TweetThis post by Oxford economist J. Zachary Mazlish is very good; I encourage you to read it. (HT David Levey) Nevertheless, there are two points that I think to be worth making in response to Mazlish’s post. I will here make one of these points. I’ll make the other of these points in a follow-up…
China Shock 2.0 vs. China Shock 1.0
China Shock 2.0 vs. China Shock 1.0
04 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, econometerics, economic history, growth miracles, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics, survivor principle Tags: China, free trade
Pay us off or we’ll oppose it
04 May 2026 Leave a comment
ACT released last week: “An iwi group’s alleged demand for $180 million in order to approve the Bendigo Santana gold mine exposes how New Zealand’s resource management system has been warped by standover tactics and backroom dealing,” says ACT Resources spokesman Simon Court. Kā Rūnaka say extracting $180 million from Santana has not been their…
Pay us off or we’ll oppose it
Care to Wager Again? An Appraisal of Paul Ehrlich’s Counterbet Offer to Julian Simon
04 May 2026 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism
Alongside Joanna Szurmak and Pierre Desrochers, I have a new paper available. This time its at Social Science Quarterly and its a very long article. So long that the journal asked us to split it into two parts (part 1 and part 2). The paper deals with the aftermath of the bet between Julian Simon […]
Care to Wager Again? An Appraisal of Paul Ehrlich’s Counterbet Offer to Julian Simon
Quotation of the Day…
03 May 2026 Leave a comment
in Adam Smith, applied price theory, history of economic thought
Tweet… is from page 47 of philosopher Christopher Freiman’s excellent contribution, titled “Utilitarianism,” to the 2016 collection edited by Aaron Ross Powell and Grant Babcock, Arguments for Liberty [original emphasis]: The great virtue of the market, from a utilitarian perspective, is that it leads us to promote the happiness of others without demanding that we…
Quotation of the Day…
The United States vs. Europe, Part V
03 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economic history, macroeconomics Tags: European Union
The world’s big economic policy battle is not capitalism vs. socialism. Other than a few primitive backwater nations like Cuba and North Korea, genuine socialism has largely been vanquished. Instead, the battle in most countries largely revolves around the size of the welfare state. At the risk of over-simplifying, here are the three choices. Should […]
The United States vs. Europe, Part V
The UK elections – how bad will Labour do
03 May 2026 Leave a comment
in politics, Public Choice Tags: British politics
On 7 May, there will be elections in Scotland, Wales and much of England. Up will be: The latest poll projections have Labour losing around 1,700 of their 2,200 councillors with the gains being Reform +1,450, Greens +900, Lib Dems +330. Losing 80% of your seats is terrible. In the Welsh Senedd, Labour have 30…
The UK elections – how bad will Labour do
Caturday felid trifecta: Larry the Cat finally catches a mouse; the counties that have the most cats; cat meme helps catch a cyberhacking group; and lagniappe
03 May 2026 Leave a comment
in cats
We’re back with three Caturday items and a bit of lagniappe. First, Larry the Cat, the Chief Mouser of the Cabinet Office, has shirked his job, catching almost no nice after 15 years at 10 Downing Street. But at least, at the ripe old age of 19, Larry has not only caught a mouse, but…
Caturday felid trifecta: Larry the Cat finally catches a mouse; the counties that have the most cats; cat meme helps catch a cyberhacking group; and lagniappe
Soper on Ardern
02 May 2026 Leave a comment
Audrey Young writes: There is one verdict that stands out among others, however, his scathing assessment of Dame Jacinda Ardern. He even weaponises her self-deprecating admission that she suffered from “imposter syndrome” against her. “She talked a number of occasions about an imposter syndrome, and I think she genuinely felt that because I thought she was…
Soper on Ardern
Confusing BBC portrayal of Hizballah and the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire
02 May 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Israel, Lebanon, media bias, Middle-East politics, war against terror
Visitors to the BBC News website during the five days between April 13th and April 17th could have been forgiven for being rather confused… The post Confusing BBC portrayal of Hizballah and the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire appeared first on CAMERA UK.
Confusing BBC portrayal of Hizballah and the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire
The Reporting of Hitler’s Death
01 May 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, war and peace Tags: Nazi Germany, World War II
On 29 April 1945, Hitler completed his will and last political testament and married his longtime mistress, Eva Braun. He also received the news that Benito Mussolini met his death in Italy. Mussolini’s corpse, along with that of his mistress, Clara Petacci, had been smashed in fury by a mob and hung upside down outside […]
The Reporting of Hitler’s Death
Operations Manna and Chowhound
01 May 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: Netherlands, World War II ll
During the winter of 1944/45 approximately 20,000 citizens died in the so-called Hunger Winter, the Dutch famine. A German blockade cut off food and fuel shipments from farm towns. Some 4.5 million were affected and survived thanks to soup kitchens. As the war was wrapping up in April of 1945, in an effort to alleviate […]
Operations Manna and Chowhound
African and Muslim roles in the African slave trade
01 May 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of crime, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics Tags: economics of slavery
The False Simplicity of Blaming “the West” Alone for the African Slave Trade On March 25, 2026, the UN General Assembly adopted a controversial resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade and racialized chattel enslavement of Africans as the “gravest crime against humanity,” championed by Ghana on behalf of the African Union. The resolution, passed with 123 votes […]
African and Muslim roles in the African slave trade
Medsafe Delenda Est
01 May 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: drug lags
Excellent news out of the UK. Abrysvo, a vaccine for RSV administered to pregnant women, reduces infant hospitalisation by 80%. From the BBC:A vaccine during pregnancy which protects newborns against nasty chest infections is cutting hospital admissions of babies by more than 80%, UK health officials say.A virus, called RSV, affects many babies in the first…
Medsafe Delenda Est
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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