Opportunity cost is one of the most underappreciated concepts in economics, and yet it is fundamental to good decision-making. Whenever we choose to use our resources for one thing, we give up what we could have done with them instead. The opportunity cost of something is the cost of foregoing the opportunity of using the resources…
Opportunity cost makes the news
Opportunity cost makes the news
13 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
Canada’s First Nations Are Using Their Land To Build Dense Housing
13 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, environmental economics, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, transport economics, urban economics Tags: Canada
Exempt from Vancouver’s building restrictions, Squamish Nation is constructing a 6,000-unit residential high-rise.
Canada’s First Nations Are Using Their Land To Build Dense Housing
Michael Woodford, Nobel Laureate
13 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in business cycles, history of economic thought, labour economics, macroeconomics, monetarism, monetary economics, unemployment
I think of Michael Woodford as the kind of economist who studies something very specific very intensively and tries to get it just right. But in his case he is not studying something small and irrelevant, he is studying “monetary policy.” I think of him as the economist who put monetary policy and “monetarism” —…
Michael Woodford, Nobel Laureate
The Nobel Prize Goes to Robert Hall and Michael Woodford
13 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in business cycles, history of economic thought, labour economics, macroeconomics, monetarism, monetary economics, unemployment
Twenty-five years ago Tyler told me he thought Robert Hall should win the Nobel. He has been a contender for so long today’s award was a surprise! Hall has an unusual number of unexpectedly creative papers. His best known is on consumption. Start with the textbook Keynesian model: Y = C + I + G…
The Nobel Prize Goes to Robert Hall and Michael Woodford
Robert E. Hall, Nobel Laureate
13 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in business cycles, economic growth, fiscal policy, history of economic thought, labour economics, macroeconomics, monetarism, monetary economics, unemployment
Alex has already covered this, I will add a few remarks. First, every Bob Hall paper is interesting! Only a handful of economists can say the same. Every paper has an idea, and some sort of novel contribution. His lesser-known papers can be as thought-provoking as the more famous ones. Here is Bob on scholar.google.com. …
Robert E. Hall, Nobel Laureate
45 Trump achievements the MSM largely ignore
12 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
As we draw closer to the 2026 US Congressional mid-term elections (where all US House of Representatives and 1/3 of Senators are up for re-election along with Statewide races but NOT the US President), the mainstream media’s rhetorical war with President Donald Trump is ramping up. Any incumbent administration is anxious to tout their successes…
45 Trump achievements the MSM largely ignore
Immigration Policy and the Two Types of Errors
12 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration
When screening applicants, there are two ways to make a mistake. A Type I error occurs when someone who should be rejected is admitted. A Type II error occurs when someone who should be admitted is rejected. Immigration policy faces this tradeoff. Tightening screening and admission requirements may reduce the first type of error, but…
Immigration Policy and the Two Types of Errors
Pay parity
12 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of regulation, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap
Bruce Logan writes – On many issues, it’s hard to discern where Labour and National differ. However, one issue highlights a real difference: the demand for pay equity. Labour supports it; see the Equal Pay Act Amendment 2020. National, at least for now, opposes it; see the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025. But first, to […]
Pay parity
War Provides Arbitrage Opportunities
12 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, defence economics, energy economics, industrial organisation, international economics
Arbitrageurs profit by buying where prices are low and selling where prices are high. But what happens when transporting the product is dangerous? According to The Wall Street Journal, oil producers in the Persian Gulf are paying $30–$40 million for tankers to make dangerous trips through the Strait of Hormuz. The tankers carry oil out…
War Provides Arbitrage Opportunities
The Purge: Princeton Faculty Reach Perfect Zero Support for Republicans
12 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, politics - USA Tags: academic bias
We recently discussed how Yale faculty reached academic nirvana after years of purging departments of conservatives and Republicans. The university…
The Purge: Princeton Faculty Reach Perfect Zero Support for Republicans
Bret Stephens on Mamdani
11 Oct 2026 1 Comment
in defence economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: war against terror
If you’ve kept track of NYT Mayor Zohran Mamdani since he was elected less than a year ago, it’s not hard to conclude that, though he pretends to dislike bigotry, his statements and actions add up to a man who is not fond of Jews, and who wants Israel gone and replaced by a Palestinian…
Bret Stephens on Mamdani
Britain risks running out of gas this winter
11 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: British politics
By Paul Homewood The Telegraph is warning that Britain risks running out of gas this winter. Full story here. The warning follows the publication of the Winter Supply Outlook by ENTSOG, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas: https://www.entsog.eu/media/38034
Britain risks running out of gas this winter
Great advice from Adam Smith
11 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in Adam Smith
From Goodreads. It is from his book The Theory of Moral Sentiments.“The prudent man always studies seriously and earnestly to understand whatever he professes to understand, and not merely to persuade other people that he understands it; and though his talents may not always be very brilliant, they are always perfectly genuine. He neither endeavours…
Great advice from Adam Smith
My Review of Ted Cruz’s Biography of Justice Thomas
11 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - USA
“Senator Ted Cruz’s new biography about Justice Clarence Thomas, Going Further, is a must-read contribution to this third genre of Supreme Court books.”
My Review of Ted Cruz’s Biography of Justice Thomas
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