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Forget predictions. Here's what Mercatus is actually building in 2026.

In my newsletter from two weeks ago, I reflected on several exciting issues that took shape at Mercatus in 2025. This week, it’s all about the future. For me, this could be the year I’m finally going to write that novel. Probably not. But for Mercatus, it will continue to be about leading the charge on developing classically liberal talent, market-oriented solutions, and groundbreaking policy ideas. Here are five things we’re working on in 2026.

Housing
Housing affordability remains one of the most acute policy failures in the United States, and Mercatus’s Urbanity team continues to lead the way in diagnosing the problem and offering practical solutions. Working across dozens of states with policymakers on the left, on the right, and everywhere in between, our scholars are focused on removing the zoning rules, permitting delays, and regulatory barriers that artificially constrain housing supply and drive up costs. Led by Emily Hamilton and Salim Furth, this work pairs rigorous economic analysis with on-the-ground engagement—helping cities and states understand how small policy changes can unlock meaningful increases in housing production.


In 2026, look for new, expanded menus of reform options designed to meet policymakers where they are and move housing markets toward abundance rather than scarcity.

Fiscal Issues
America’s trajectory of debt and deficit is no longer a distant concern—it is a present and growing constraint on economic growth, institutional credibility, and future policy choices. Mercatus scholars have been unrelenting in pointing this out, even when the message is unpopular. Veronique de Rugy, Jack Salmon, and Joshua Rowley continue to expose the trade-offs and illusions behind Washington’s fiscal complacency, while David Beckworth and Tom Hoenig have raised serious alarms about fiscal dominance and its implications for monetary policy and financial stability.


In 2026, this team will keep pressing for clarity, realism, and institutional reform—ensuring that debt, deficits, and monetary credibility remain central to the policy conversation rather than conveniently ignored.

Labor
Few policy areas better illustrate Mercatus’s long-game approach than labor markets. Just a few years ago, “portable benefits” barely registered in Washington. Today, thanks to sustained research and engagement by Liya Palagashvili, the idea has moved from the margins to the mainstream, with bipartisan legislation introduced in Congress last summer. Her work has helped reframe how policymakers think about independent work by demonstrating that flexibility and security are not opposites, and that outdated labor rules often hurt the very workers they claim to protect. By grounding labor policy in how people actually work, not how statutes assume they do, Mercatus is helping modernize the labor market for millions of workers.


In 2026, that effort continues—with a focus on preserving choice, expanding opportunity, and ensuring labor policy keeps pace with economic reality.

AI
Artificial intelligence is moving faster than almost any technology we’ve seen, and policymakers are understandably anxious. Too often, that anxiety turns into blunt, preemptive regulation—rules designed for yesterday’s models that risk freezing tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Mercatus is focused on pushing back against that instinct by emphasizing adaptive, decentralized, and innovation-friendly approaches to AI governance. Building on the work of scholars such as Ryan Hauser, our research argues for post-hoc accountability over prior restraint, warns against model-based regulation and premature licensing regimes, and takes seriously AI’s institutional implications for labor markets, firm structure, and state capacity.


In 2026, Mercatus will continue to push for AI governance that is adaptive rather than rigid, accountable rather than restrictive, and grounded in institutional realism rather than technological panic.

The Emerging Scholars Program
Mercatus launched the Emerging Scholars Program just six months ago, and the early results have exceeded our expectations. In its first cohort alone, scholars are already shaping policy debates, building serious public audiences, publishing in top-tier outlets, and engaging directly with policymakers, technologists, and institutions ranging from Congress to frontier AI labs. From Supreme Court amicus briefs and journal submissions to rapid audience growth on Substack, podcasts, and new media, the program is proving that there is real demand for economists and thinkers who combine rigor, persuasion, and public engagement. Just as encouraging is the pipeline behind them: Interest is strong, the talent pool is deep, and the next cohort is already shaping up to be exceptional.


As we look to 2026, I’m increasingly confident that the next generation of economic thinkers will find a home at Mercatus and help shape the future of policy for years to come.

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

Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Topics & Issues



Jack Salmon argues that
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Gabriel Zucman’s account of Venezuela mistakes foreign investment profits for “extraction,” turning an accounting fact into a misleading moral and historical narrative.


In a delightfully meta move, Ryan Hauser
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interviewed himself at Machine Culture. He outlines his philosophical approach to AI and emerging technologies.

David Beckworth
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talks to Per Asberg Sommar about the current state of the global economy and highlights how institutional choices and policy trade-offs are shaping today’s growth, inflation, and uncertainty.

Econ Nerds
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gives us six tips to lose weight based on economics. Matt Hill gives us proof that incentives (and maybe GLP-1s) matter more than resolve alone.









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