Milton Friedman – Case Against Equal Pay for Equal WorkY
15 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, discrimination, economic history, gender, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, minimum wage Tags: equal pay, Milton Friedman
Super-Economy: The rich in Europe are poor.
15 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in labour economics, poverty and inequality Tags: Euroland, European Union, inequality and poverty
Just the Facts Ma’am
15 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in economics
Dragnet’s Joe Friday may have never uttered those words, but he would be impressed nonetheless by the facts on crime. There was a fascinating piece by Erik Eckholm in yesterday’s New York Times on the 
dramatic reductions in crime over the past several decades. Overall, crime peaked in 1991 and has fallen steadily since then.
All of this leads to the big question: why? Is it a change in tactics (e.g., aggressive policing, the “broken window” theory)? Is it a product of an increase in the costs of criminality (e.g., mandatory sentencing and the decision to keep 1.5 million people in prison)? Is it a product of good economic times? Perhaps it simply reflects demographics (e.g., the aging of the population, the decline in teenage pregnancy)? In the end, law professor Franklin E. Zimring (UC-Berkeley) is quoted as describing the search for an explanation as “criminological astrology.”
Max Ehrenfreund (Washington Post
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Charlie, Blasphemer
15 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in economics
You can probably tell I’ve been really sick because I couldn’t manage to write about the Charlie Hebdo Jihadist mass murder. Now that the immediate crisis is past and my fevers are back under some control, some thoughts.
I was actually surprised and gladdened by the response to the slaughter – an overwhelming wave of revulsion and disgust, expressed with great dignity and courage (and yes, it was an absolute disgrace that Obama sent no one of a higher rank than the ambassador). I had begun to think that a defense of free speech was no longer a pillar of the American right or left, but for a while, at least, I was wrong. People do draw the line at the murder of blasphemous cartoonists in the name of God. It seems we have at least achieved a consensus on that. Two cheers!
Was it enough to prompt the New…
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Looking For Clues: Who Is Going To Run For President In 2016? | FiveThirtyEight
15 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: 2016 presidential election
France Follows Freedom of Speech Rally With Crackdown On Free Speech
15 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in economics
This weekend I wrote a column for the Washington Post on the crackdown of free speech in France. The column suggested that, if the French really wanted to honor the dead at Charlie Hebdo, they would rescind the laws used to hound them and threaten them with criminal prosecution for years. (Indeed, at least one surviving journalist expressed contempt for those who now support free speech but remained silent in the face of past efforts to shut down the magazine). Now, however, news reports indicate that the French government is doubling down on criminalizing speech in the name of free speech after the massacre. France has reportedly made dozens of arrests of people who glorify terrorism and engage in hateful or antiSemitic speech.
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Science-based predictions, recruitment standards at the White House and global warming
15 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in environmental economics, global warming Tags: climate alarmism
Dancing in the Moonlight
15 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, Music Tags: Dancing to the Moonlight
The great 12 man video with Richie Benaud
15 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in cricket, economics of media and culture Tags: Richie Benaud
On the Swedish school voucher system
15 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of education Tags: charter schools, School choice, school vouchers, Sweden
Oldest map of Britain
15 Jan 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of media and culture Tags: maps
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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