

Tom Palmer, 2004

Will globalisation condemn us to cultural uniformity? Tom Palmer (Cato Institute, Washington) says, that this is not the case. On the contrary, globalisation in freedom has all it takes to enrich our cultures. PDF-File

Occasional Paper 1

Globalisation and the Poor

Johan Norberg, 2004

Johan Norberg, a young Swedish historian, became famous for his great bestselling book ? In Defence of Global Capitalism? It has been translated into 6 languages. The German translation "Das kapitalistische Manifest" was published by the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung in cooperation with the Eichborn-Verlag. PDF-File

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