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Good ideas matter, but seeing them take shape in the real world matters more.

2025 is quickening towards its end, and such moments invite reflection on the year. And it gives me an opportunity to tell you things Mercatus did that I relished. I’d wager you would relish some of these things as well, dear reader. To that end, here are five things, in no particular order, that I enjoyed at Mercatus this year. This list is not exhaustive; indeed, it’s only a small sampling of the myriad activities we accomplished this year. Without further ado, let’s get into it.
1.
This past summer, my family and I were driving back from Florida and stopped at McDonald's (the arches are a beacon of hope). There was a TV on the wall, and what do I see but Senator Bill Cassidy discussing portable benefits on Fox News. I was watching years of Mercatus research break through to the national stage.

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Liya Palagashvili
has spent five years demonstrating the power of portable benefits, and this moment was the culmination of that work. Congress even introduced a bill in support of portable benefits.

2.
We launched the

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Emerging Scholars Program ,
aimed at finding brilliant minds who want to do brilliant work in the classically liberal tradition.

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Rebecca Lowe
heads up the program, and she's become one of those annoying colleagues you call a "friend."

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Henry Oliver ,

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Patterson Beaman ,

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Elsie Jang ,

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John Maier ,
and

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Revana Sharfuddin
round out the cohort, and they've already made their mark—speaking at Anthropic events, co-authoring an amicus brief, writing for UnHerd and Works in Progress, and much more. Watching them work has been a genuine pleasure.

3.
This spring, I participated in the Alexis de Tocqueville Fellowship. We read Adam Smith, J. S. Mill, Hayek, Deirdre McCloskey, Pete Boettke, and many more. There's something clarifying about returning to foundational thinkers alongside colleagues who take ideas seriously. It sharpened my thinking and reminded me why I do this work. Applications for

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Mercatus fellowships are now open
for those eager to wrestle seriously with the classical liberal tradition and its relevance today.

4.
Texas passed seven major housing reform bills this year—the largest state-level package in the country. Policymakers relied on Mercatus research to inform legislation that

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expands housing supply and improves affordability .
And that's just one example: 27 Mercatus-informed state bills became law nationwide. Research that gathers dust helps no one; research that shapes legislation is another thing entirely.

5.
Marginal Revolution University launched

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Econ Nerds ,
a Substack dedicated to making economics accessible and genuinely fun. If you haven't subscribed yet, do yourself a favor. It's the kind of thing that reminds you why economics captured your imagination in the first place.


mailto:[email protected]?subject=
Ben Brophy
Vice President, Strategic Engagement

Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Topics & Issues



We’re in the midst of our year-end fundraising campaign. Would you
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consider partnering with us in our work to build a more liberal world and to develop the next generation of free-market thinkers?

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Europe is not misunderstood , it’s underperforming, according to Jack Salmon.

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Is 3% inflation the new 2%? David Beckworth examines the difficulties facing the Fed in its pursuit of jobs and low inflation.

Henry Oliver’s
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favorite books of 2025 , in case you need some late Christmas gift ideas.









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