Rodney Hide writes – David Seymour wants “one game plan, one coalition agreement.” He argued for the same in 2023. He is right. In 2023 National signed one deal with ACT and another with New Zealand First. Each partner had to agree to the other’s, with an agree-to-disagree clause. It was a halfway house. National […]
One table, one agreement
One table, one agreement
14 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: 2026 general election
Death of the Abundance Agenda?
14 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, environmental economics, environmentalism, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, transport economics, urban economics
Tuesday’s election dealt a fatal blow to the notion that Democrats need to embrace growth to win elections.
Death of the Abundance Agenda?
What They Took From You
14 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history Tags: British politics
Until August 1914 a sensible, law-abiding Englishman could pass through life and hardly notice the existence of the state, beyond the post office and the police. He could live where he liked and as he liked. He had no official number or identity card. He could travel abroad or leave forever without a passport or…
What They Took From You
Richard Posner, Legal Legend and American Intellectual, Dies at 87
14 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in history of economic thought, law and economics, Richard Posner
Richard Posner, called by many “the father of Law and Economics,” has passed. He was 87. Posner is one of…
Richard Posner, Legal Legend and American Intellectual, Dies at 87
The Economics of Rent Controls
14 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of regulation, George Stigler, history of economic thought, income redistribution, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, Milton Friedman, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, regulation, rentseeking Tags: rent control
I appear on Ryan Bourne’s excellent new podcast, The Economics of It. We discuss The Economics of Rent Controls drawing on my essay, Rent Control: The Ceiling Trap. It’s a very good discussion. Here’s one bit (edited slightly to remove some ums for reading and to fix a date I got wrong from memory): RB:…
The Economics of Rent Controls
Remembering Richard Posner’s Economy of Explanation
13 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, law and economics, property rights, Richard Posner
Judge Richard Posner died this week. Few scholars have left such a mark on both law and economics. As Alex Tabarrok put it, he was “the only person ever to deserve a Nobel prize and a seat on the Supreme Court.” Most writing about him will—and should—focus on his contributions to legal scholarship. He was…
Remembering Richard Posner’s Economy of Explanation
Facts on Climate Change Costs, Trade-offs and Results
13 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming
Dr. Bjørn Lomborg and Fraser Institute have published a series of essays with evidence regarding policies intended to mitigate climate change. Excerpts below with links to papers supporting the following conclusions. Climate Change: A Fact-Based Assessment of Costs, Trade-Offs, and Results is a new multimedia research and educational project by the Fraser Institute in collaboration…
Facts on Climate Change Costs, Trade-offs and Results
Sports economist J.C. Bradbury’s latest book is This One Will Be Different: False Promises and Fiscal Realities of Publicly Funded Stadiums
13 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, industrial organisation, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking, sports economics, urban economics
Click here to go to the Amazon page. Here is the summary:”For more than a century, America’s sports stadiums have evolved from modest, private ballparks into billion-dollar play-palaces for the rich-built increasingly on the backs of taxpayers. Government commitments to major-league venues are approaching $50 billion, and a looming wave of new construction threatens to…
Sports economist J.C. Bradbury’s latest book is This One Will Be Different: False Promises and Fiscal Realities of Publicly Funded Stadiums
Rent Control Ballot Initiatives Won Almost Everywhere
13 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, income redistribution, politics - USA, Public Choice, regulation, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: rent control
In California, New Jersey, Maine, and Minnesota, voters opted to cap rents and impose more restrictions on landlords.
Rent Control Ballot Initiatives Won Almost Everywhere
TPM’s overhang campaign gave the Greens two extra List MPs
12 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: 2026 general election
The Greens quadrupled their party vote in the seven Māori seats, as Maori voters did what TPM asked them to do, and did not give TPM their party votes. This gave the Greens an additional 2.1% of the total vote. Without it they would have got 11.2% in the election instead of 13.3%. This means…
TPM’s overhang campaign gave the Greens two extra List MPs
New Knesset takes office, Eisenkot with mandate to attempt to form a government
12 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in politics, Public Choice Tags: Israel
Today Israel’s new Knesset was installed, following the 27 October election. It is reported that a majority of members has signed a petition to convene an election of a new speaker. The candidate for the position will be Matan Kahana, elected from the fifth rank of the list of Yashar!, the list headed by Gadi […]
New Knesset takes office, Eisenkot with mandate to attempt to form a government
How unexpected is the New Zealand 2026 result?
12 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: 2026 general election
The preliminary result in New Zealand is surprising, perhaps even shocking, in some respects. These results show a record 11 overhang seats, each of which means a seat added to parliament such that the size will be 131 seats rather than the baseline 120. An overhang happens when a party wins a nominal-tier seat (“electorate” […]
How unexpected is the New Zealand 2026 result?
And the guns fell silent.
11 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, war and peace Tags: World War I
November 11, 1918. 10:59 am, one last volley of machine gun fire, one last soldier to die.Henry Nicholas John Gunther took one last charge with his bayonet. The enemy warned him , but he wanted to proof himself. He wanted to show his demotion from Sergeant to Private had been unjustified. One last hoorah, one […]
And the guns fell silent.
A little list of MPs who have won seats but might be left standing
11 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
Bob Edlin writes – The Spinoff today reports on the need for more seating in Parliament, the consequence of preliminary 2026 election results and the overhangs they have produced. A parliament of 131 MPs is 11 more than the default size of 120, and eight more than the previous peak MP population.
A little list of MPs who have won seats but might be left standing
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