Finalists Announced for 2006 Bastiat Prize for Journalism

London, 3 August 2006 – International Policy Network today announced the six finalists for the fifth annual Bastiat Prize for Journalism. The Prize – named in honour of the great 19th Century French philosopher and essayist Frédéric Bastiat – celebrates writers whose work cleverly and wittily promotes the institutions of the free society.

“This year, we received over 250 submissions from writers in 40 countries, including many published in the world’s top newspapers and magazines. The quality of submissions was extremely high and we feel that the final six all show a deep understanding of the institutions of the free society and an acute ability to communicate about these to the general public. The final decision is now in the hands of our eminent judges – which include former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson and Chief Judge of the DC Court of Appeals Douglas Ginsburg. We look forward to announcing this year’s winners at the Bastiat Prize dinner on November 1st,” said IPN Executive Director, Julian Morris.

The 2006 finalists (in alphabetical order followed by the publication(s) in which their entries appeared):

• Tim Harford – Financial Times, UK (with one article in New York Times, USA)
• Frank Miele – The Daily Inter Lake, USA
• Ila Patnaik – Indian Express, India
• Gabriel Rozenberg – The Times, UK
• Rakesh Wadhwa – The Himalayan Times, Nepal
• Jamie Whyte – The Times, UK

The winners will be announced at the Bastiat Prize Dinner in New York on 1 November 2006. The winner will receive US$10,000 and an engraved candlestick. Second and third prize winners will receive $4000 and $1000 respectively, as well as an engraved candlestick.

The Bastiat Prize was first awarded in 2002 and judges have included Lady Thatcher and Nobel-Prize-winners James Buchanan and Milton Friedman. Current judges include: Amity Shlaes (Bloomberg columnist), Edward Crane (president of the Cato Institute), Bibek Debroy (PHD Chamber of Commerce, India), Lord Kalms of Edgware (founder of the Dixons Group), Ruth Richardson (former Finance Minister of New Zealand), Brian Carney (Wall Street Journal), Lord Lawson of Blaby (former Chancellor of the Exchequer) and Douglas Ginsburg (Chief Judge, DC Court of Appeals).

Last year’s winners were Mary Anastasia O’Grady of The Wall Street Journal (1st), George Kerevan of The Scotstman (2nd) and Allister Heath of The Business (honourable mention). Previous winners included Amity Shlaes (then with the Financial Times), Robert Guest (The Economist), Sauvik Chakraverti (Economic Times, India), Brian Carney (then with the Wall Street Journal Europe), and British freelancer Stephen Pollard. Entries for the Bastiat Prize are judged on intellectual content, persuasiveness of language used, and type and location of publication. The Prize is open to all writers, anywhere in the world; writers need not be associated with any specific publication. The prize was developed to encourage and reward writers whose published works promote the institutions of a free society: limited government, rule of law brokered by an independent judiciary, protection of private property, free markets, free speech, and sound science.

The Bastiat Prize is sponsored by International Policy Network (IPN), which comprises two sister organisations: a charity based in London and a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization in the US. IPN aims to empower individuals and promote respect for people and property in order to eliminate poverty, improve human health and protect the environment. IPN promotes public awareness of the importance of this vision for all people. For more on IPN and the Bastiat Prize, please browse: www.policynetwork.net and www.bastiatprize.org