Archives

Don’t Race to Regulate: The Technologies That Could Be Lost in Overly Broad Regulation

Running ten miles is no small feat. Doing it while blind seems unimaginable. For Lafayette, Louisian...

Tackling Connectivity: Opportunities From and Obstacles To Wireless Network Innovation

Football season is in full swing, and crowds for the biggest college games regularly top 100,000. Ra...

New Task Force Begins Reevaluating Louisiana’s Building Code to Make Homes More Affordable

Home is where the heart is, and for many Louisianans, owning a house is an important part of the Ame...

Artificial Dichotomy: Beyond the All or Nothing Approach to Regulating Artificial Intelligence

Efforts to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming more bold and more comprehensive. In t...

Congratulations Pelican Leadership Academy Class of 2026!

This October, the Pelican Leadership Academy Class of 2026 will graduate in October. The Pelican Lea...

Louisiana’s Comeback Has Started

Louisiana has the highest poverty rate in America. It also has some of its most encouraging economic...

After the Boom: How Data Center Communities are Thinking Long Term

Louisiana is exceptional. Anyone who has attended a football game in Death Valley, experienced the c...

Pelican Institute’s Guide to the Fall 2026 Constitutional Amendments

Louisiana Makes Gains on Another “Good” List, but There’s Room for Improvement

On the heels of encouraging news about Louisiana’s economic momentum, the state’s workers have a...

Gusts of Regulation Sweep Across California

American authors have long been fascinated by the dry gusts that rush across the south of California...

Liberty vs. the Leviathan: Banning Diesel Exports Won't Lower Your Fuel Bill — It'll Raise It

Diesel prices have gotten out of hand. Every trucker, farmer, and small business owner in Louisiana ...

Louisiana's poverty rate remains worst in the US, even as national average declines

Sports Betting, Wall Street, or Something in Between? A Federalism Puzzle Worth Watching

A quiet but consequential legal fight is playing out across the country, and it’s not really about...

A Tale of Two Family Policies: Cash Checks vs. a Door to Work

Vice President JD Vance is pushing a new rule that would let the federal government pay married stay...

Two Constitutions, Two Very Different Bets on the American People

This Constitution Day, it’s worth sitting with a simple contrast. The U.S. Constitution runs a...

These two groups want to revamp Louisiana school funding. Neither can do it alone.

It Takes Three to Tango: AI Leadership and the Infrastructure Behind It

Three major developments have commanded the conversation around tech policy in Louisiana over recent...

Pelican Institute Engages Louisiana Regulators on Energy Growth, Affordability, and the Public’s Right to Weigh In

Louisiana is in the middle of two consequential debates before the Louisiana Public Service Commissi...

Louisianans Leverage AI

The largest headlines about artificial intelligence (AI) in Louisiana center around the multi-billio...

New Survey shows larger economic growth than neighboring states last quarter

After the Legal Dust Has Settled: The Roles of Parents and the Free Market Remain Paramount After Meta Agreement

Last week, Meta reached an agreement with 52 attorneys general following a landmark social media add...

Louisiana economy outpaced national growth in first quarter, report says

Louisiana Democrats helped bring Meta to the state. Some regret their votes

PELICAN INSTITUTE: Summer 2026 Economic Report

Louisiana’s comeback is real. Finishing it is the harder part.

Victory for Louisiana workers and First Amendment rights

Why Free Market Think Tanks Matter — and What Pelican Institute Brings to Louisiana

Bills don’t write themselves. Long before a reform reaches a committee hearing, someone has to...

Who is Using Data Centers?

In a recent guest column for The Advocate, Pelican Institute CEO Daniel Erspamer outlines the return...

Is Louisiana Facing an Upcoming Budget Shortfall?

Last week, the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget (JLCB) received an updated fiscal status st...

Liberty vs. the (Labor) Leviathan: The Unions Standing Between You and a Post Office That Works

Last month, postal workers lined the streets outside branches from Miami to Richmond to a stretch of...

Quin Hillyer: New Orleans should follow state’s lead by limiting government unions

One Door In, One Door Out: Louisiana’s Workforce Reform Clears a Major Hurdle

Earlier this year, Pelican checked in with Louisiana Works Secretary Susie Schowen to get a status u...

Unpacking the Toolkit: What Can Other Policy Areas Learn from BEAD Buildout in Louisiana?

The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) has emphasized access and a closing of the...

Open to Work: AI Shapes Hiring Trends

Predictions about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) have spanned utopia, robot apocalypse, ...

Louisiana Teachers Head Back to School With a Right They Didn't Have Last Year

Fifth Circuit Hears Oral Argument in Louisiana Shrimpers' Challenge to Federal Turtle Excluder Device Mandate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Sarah Harbison, General Counsel The Pelican Institute for Publi...

Ten Questions Louisiana’s New MFP Task Force Should Answer

For the first time in years, Louisiana is taking a comprehensive look at how it funds K-12 education...

A Name You Can’t Trust: The App Store Freedom Act and the Regulations Behind the Words

Lawmakers in Washington seem to have stumbled upon legislative alchemy. If you refer to government i...

Federal Court Halts Enforcement of Louisiana’s Ban on People Saying “Psychological”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Sarah Harbison, General Counsel sarah@pelicaninstitute.org July...

What They Are Saying

Keeping Louisiana’s Positive Momentum Requires More Reform

Louisiana has real economic wins to celebrate. Major projects in energy, manufacturing, technology, ...

A Tale of Two States

Louisiana has been called many things—New York is not one of them. From climate to culture, and no...

Louisiana Shouldn't Force Groups to Choose Between Speaking Up and Upholding Privacy

Louisiana has a long tradition of loud, messy, public argument. Utility rate cases, pipeline fights,...

Every Cause Has Its Champion—and Maybe a Budget Carve-Out In Louisiana

The Pelican Institute has repeatedly highlighted the drawbacks of Louisiana’s hundreds of stat...

Louisiana's Test Scores Are Rising. So are the Number of Children Still Waiting for a School that Fits.

Louisiana’s public schools have become a national talking point. Two straight rounds of gains on t...

Special Delivery: Drone Technology in Our State

Louisiana is positioning itself as a leader in welcoming new and emerging technologies. From Waymos ...

How Louisiana Became A Key Battleground For Anti-Energy Activism

Task Forces, Studies, and Taxpayer Dollars: Is Louisiana Getting a Return on Investment?

The 2026 Louisiana Legislative Session saw the creation of well over 100 task forces and agency-dire...

The Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund: A Savings Account or a Spending Account?

Louisiana’s reserve funds are designed to protect taxpayers during economic downturns and emergenc...

Star Power: Satellites in Space Boost Connectivity in Louisiana

Louisiana has attacked the digital divide with grit and efficiency. The state’s broadband office, ...