That all sounded wonderful, and that core model and its offshoots dominated financial research for decades. The problem, however, was that it wasn’t true, or at least it wasn’t nearly as true as we had thought and hoped. When financial economists refined the models with more complete specifications, it turned out Beta didn’t predict stock…
Is financial economics still economics?
Is financial economics still economics?
01 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, entrepreneurship, financial economics
THE CORE LEGAL TRUTH: IWI HAVE NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY OVER PRIVATE LAND
01 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights
Guest Post By Ivan Barnett To all readers, I have put this document together in the hope that it may be useful to others who are facing similar issues in their own districts. I have researched the material carefully and done my best to present it clearly and accurately. I am a retired dry‑land farmer, […]
THE CORE LEGAL TRUTH: IWI HAVE NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY OVER PRIVATE LAND
Martin Cruz Smith reviews
01 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of education, economics of information, economics of media and culture
Martin Cruz Smith (1942 to 2025) was a prolific author of mystery and suspense fiction, publishing over 30 novels. He was best known for his 11-book series featuring Russian investigator Arkady Renko, who was introduced in 1981 with ‘Gorky Park’ and last appeared in ‘Hotel Ukraine’. ‘Gorky Park’ was made into a successful Hollywood movie […]
Martin Cruz Smith reviews
“Renewables” are not Renewable
01 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: solar power, wind power
The fossil fuel foundation of wind, solar, and batteries
“Renewables” are not Renewable
Bending the Curve of Health Care Costs (At Last?)
01 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, health economics Tags: health insurance
Health care spending had been a rising share of US GDP for decades, but since about 2010, the rate of increase seemed to level out. David M. Cutler and Lev Klarnet address “Has the United States bent the health care cost curve?” (Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Spring 2026, readable overview of paper at link, including a…
Bending the Curve of Health Care Costs (At Last?)
$2 Trillion Later, The Green Revolution Collapsed: How Chasing Weather Power Bankrupted the Grid and Cost the World $40 Trillion in Growth
31 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: solar power, wind power
If that same capital had been spent on modern nuclear or advanced natural‑gas infrastructure, the outcome would have been transformative.
$2 Trillion Later, The Green Revolution Collapsed: How Chasing Weather Power Bankrupted the Grid and Cost the World $40 Trillion in Growth
Govt can be quick to pass new laws but putting English ahead of te reo on names of public agencies is a challenge
31 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
Bob Edlin writes – My email in-tray today included a newsletter from the source pictured above which – when opened – was found to be Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), That’s the government agency which manages land titles, surveying, crown property, and topographic/hydrographic information.
Govt can be quick to pass new laws but putting English ahead of te reo on names of public agencies is a challenge
How WW2 Rationing shaped Britain
31 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, health economics, war and peace Tags: rationing, World War II
Renewables Are Cheap Myth
31 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: wind power, solar power, Germany, celebrity technologies
I have long been meaning to address the myth that renewables provide the cheapest electricity. This myth has achieved “everybody knows that” status which means that a rebuttal must have strong supporting arguments. A series of articles at the Science of Doom blog by Steve Carson explains why this myth is not true. He sums…
Renewables Are Cheap Myth
Professional Hagglers (creative destruction and how the economy just keeps creating new types of occupations & professions)
31 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, entrepreneurship, labour economics, occupational choice, transport economics
See He Earns $1,000 a Job—and He’s a Car Dealer’s Worst Nightmare: With car prices soaring, one man deploys dealer speak to talk down the sticker price on behalf of buyers by Imani Moise of The WSJ.What if you don’t like haggling over the price of a car? Would you hire someone to do the haggling…
Professional Hagglers (creative destruction and how the economy just keeps creating new types of occupations & professions)
New York retreating on its Climate Act
30 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA Tags: climate alarmism
How this works out now remains to be seen. If the budget bill tactic works, it could happen pretty quickly. Hochul has taken the political high ground of “affordability,” and a lot of Democrat legislators are massing on that rhetorical hill as well. It just might work.
New York retreating on its Climate Act
Claudia Goldin and the WNBA
30 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, managerial economics, occupational choice, organisational economics, personnel economics, sports economics Tags: gender wage gap
After Claudia Goldin became the first woman to win a solo Nobel in economics in 2023, she received hundreds of invitations and requests. She accepted just three. One of them was advising the WNBA players union as the women prepared to negotiate a new labor deal with the league. When Goldin replied via email to Terri Carmichael Jackson,…
Claudia Goldin and the WNBA
The biggest enemies of renewable energy are … environmentalists
30 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, politics - New Zealand Tags: renewable energy
Radio NZ reports: A plan to fast-track a controversial West Coast hydro scheme has been given an initial go-ahead. The West Coast lines company, Westpower, has applied to fast-track its controversial plans to build a run-of-river hydro scheme on the Waitaha River, and in its draft decision the fast-track expert panel has given it approval.…
The biggest enemies of renewable energy are … environmentalists
Now The Atlantic touts religion—or rather, beliefs that don’t need evidence
30 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of religion Tags: Freedom of religion
I’ve been posting from time to time about how the mainstream media is suddenly touting religion and its benefits—a phenomenon I don’t fully understand. Now The Atlantic has joined the queue with an article by Elizabeth Bruenig, who’s written for the magazine for 6 years, and before that for the NYT, the WaPo, and the…
Now The Atlantic touts religion—or rather, beliefs that don’t need evidence
The Rushdie fatwa
30 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, economics of education, economics of religion, law and economics, liberalism Tags: free speech
Jonathan Rosen writes: Thirty-seven years ago, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader and founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, sentenced Salman Rushdieto death on Valentine’s Day for writing a novel. It is hard to write that sentence without feeling it is a parody of the opening line of Franz Kafka’s The Trial: “Someone must have slandered Josef K.,…
The Rushdie fatwa
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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