Press Releases and Briefings

Lahore February 20, 2009: A new professional website featuring research, online books, regular informed commentary, and much more has been launched by the Alternate Solutions Institute, Pakistan’s first free market think tank. The site is http://asinstitute.org and offers articles, books, newsletters, press releases and briefings, and numerous studies. Research topics include Agriculture and Food, Economics, Energy and Environment, Government and Politics, Healthcare, Law and Legal Issues, and Trade.

The 2008 edition of the Economic Freedom of the World report includes new research, examining the role of economic freedom in eliminating poverty with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Numerous studies have shown that countries with more economic freedom grow more rapidly and achieve higher per-capita income levels than those that are less free; therefore, it would seem that this growth should also help reduce poverty.

The Atlas Economic Research Foundation announced that the Alternate Solutions Institute (Lahore, Pakistan) is the only Middle Eastern think tank among its first class of recipients of Dorian & Antony Fisher Venture Grants.

People in countries that protect their physical and intellectual property enjoy a GDP per capita up to nine times greater than those without legal protection, the 2008 edition of the International Property Rights Index (IPRI), reveals. Countries that protect property rights provide an essential foundation for peace, stability and prosperity, the Index shows: its calculations cover 115 countries, representing 96 per cent of the world’s GDP.

Governments should reject calls for a post-Kyoto treaty “Kyoto 2”

Civil Society Report says climate policy should focus on removing barriers to adaptation

The Charter of Liberty released by Alternate Solutions Institute today demands that the fundamental rights given in the 1973 Constitution be taken as core values and made inviolable.

Pakistan climbs the ladder of Economic Freedom scoring 6 points ranking 101 out of 141 countries; leaps big in Legal Structure and Security of Property Rights area by improving from 2.5 to 4.4; loses big in Access in Sound Money by sliding down from 6.4 to 6.0.

This year's World Water Week will see activists gather in Stockholm to discuss ways of getting clean water to the 1 billion people around the world who are currently without it. The new research by Alex Nash argues that if water activists remain blinkered by ideology and continue to oppose private water provision, this goal will not be met.

UN, governments' policies cause avoidable disease and suffering Many health policies promoted by intergovernmental bodies and governments in less-developed countries are counterproductive and lead to unnecessary suffering, according to a new book, Fighting the Diseases of Poverty launched here by Alternate Solutions Institute, a partner organization of Campaign for Fighting Diseases.

Think tanks from the United States and 13 other countries have been named winners of 2007 Templeton Freedom Awards, the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, which manages the competition, announced today. Winning institutions come from a widely diverse geographical area, ranging from Montana to Montenegro, Brazil to Belarus, Sweden to Japan.