Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points I THE GREAT WAR WEEK 181
12 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, laws of war, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: World War I
Debanking: Oil companies and the “far right” watch out
12 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, financial economics, global warming, industrial organisation, politics - New Zealand Tags: climate activists, climate alarmism, competition law enforcement
The decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of BNZ v Gloriavale is here if you want to read it. Gravedodger wrote his views on the topic here. I want to focus on a particular comment in the decision at paragraph [139]. That comment was this one: [139] In particular, we do not […]
Debanking: Oil companies and the “far right” watch out
Willis on targeting vs universality
12 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in labour economics, politics - New Zealand, welfare reform
The Herald reports: She said the current system was problematic in that many entitlements were claimed by wealthy people and paid for by hiking taxes on workers of all income levels. “There are a lot of entitlements and support that have crept into the middle and upper class, and I would prefer to have a […]
Willis on targeting vs universality
Evolving Returns to Personality
12 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, health economics, human capital, labour supply, occupational choice
Weanalyze trends in labor-market returns to psychological traits using data from half a million Finnish men from 2001 to 2015. Cognitive skills’ value declined, while noncognitive skills’ value increased. Our novel findings show that extraversion drives this rise, while conscientiousness remains stable. Extraversion’s rising returns are most pronounced for lower earners and those on the […]
Evolving Returns to Personality
The Interests of the U.S. and the Honolulu Climate Case Before the U.S. Supreme Court
12 Jan 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: climate alarmism, federalism
The Supreme Court should grant certiorari on this case. There is a clear conflict between several federal court rulings, specifically and most clearly the Second Circuit’s dismissal of New York City’s virtually identical lawsuit in 2021and the ruling by the Hawaii Supreme Court. Both court rulings reveal a conflict on the issue of whether federal law precludes claims brought under state law and whether a given state may apply its laws to address purported injuries caused by emissions from another state. Moreover, the Hawaii Supreme Court decision clearly is incorrect: Interstate emissions, international emissions, and negotiations with foreign governments inherently are issues for the federal government to address.
The Interests of the U.S. and the Honolulu Climate Case Before the U.S. Supreme Court
With the Trump Sentencing, the Verdict is in . . . for the New York Legal System
11 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Below is my column at Fox.com on the sentencing of President-Elect Donald Trump. The conviction should be overturned on appeal. However, the most lasting judgment will be against the New York court system itself in allowing this travesty of justice to occur. Here is the column:
With the Trump Sentencing, the Verdict is in . . . for the New York Legal System
Price controls destroy wealth: California Fire Insurance
11 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of natural disasters, economics of regulation, environmentalism, financial economics, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, regulation, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: price controls
Noah Smith via Marginal Revolution, and Kim Mai Cutler. The CA insurance regulator is elected, and is reluctant to allow higher rates for fire insurance, despite the big risks, lest she be voted out of office. As a consequence, expected profits are low, so a majority of top insurers have stopped issuing fire insurance in CA.…
Price controls destroy wealth: California Fire Insurance
The Health Research Council
11 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: cranks, political correctness, regressive left
In late August 2024, the Minister of Health, Dr Shane Reti, issued updated guidance to the Health Research Council (“HRC”) after years of scandalous funding was revealed. Dr Reti wanted it to fund cures, not Kaupapa, and definitely not spiritual curses. Especially given $126 million is spent in annual “health” research and the government’s books are not […]
The Health Research Council
Mr. Haltiwanger and the Austrians
11 Jan 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, economic history, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, Israel Kirzner
In November, I chided Austrian economists for neglecting the John Haltiwanger’s empirical work on creative destruction:Around 2000, I discovered that John Haltiwanger, a very mainstream economist, had a pile of empirical evidence vindicating the importance of Schumpeterian creative destruction. That pile is now a mountain. At the time, I tried to get Austrians to start…
Mr. Haltiwanger and the Austrians
Smart Growth Burns Thousands of Homes
11 Jan 2025 1 Comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of natural disasters, economics of regulation, environmental economics, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, urban economics Tags: land use planning, unintended consequences, zoning
Los Angeles city and regional planners are just as responsible for the Palisades, Eaton, and other fires that have burned in the past few days as if they had poured gasoline on the homes and lit the matches. The destruction of these homes, including, for what it is worth, homes … Continue reading →
Smart Growth Burns Thousands of Homes
Net zero is driving up energy prices, admits Bank of England
10 Jan 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: British politics
By Paul Homewood Carbon pricing is pushing up energy prices, admits the Bank of England. The Telegraph report: Net zero policies are sharply driving up energy costs, the Bank of England has admitted, as officials battle to bring living costs back under control. Sarah Breeden, the Bank’s deputy governor, said households and businesses […]
Net zero is driving up energy prices, admits Bank of England
More Thoughts on Blackouts
10 Jan 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: British politics, solar power, wind power

By Paul Homewood Just a couple of thoughts about the blackouts we missed by the skin of the teeth yesterday:
More Thoughts on Blackouts
Left-Wing Economists Were Wildly Wrong about Javier Milei and his Libertarian Agenda for Argentina
10 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, budget deficits, business cycles, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economics of regulation, financial economics, fiscal policy, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, income redistribution, international economics, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, monetarism, monetary economics, political change, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, unemployment Tags: Argentina

It’s easy to mock economists. Consider the supposedly prestigious left-leaning academics who asserted in 2021 that Biden’s agenda was not inflationary. At the risk of understatement, they wound up with egg on their faces.* Today, we’re going to look at another example of leftist economists making fools of themselves. It involves Argentina, where President Javier […]
Left-Wing Economists Were Wildly Wrong about Javier Milei and his Libertarian Agenda for Argentina
Anti-ag activists at it again
10 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, politics - New Zealand Tags: agricultural economics, animal rights, Animal welfare
The anti-ag activist group Peta is at it again – using selective footage which appears to show animal abuse by shearers. If they were genuinely concerned about animal welfare they would have acted on the abuse immediately and reported incidents to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and/or the SPCA. Instead they went to the […]
Anti-ag activists at it again
California Tipping Point
10 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, climate alarmism
Faced with the election of Donald Trump to a second term, soaring inequality, and a decline in support from the state’s non-white majority, California’s Democratic leaders have begun asking hard questions about the state’s vaunted climate policies.
California Tipping Point
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