This paper examines how unauthorized immigration affects the fiscal health of local governments in the United States. Using detailed data on unauthorized immigrants’ countries of origin and arrival dates from the Syracuse TRAC database, we isolate immigration flows driven by social, economic, and political conditions in source countries. We predict local immigration patterns using a […]
Unauthorized Immigration and Local Government Finances
Unauthorized Immigration and Local Government Finances
30 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: economics of immigration
The Royal Commission on Covid-19 Report is a Repugnant, Unstructured Mishmash of Disinformation, Dressed up as a Single Source of Truth.
28 Nov 2024 1 Comment
in applied price theory, health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: economics of pandemics
How can Professor Blakely, who is co-author of NZ’s Royal Commission Report into Covid, write a report critiquing our government’s approach to Covid when he was the intellectual architect of that approach? He co-authored the 2020 British Medical Journal article with Professor Michael Baker called, “Elimination could be the optimal response strategy for covid-19”. That…
The Royal Commission on Covid-19 Report is a Repugnant, Unstructured Mishmash of Disinformation, Dressed up as a Single Source of Truth.
Desired Fertility versus the Mueller Effect
28 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of love and marriage, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, population economics Tags: economics of fertility
Six months ago, I’m not sure that I’d ever heard of demographer Lyman Stone. Now, people in my circles randomly drop his name on a weekly basis. His favorite topic, in case you haven’t heard, is global fertility decline. As a longtime natalist, I share his concerns. One of Stone’s top takeaways: Instead of talking…
Desired Fertility versus the Mueller Effect
Maximum Progress on Progressivism
27 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, discrimination, economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: conjecture and refutation
If you are not yet a fan of Michael Huemer, you should be. Hyperbole is the worst thing in the universe, but I still affirm the following: Huemer’s The Problem of Political Authority is the best book on political philosophy. Huemer’s Ethical Intuitionism is the best book on meta-ethics. Huemer’s Knowledge, Reality, and Value is…
Maximum Progress on Progressivism
Try as they might, the Australian Green party can’t make university education free
25 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of education, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, Marxist economics, occupational choice, politics - Australia, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: College premium, regressive left
The Australian Green party has proposed cancelling all student debt in Australia, as part of an aim for government to provide “free education for life”. However, free education is not free. In an article in The Conversation earlier this month, Bruce Chapman (Australian National University) makes a case against the claim that cancelling student debt…
Try as they might, the Australian Green party can’t make university education free
Automakers’ Costly Gamble on EVs: A Lesson in Ignoring Consumer Demand
25 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, politics - USA, Public Choice, transport economics Tags: electric cars
Ultimately, the market will decide the winners and losers. Automakers that prioritize consumer satisfaction over government market manipulation will thrive, while those that gambled on an uncertain future may find themselves scrambling to survive. Tesla’s trajectory proves that it’s possible to innovate without compromising, and the rest of the industry would be wise to take notes.
Automakers’ Costly Gamble on EVs: A Lesson in Ignoring Consumer Demand
Milei and populism
23 Nov 2024 1 Comment
in applied price theory, budget deficits, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, growth disasters, income redistribution, macroeconomics, monetarism, monetary economics, Public Choice, rentseeking, unemployment Tags: Argentina
Bryan Caplan and Daniel Klein both opine on Milei and populism, Dan being very enthusiastic, while Bryan praising Milei but more reserved in his praise of populism. I too am a big fan of Milei, and I think he is still on a good track. If his reforms do not succeed, likely it will not […]
Milei and populism
Bob Ekelund Remembered
23 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of bureaucracy, economics of information, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, health economics, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, market efficiency, Milton Friedman, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, regulation, theory of the firm Tags: competition law, Product safety
TweetHere’s my just-published remembrance, in Public Choice, of my late teacher, dissertation advisor, co-author, and friend, Bob Ekelund. Three slices: The only textbook assigned for the course was Milton Friedman’s Price Theory. From some younger members of Auburn’s economics faculty, I heard a few cocktail-lubricated complaints that core theory courses in a modern economics Ph.D.…
Bob Ekelund Remembered
The Borjas-Caplan Immigration Debate
20 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, population economics Tags: economics of immigration
Before the fictional musical Borjas-Caplan immigration debate of 2024, there was the non-fictional non-musical Borjas-Caplan immigration debate of 2019. It was an unusual format: Both of us had the floor for over hour each. Borjas:Me:If you pay close attention to my opponent’s presentation, you’ll discover that he’s quite unlike every other critic of immigration. In…
The Borjas-Caplan Immigration Debate
Local Labor Market Effects of Amazon
18 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, labour economics, labour supply, urban economics
Does the entry of a large employer to a local labor market increase welfare for residents? To answer this question, I analyze the local effects of the dramatic expansion of Amazon’s fulfillment center (FC) network from 2010 onward. I exploit the staggered roll-out of FCs across large U.S. metros in a difference-in-difference framework. I find […]
Local Labor Market Effects of Amazon
Setelinleikkaus: When Finns snipped their cash in half to curb inflation
18 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, financial economics, law and economics, macroeconomics, monetarism, monetary economics, property rights Tags: Finland, monetary policy
On the last day of 1945, with World War II finally behind it, Finland’s government announced a new and very strange policy.All Finns were required to take out a pair of scissors and snip their banknotes in half. This was known in Finland as setelinleikkaus, or banknote cutting. Anyone who owned any of the three…
Setelinleikkaus: When Finns snipped their cash in half to curb inflation
Prediction Markets for the Win
10 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, financial economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
The prediction markets predicted the election outcome more accurately and more quickly than polls or other forecasting methods, just as expected from decades of research. In this election, however, many people discounted the prediction markets because of large trades on Polymarket. Paul Krugman, for example, wrote: Never mind the prediction markets, which are thin and […]
Prediction Markets for the Win
No, Fossil Fuels Are Not Being “Subsidised”
05 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming
Whenever discussing renewables subsidies on the internet, there is a form of Godwin’s Law that means it is inevitable that someone will come along and say: “Ackshually, fossil fuels are subsidised more than renewables,” or words to that effect, as shown in this example. I have often thought the claim to be bogus, but until now had never dug into the detail to prove the case one way or the other.
No, Fossil Fuels Are Not Being “Subsidised”
Who Matters More in a Move: You or Your Spouse?
04 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economics of love and marriage, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, marriage and divorce, sex discrimination
New research finds couples are more likely to move for a job when it benefits the man, even when the woman’s career stands to benefit more by movingBy Dalvin Brown of The WSJ. Excerpts:”Couples are moving again for better job opportunities. They are more likely to make those moves when the husband’s earnings stand to…
Who Matters More in a Move: You or Your Spouse?
The National Childcare Program During World War II
02 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, defence economics, discrimination, econometerics, economic history, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, war and peace Tags: World War II
The United States has has a nationwide childcare program at one time in its history: a temporary program during World War II. Tim Sablik of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond tells the story and summarizes some economic research on the topic in “When Uncle Sam Watched Rosie’s Kids: To support women working on the…
The National Childcare Program During World War II
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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