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”
No, Fossil Fuels Are Not Being “Subsidised”
05 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming
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
Why are Spain and Italy islands of equality?
31 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap
A Prescription for Fixing the US Healthcare System
31 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, health economics, politics - USA Tags: health insurance
Among the major issues not being discussed in the US presidential campaign are those facing the US healthcare system. The two main concerns are well-known. One is high cost. The US economy spends about $12,500 per person on health care in 2022, according to the OECD. The second- and third-highest countries, Switzerland and Germany, spend…
A Prescription for Fixing the US Healthcare System
New MRU Video! Negative Externalities
31 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of information, environmental economics, law and economics, property rights, Ronald Coase
Here’s the latest video from Marginal Revolution University. It covers negative externalities–drawing, of course, from the most innovative and interesting principles of economics textbook, Modern Principles of Economics. MRU videos are free for anyone’s use anytime, anywhere and don’t forget there are also two new econ-practice games on negative externalities and positive externalities and a fun choose […]
New MRU Video! Negative Externalities
Biden-Harris policies and their consequences were no surprise to those paying attention
30 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, budget deficits, business cycles, econometerics, economic growth, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, financial economics, fiscal policy, global warming, health economics, income redistribution, industrial organisation, law and economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: 2024 presidential election, drug lags, taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment
Milton Friedman used to advise researchers to focus on large policy changes rather than attempting to separate a small change’s signal from the noise. In this sense, the “ambitious” policy agenda of the Biden-Harris administration was expected to be a gift to the research community. Accepting this gift, since 2020 I have been making forecasts…
Biden-Harris policies and their consequences were no surprise to those paying attention
The Shinkansen and Japan’s Lost Decades
30 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, industrial organisation, macroeconomics, Public Choice, public economics, survivor principle, transport economics, urban economics Tags: Japan
Japan is known for many things, but two of them are the Shinkansen high-speed trains and the nation’s three Lost Decades of slow economic growth. Unfortunately, most tourists who go to Japan see the former and don’t see the latter and especially don’t see the connection between the two. The … Continue reading →
The Shinkansen and Japan’s Lost Decades
Scott Alexander on the Progress Studies conference
25 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economic history, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, liberalism, macroeconomics Tags: creative destruction
Here is one excerpt: Over-regulation was the enemy at many presentations, but this wasn’t a libertarian conference. Everyone agreed that safety, quality, the environment, etc, were important and should be regulated for. They just thought existing regulations were colossally stupid, so much so that they made everything worse including safety, the environment, etc. With enough political will, […]
Scott Alexander on the Progress Studies conference
Reflections on United Arab Emirates
23 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of crime, energy economics, growth miracles, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, property rights, Public Choice Tags: Dubai, economics of immigration
On my way to India, I connected through Abu Dhabi, capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). During my one-day layover, I toured not only Abu Dhabi, but its more famous sister-city, Dubai. Here are my main thoughts.In Dubai, these are not empty words.Per-capita, UAE is the most amazing country I’ve ever seen. With…
Reflections on United Arab Emirates
WSJ Video on Trump-Biden-Trump Tariffs
22 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic history, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA, survivor principle Tags: 2024 presidential election, tarrifs
TweetI can pick a few nits with this eight-minute-long video from the Wall Street Journal on tariffs – for example, for all of their many problems, tariffs do not (contrary to what’s reported in the video) cause any net, economy-wide loss of jobs. Nevertheless, this video is quite good, not least because it features the…
WSJ Video on Trump-Biden-Trump Tariffs
Incentives matter, the demand curve slopes downward, mental health edition
17 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, health economics
Since 2000, pharmaceuticals for common psychiatric conditions aged out of patent protection. After generic entry, supply increases as more sellers enter the market, leading to lower prices – about 80-85% less! Cheaper prescriptions and more treatment are the stated goal of policies to improve affordability. …Drug prices definitely fell during this period. For the SSRI sertraline, consumer cost per month dropped from ~35 dollars in […]
Incentives matter, the demand curve slopes downward, mental health edition
Reflections on India
16 Oct 2024 1 Comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, income redistribution, law and economics, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, regulation, rentseeking Tags: economics of colonialism, India
I’m back from my first trip to India, where I visited Mumbai, Delhi, Agra, and Amritsar. I enjoyed fine company in all four cities. In Mumbai, my new friend Sachin Aggarwal, head of the local EconTalk Club, rolled out the red carpet — and ACX Mumbai joined the festivities. (Thank you, Scott Alexander, for creating…
Reflections on India
Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson Win Nobel Prize for Institutions and Prosperity
15 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, income redistribution, macroeconomics, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking
The Nobel prize goes to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson for their work on institutions, prosperity, and economic growth. Here is a key piece summarizing their work: Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long-Run Growth. This paper develops the empirical and theoretical case that differences in economic institutions are the fundamental cause of […]
Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson Win Nobel Prize for Institutions and Prosperity
A Nobel for Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson: Institutions and Prosperity
15 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2024 has been awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity.” Each year, the Nobel Committee helpfully publishes both a “Popular information” overview of of the award and a “Scientific Background” essay that goes into greater depth.…
A Nobel for Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson: Institutions and Prosperity
Recent Comments