Nine years ago, I critically analyzed the Cohen-Friedman debate on means-testing Social Security. Only recently, though, did I find the original footage from 1971. As far as I know, this is the first time that any prominent social scientist made the “A program only for the poor will always be a poor program” argument that…
The Great Means-Testing Debate
The Great Means-Testing Debate
05 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, Milton Friedman, occupational choice, poverty and inequality, unemployment, welfare reform
The taxing problem of zombie and phoenix companies
04 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of crime, fiscal policy, law and economics, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: Germany
Eric Crampton writes – Damien Grant isn’t normally the one making the case that the government needs to take more in tax. The liquidator and libertarian-minded columnist at the Sunday Star Times more typically wants what libertarians generally want – a government that spends less and that can let each of us keep more of […]
The taxing problem of zombie and phoenix companies
My Econoboi Poverty Debate vs. Matt Bruenig
04 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, welfare reform Tags: child poverty, family poverty, social insurance
Tomorrow at 2 PM ET, I’ll be debating “What is the best policy response to poverty?” versus Matt Bruenig. Venue: Econoboi channel P.S. You might recall that… 9 more words
My Econoboi Poverty Debate vs. Matt Bruenig
Quotation of the Day…
03 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, labour economics, labour supply, poverty and inequality
Tweet… is from page 181 of the late UCLA economist William Allen’s superb 1989 collection of the transcripts of his radio addresses, The Midnight Economist; specifically, it’s from Allen’s April 1985 address “Employment and Wages, Competition and Fairness”: The more valuable the worker, the higher the bid for his services. The high wage offer reflects…
Quotation of the Day…
What should we sell?
02 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, industrial organisation, politics - New Zealand, privatisation
Newsroom has an article on the 10 SOEs that a Government could sell. I’ve done a matrix looking at which could be best to sell. Asset Competitive Value Sensitivity Prospects QV B $54m D Y Landcorp A $1.6b B Y AsureQuality B $100m C Y Kordia B $62m C Y Kiwibank B $2.6b A Y…
What should we sell?
US Poverty and Policy
01 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, labour economics, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, welfare reform Tags: child poverty, family poverty
The US economy is the largest in the world, and at least among the large-population countries of the world (setting aside smaller economies strongly influenced by international capital flows like Monaco, Cayman Islands, and Ireland or by oil resources), it also has the highest per capita GDP. But at the same time, according to the…
US Poverty and Policy
Who Won the Socialist Calculation Debate (with Peter Boettke) 2/17/25
29 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, economics of information, entrepreneurship, F.A. Hayek, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, Ludwig von Mises, market efficiency, property rights, survivor principle, Thomas Sowell
The terrible Supreme Court decision on Uber
28 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, transport economics, urban economics Tags: employment law
The Supreme Court has ruled that four Uber drivers are employees of Uber, despite written agreements they are contractors, not employees. The practical effect of this decision is terrible. Uber has been great for passengers. Not only can we hold drivers to account through ratings, we save a lot of money. An Uber to the…
The terrible Supreme Court decision on Uber
Treasury on tax
27 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, fiscal policy, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, public economics Tags: taxation and investment
I’ve never really been persuaded that it is a good idea for public servants to be giving speeches, unless perhaps they are simply and explicitly explaining or articulating government policy. If they are, instead, purporting to run their own views or those of their agency it is almost inevitable that we will be getting less […]
Treasury on tax
The Milei Miracle, Part III
25 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic growth, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, growth disasters, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, unemployment Tags: Argentina
I’m still riding high after Javier Milei’s political party won a landslide in last month’s mid-term elections in Argentina. And I’m very much hoping and expecting that gives him enough legislative support to enact big reforms next year to further liberate the Argentinian economy (tax reform, free trade, and labor market liberalization). But let’s take […]
The Milei Miracle, Part III
Should We Privatise More Government Businesses?
24 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, financial economics, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, politics - New Zealand, privatisation
Pragmatic analysis says maybe we should, but we should also consider nationalisation. We should certainly consider better regulation. Brian Easton writes – An earlier column argued that we should make the government’s net worth – the value of its assets less its liabilities – more prominent in fiscal policy. Net worth is also fundamental when we are […]
Should We Privatise More Government Businesses?
Argentine Rental Market Natural Experiment
24 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of regulation, growth disasters, history of economic thought, income redistribution, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, regulation, rentseeking, transport economics, urban economics Tags: Argentina, rent control
One of Argentine President Milei’s radical reforms was to “take a chainsaw” to rent control laws. Argentina had had some of the most restrictive rent control regimes ever. All of that was abandoned almost over night. Many media outlets noted with glee that rents fell dramatically. Even most economists were surprised by how much supply…
Argentine Rental Market Natural Experiment
Was Brexit a Mistake?
24 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, international economics, macroeconomics Tags: Brexit
I supported Brexit for two reasons. The European Union is a sinking ship and a vote for Brexit spares British taxpayers from being on the hook when massive bailouts occur. Leaving the European Union would give the United Kingdom more leeway to choose a pro-market, Singapore-on-Thames policy agenda. The good news is that Point #1 […]
Was Brexit a Mistake?
Dishwashers and the 24/7 Time Constraint
22 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, history of economic thought, labour economics, labour supply
In my own family, the reverence that we have for the dishwasher (and other time-saving devices) is such that we have a cat named “Josephine” after the Josephine Cochrane–the inventor of the first commercially viable dishwasher. (Also named because, as a kitten, she liked to forage in the back of the dishwasher.) Erin Braid provides…
Dishwashers and the 24/7 Time Constraint
Nobel Prize Winners’ Work Supports Dynamic Antitrust Enforcement
21 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, macroeconomics, survivor principle Tags: creative destruction
Antitrust should center on dynamic market forces that drive major technological change, rather than on static “big is bad” market analysis, based on the work of the 2025 economics Nobel Prize winners. Antitrust enforcers in the United States and around the world could benefit by incorporating these insights into their policy development. Focus on Dynamic […]
Nobel Prize Winners’ Work Supports Dynamic Antitrust Enforcement
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