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
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
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
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
11 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, history of economic thought, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, Public Choice Tags: fall of communism, Germany
On the evening of 9 November 1989, one of the most extraordinary events of the twentieth century took place. Thousands of East Germans gathered at the Berlin Wall, demanding permission to cross into West Berlin. Within hours, border guards who had previously been ordered to prevent such crossings, if necessary by shooting, opened the barriers. […]
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
NZ election winners, losers and what matters
11 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: 2026 general election
I know results are provisional, but there is reason to give a verdict on the performance of the seven parties who are entering Parliament, and what next. One thing is sure, I don’t think the public will be the winner over the next three years, but I also don’t think it will see any serious…
NZ election winners, losers and what matters
The Peaceful Second Amendment Revolution
11 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of crime, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: gun control
How the right was restored from its nadir half a century ago
The Peaceful Second Amendment Revolution
Bernie Sanders Wants To Use Democrats’ Midterm Victory To Expand Medicare. Has He Looked at Europe?
11 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, health economics, income redistribution, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: health insurance
Sanders wants to expand government-funded health care, even as European countries struggle with rising costs, lengthy waiting lists, and shortages.
Bernie Sanders Wants To Use Democrats’ Midterm Victory To Expand Medicare. Has He Looked at Europe?
*Unbeatable: The Brutally Honest Case for Free Markets*
10 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, income redistribution, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics Tags: The Great Enrichment
That is the new and forthcoming book from Bryan Caplan, University of Chicago Press. Excerpt: Real-world free markets deliver one broad benefit that flies under the radar of economic theory: They shield humanity from its own Social Desirability Bias. Markets do the good things that sounds bad. Good things like driving incompetent, unresponsive, and obsolete…
*Unbeatable: The Brutally Honest Case for Free Markets*
Isabella Weber’s “Anti-Fascist Economics”
10 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, budget deficits, business cycles, economic growth, economic history, fiscal policy, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, macroeconomics, monetary economics, Public Choice Tags: economics of pandemics
My review for the Washington Post
Isabella Weber’s “Anti-Fascist Economics”
Javier Milei’s Free-Market Policies Are Delivering Real Social Justice
10 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic growth, economics of regulation, economics of religion, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, unemployment Tags: Argentina
Earlier this year, I wrote about Javier Milei’ pro-market reforms leading to a reduction in poverty. The indigence rate also has declined. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the numbers for poverty and indigence rose in the first half of this year, but both numbers are still well below where they were […]
Javier Milei’s Free-Market Policies Are Delivering Real Social Justice
Labor Unions Won Big on Election Day, With Ballot Initiatives and Friendly Politicians
10 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in David Friedman, economics of regulation, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, property rights, unions
From the East Coast to the Midwest to the West, unions are celebrating.
Labor Unions Won Big on Election Day, With Ballot Initiatives and Friendly Politicians
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