How employers respond to minimum wage increases
15 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, labour economics, labour supply, minimum wage, unemployment Tags: offsetting behavior, unintended consequences
In yesterday’s post, I made reference to this 2021 article by Jeffrey Clemens (University of California at San Diego), published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives (open access). Clemens puts forward an interesting perspective on the debate about the observed employment impacts of the minimum wage (or lack thereof):…I contend that controversies over the economics of minimum wages…
How employers respond to minimum wage increases
New Study: Today’s Climate Models ‘Do Not Agree With Reality’ And Thus Their Usefulness Is ‘Doubtful’
15 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in econometerics, economic history, economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming
Because the current state-of-the-art general circulation models (GCMs) cannot simulate the trends and variances in global precipitation over the last 84 years (1940-2023), their usefulness should be reconsidered. Hydrological processes – ocean circulation, water vapor, clouds – are key components of climate, easily overshadowing the impact of anthropogenic CO2 emissions by a factor of 2,100…
New Study: Today’s Climate Models ‘Do Not Agree With Reality’ And Thus Their Usefulness Is ‘Doubtful’
A group letter to the presidents of three evolution/ecology societies objecting to their characterization of sex as a spectrum in humans and all other species
14 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, gender gap, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
As I reported recently, the Presidents of three organismal-biology societies, the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) sent a declaration addressed to President Trump and all the members of Congress. Implicitly claiming that its sentiments were endorsed by the 3500 members […]
A group letter to the presidents of three evolution/ecology societies objecting to their characterization of sex as a spectrum in humans and all other species
Future unemployment will be (mostly) voluntary unemployment
14 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - Australia, unemployment
A shortage of electricians means that those willing to endure long shifts and live on remote sites can potentially earn up to A$200,000 (US$124,000) a year — double the national average salary and not far off the average MP salary. “It’s a cup half full/half empty life. You do 12-hour shifts, there’s the heat, the […]
Future unemployment will be (mostly) voluntary unemployment
Last invasion
14 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, war and peace Tags: maps
The Effect of inbreeding of European Monarchs on State Performance
14 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history Tags: Europe
We create a novel reign-level data set for European monarchs, covering all major European states between the 10th and 18th centuries. We first document a strong positive relationship between rulers’ cognitive ability and state performance. To address endogeneity issues, we exploit the facts that (i) rulers were appointed according to hereditary succession, independent of their […]
The Effect of European Monarchs on State Performance
Galaxy Quest: Transported and probed aboard the ship
14 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in movies, television, TV shows
Why the RMA must go
13 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, environmental economics, environmentalism, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, urban economics
Stuff reports: The small town of Wānaka will not have a McDonald’s restaurant after a resource consent application was declined. Independent commissioners released their decision on the proposed McDonald’s restaurant on Wednesday. They said the adverse effects of the proposed restaurant on the environment would be more than minor on the approach to Wānaka, the landscape character […]
Why the RMA must go
LIVE from Parliament: 2025 Jonesie Awards
13 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, economics of bureaucracy, fiscal policy, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics
David Friedman on consequences of climate change 2023
13 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, David Friedman, economic history, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, Ronald Coase
Good question
13 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, war and peace Tags: China
Cordon Pricing Makes New York Congestion Worse
13 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, transport economics, urban economics Tags: cordon pricing
Early reports claim that New York City’s so-called congestion pricing program is a great success, reducing the number of vehicles driving into lower Manhattan by 5 to 6 percent. However, because it really isn’t congestion pricing — that is, it doesn’t price roads by how much congestion there is but … Continue reading →
Cordon Pricing Makes New York Congestion Worse
Protection against asteriod strikes
13 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of natural disasters Tags: space
I have some bad news, fellow Earthlings: There is a newly discovered asteroid, called 2024 YR4, headed for our planet. Fortunately, the risk is neither great nor urgent. The chance of impact, which would happen on Dec. 22, 2032, is estimated at only about 2.3%. The worst-case scenario, though not world-ending, is still horrific. The asteroid is estimated […]
Protection against asteriod strikes
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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