Benchmark Blog

The US government gives universities tens of billions of dollars per year for research. There are problems with how we allocate these funds.

What costs are imposed by privacy legislation? This page is a compilation of all known estimates from researchers and government agencies.

Section 230 is at the core of the internet. It is also at the core of policy debates across all branches and levels of government.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a beast. It’s complicated and multifaceted, and its intricacies are hard to summarize.

There is plenty of blame to go around for the Covid pandemic, but one factor that has so far escaped notice is Eroom’s Law.

After nearly five months, the largest wildfire to ever hit New Mexico has finally been contained. It started as a prescribed burn.

The pandemic led to major supply chain disruptions in all sorts of industries, and baby formula was no exception.

Although the American public distrusts social media companies, most believe these companies are justified in their content moderation.

Geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan’s new book says if the global order is collapsing, then innovation is our best response.

In a speech to Congress at the end of June, President Biden urged state and federal legislators to implement a three-month gas tax holiday.

On the whole, the research on millions of genealogy records shows that there’s nothing new about modern immigration. In fact, the only hint of something new is that immigration is becoming more popular—though a segment of the population is also becoming more anti-immigration at the same time.

Every June and July Ukraine starts harvesting winter wheat. The war with Russia may complicate things this year.

Farming is starting to look more like a Star Wars than Little House on the Prairie as they start to implement drones and more technology.

If you want gleaming, modern infrastructure worthy of the richest country on the planet, don’t focus on interest rates. Build state capacity.

October 4, 2021, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp were down for almost six hours. What did people do? Will Rinehart dives into the data.

You think inflation is making us grumpy now? Just wait until we start running out of chocolate. Josh Smith explains in this blog post.

Former undergraduate research fellow Rachel Idso explains the US refugee resettlement program is like a paddleboard that has lost its keel.

Social media has been blamed for increased teen suicide and self-harm. Taylor Barkley shows it's more complicated than it is being portrayed.

The United States has always been a nation of immigrants. What has driven political hostility toward immigration and how can we change it?

With the fate of the world at stake, Project Hail Mary shows Earthlings how to innovate to save the planet. What lessons about working together and working quickly can we learn to not only address climate change but also cooperate with other life-forms in the universe?

In this post, Will Rinehart uses an economic model to estimate the real extent of broadband availability in the US.

David Miller makes the case that the higher the rate of immigration, the more pro-active integration policy needs to be in this blog post.

How can we make delivery more eco-friendly? Mitchell Pound discusses some potential solutions in this blog post.

On Earth Day, Josh Smith and Jennifer Morales discuss how more people, not fewer, can help in the fight against climate change.

On Earth Day, Will Rinehart reminds us that: The only way to make Earth a better place is by joining abundance and ingenuity.

An ongoing list of how veto points have slowed development, transportation projects, housing, and people trying to start a business.

Immigration enforcement has been rising at an unprecedented rate. Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes discusses the fallout and how to change our assimilation approach.

Among the many causes of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one that stands out is Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas. Eli Dourado explains.

When addressing pollution, we can’t allow environmental perfection to get in the way of environmental progress. Joe Davis explains.

Josh Smith makes the case for why the US should grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Ukraine refugees after the Russian invasion.