Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
23 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, international economics, macroeconomics, public economics Tags: Sweden
I don’t often claim to be ahead of the curve, but I’m going to pat myself on the back in today’s column about Swedish economic policy. More than 16 years ago, I started writing about Sweden’s shift from statism to markets. More than 14 years ago, I praised Swedish policy makers for significantly reducing the […]
The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Sweden, Part IV
22 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, econometerics, economic history, industrial organisation, labour economics, survivor principle, unions
My best read of the evidence is that a union raises wages by around 7% for currently unionized employees. The wage gains from a redistribution of rents evenly across workers. Wage compression exists, but redistribution from worker to worker is only a small part. These are the current effects – unionizing more of the economy […]
The economics of unions
19 May 2026 Leave a comment
Below is a longer version of my column in the New York Post on the announced plan of Israel to…
Defamation, She Wrote: Israel Moves to Sue the “Gray Lady” Over Kristof Column
18 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, politics - New Zealand Tags: competition law
The Commerce Commission’s “State of Competition in New Zealand” report landed on Tuesday. It is arguably the most important economic document of the political year. It names four sectors as the country’s least competitive: electricity, gas, water and waste services; financial and insurance services; information media and telecommunications; and mining. The night before the report […]
The Regulator has confirmed the NZ economy is rigged
17 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA Tags: free trade, tarrifs
TweetHere’s a letter to a new correspondent. Mr. H__: Thanks for your email. You write, in response to this post of mine, that I am “too quick at second guessing the president and his administration on its determination of the trade behaviors of other countries.” You say that I “owe the administration the benefit of…
They Don’t Deserve the Benefit of the Doubt
16 May 2026 Leave a comment
in history of economic thought, applied price theory, economic history, Adam Smith
March 9 was the 250th anniversary of the publication of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. I wanted to celebrate that occasion yesterday, but decided acknowledging Argentina’s rapid improvement in the Index of Economic Freedom was more timely. So let’s pay tribute today to Smith, starting with this video from the Fraser Institute (part of a […]
Celebrating 250 Years of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations
14 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic history, liberalism Tags: The Great Enrichment
An excerpt from the conclusion of *Unbeatable*
A Friendly Appeal to the Unconvinced
14 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, politics - New Zealand, urban economics Tags: competition law, land supply, zoning
The Spinoff reports: Both Labour and National governments have considered the idea of breaking up the big two but ultimately decided against it. A 2023 analysis by MBIE suggested forcibly breaking up the supermarkets could cost as much as $3.8 billion over 20 years, mostly due to the loss of economies of scale. It could make wholesale and distribution…
A good idea for supermarket competition
13 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, survivor principle Tags: industry policy
Tweet… is from page 8 of Scott Lincicome’s and Huan Zhu’s superb September 2021 paper, “Questioning Industrial Policy: Why Government Manufacturing Plans Are Ineffective and Unnecessary”: A core part of industrial policy’s knowledge problem is timing: because markets and personal preferences are constantly evolving, the facts (products, investments, supply and demand, etc.) on which an…
Bonus Quotation of the Day…
12 May 2026 Leave a comment
Almost half of the stories on Stuff’s politics page, are quoting Helen Clark. Doesn’t this tell you everything you need to know.
Stuff’s independent political commentator
12 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought
Tweet… about economic history and freedom. The post Jon Hartley Talks With Phil Gramm… appeared first on Cafe Hayek.
Jon Hartley Talks With Phil Gramm…
10 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, defence economics, economic history
When I’m in Britain or Ireland, one of my favourite sightseeing trips is to visit medieval castles. Even the ruined ones are fun to visit. Actually, maybe the ruined ones are more fun to visit, because you get to imagine what they would have looked like in their heyday. Britain and Ireland are full of castles,…
The economics of castles
10 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, libertarianism, Murray Rothbard, transport economics, urban economics
SummaryIn this chapter, Rothbard advocates the abolition of publicly-owned streets and roads:Abolition of the public sector means, of course, that all pieces of land, all land areas, including streets and roads, would be owned privately, by individuals, corporations, cooperatives, or any other voluntary group ings of individuals and capital.He begins by explaining that in a…
Bet On It Book Club: For a New Liberty, Chapter 11
08 May 2026 Leave a comment
in Adam Smith, applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, health economics, history of economic thought, liberalism, Marxist economics
In a recent Substack essay, “The progress movement needs a better theory of progress,” Brink Lindsey argues that the progress movement has settled for too thin a vision. It focuses on wealth creation and technological advance, he says, when it should adopt a “fuller conception of progress”—one that promotes “spiritual welfare” and thicker accounts of…
Grow the Pie, Skip the Sermon
08 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, transport economics
Many antitrust economists are wary of the efficacy of predatory pricing, the strategy of pricing below costs to drive a competitor out of a market. The usual counter-argument is that, for it to work, the inevitable losses this will entail must be recouped after the rival has exited. Recoupment requires higher prices … that can…
A Hiccup in a Price War
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
A History of the Alt-Right
Econ Prof at George Mason University, Economic Historian, Québécois
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Scholarly commentary on law, economics, and more
Beatrice Cherrier's blog
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
A rural perspective with a blue tint by Ele Ludemann
DPF's Kiwiblog - Fomenting Happy Mischief since 2003
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
The world's most viewed site on global warming and climate change
Tim Harding's writings on rationality, informal logic and skepticism
A window into Doc Freiberger's library
Let's examine hard decisions!
Commentary on monetary policy in the spirit of R. G. Hawtrey
Thoughts on public policy and the media
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Politics and the economy
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Reading between the lines, and underneath the hype.
Economics, and such stuff as dreams are made on
"The British constitution has always been puzzling, and always will be." --Queen Elizabeth II
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
WORLD WAR II, MUSIC, HISTORY, HOLOCAUST
Undisciplined scholar, recovering academic
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Res ipsa loquitur - The thing itself speaks
In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an ambassador from my world of economics, and help in “finding topics of conversation fit for the entertainment of rational creatures.”
Researching the House of Commons, 1832-1868
Articles and research from the History of Parliament Trust
Reflections on books and art
Posts on the History of Law, Crime, and Justice
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Exploring the Monarchs of Europe
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Small Steps Toward A Much Better World
“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert”. - J Robert Oppenheimer.
The truth about the great wind power fraud - we're not here to debate the wind industry, we're here to destroy it.
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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