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Why the @NZGreens are beside the point
31 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economic history, entrepreneurship, growth miracles, history of economic thought, human capital, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, technological progress Tags: child poverty, family poverty, The Great Enrichment
European Policies = European Stagnation
31 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic growth, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, entrepreneurship, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, welfare reform Tags: Europe, social insurance
I’ve written many times about how Americans are much richer than Europeans. And I’ve also written many times that the U.S. economy has been growing faster (which shouldn’t happen according to convergence theory). There’s a simple reason for America’s superior performance. The U.S. is burdened by a medium-sized welfare state and a bad tax system […]
European Policies = European Stagnation
Minnesota’s Failed Class-Warfare Tax Policy
11 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic growth, fiscal policy, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
Writing about Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan in 2012, I opined that, “…it probably means nothing. I don’t think there’s been an election in my lifetime that was impacted by the second person on a presidential ticket.” I feel the same way about Tim Walz, who is Kamala Harris’ pick for Vice President. But […]
Minnesota’s Failed Class-Warfare Tax Policy
Which are the most effective subsidies for green energy?
26 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: cap and trade, carbon tax, climate alarmism
That is the topic of my latest Bloomberg column, here is one excerpt: A recent study finds that, of all domestic subsidies, the most effective involve replacing the dirty production of electricity with the cleaner production of electricity. In practice, that means subsidies or tax credits for solar and wind power. Those are more than twice as effective as […]
Which are the most effective subsidies for green energy?
BBB in the NYT
15 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
I pitch Build, Baby, Build in today’s New York Times. No illustrations, but a bunch of cool graphs cooked up by Sara Chodosh of the NYT data analytics team. The original title was “The Panacea Policy,” but now it’s “Yes in My Backyard: The Case For Housing Deregulation.” And for you, dear readers, it’s ungated!…
BBB in the NYT
Bryan Caplan on YIMBY in the NYT
12 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, economics of regulation, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, regulation, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
Here is one excerpt: What few appreciate is that the overregulation of housing has blocked a classic American path: moving to a higher-wage part of the country to secure a better life. A paper by the economists Peter Ganong and Daniel Shoag shows that housing costs now routinely outweigh wage gains: While janitors and waiters do indeed […]
Bryan Caplan on YIMBY in the NYT
Five Questions Congress Should’ve Asked the Climate Cartel
30 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economics of natural disasters, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: climate alarmism
SG investing promises nebulous profits in some far-off future, but my friends and family whose retirements rely on CalPERS need it to perform better today instead of doubling down on its money-losing ways.
Five Questions Congress Should’ve Asked the Climate Cartel
Do not stifle supply and then subsidize demand
25 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: offsetting behavior, unintended consequences
That phrasing comes from Arnold Kling, right? It is also the topic of my latest Bloomberg column. Here is one bit: Unfortunately, the US already was setting a bad example for the British. Recent plans from the Biden administration called for a broadly similar approach to housing policy, namely subsidizing demand. Earlier this year, Biden called for […]
Do not stifle supply and then subsidize demand
Health and Safety laws
23 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economics of regulation, health and safety, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand
Peter Dunne writes – In 2016 New Zealand instituted comprehensive new health and safety laws for workplaces and other areas of activity. The expectation was that the new regime the legislation introduced would dramatically improve the culture and practice around safety in the workplace, reduce the numbers of accidents and save lives. However, the most […]
Health and Safety laws
Murphy’s Law of Economic Policy
21 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, Public Choice, public economics
Economists have the least influence on policy where they know the most and are most agreed; they have the most influence on policy where they know the least and disagree most vehemently.” I’d never heard of it before and it’s quoted in this review of a book called “Free Lunch Thinking – How Economics Ruins […]
Murphy’s Law of Economic Policy
Caught out! The NZ Initiative’s Article in the Herald Blaming the RBNZ for our Rip-Off Big Banks is Contradicted by its Own Expert Witness. (Willis Beware).
12 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, business cycles, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, financial economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice
When it comes to the question of how best to avoid a banking collapse and multi-billion dollar bailout that can drag a whole nation into depression, the best solution, according to Chicago-Stanford economist, John Cochrane, is to require banks to set aside a fraction of their own funds as reserves to cover losses they may…
Caught out! The NZ Initiative’s Article in the Herald Blaming the RBNZ for our Rip-Off Big Banks is Contradicted by its Own Expert Witness. (Willis Beware).
Expert advice
11 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: carbon trading
There are a few things you’d hope would be common knowledge about the Emissions Trading Scheme.For example, the scheme caps net emissions. If emissions go down in one sector, another sector’s emitters can buy the slightly-cheaper NZUs and use them. The only thing that reduces net emissions in the covered sector is government auctioning or…
Expert advice
Fauci Didn’t Test
09 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of pandemics, The fatal conceit, unintended consequences
I am not a Fauci hater but I think this criticism of Facui from epidemiologist and oncologist Vinay Prasad hits the mark: Lockdown was specifically advocated for by Anthony Fauci (‘15 days to stop the spread’/ ‘hunker down’/ ‘shelter in place’), and Fauci would go on to make hundreds of other specific policy recommendations. Although he initially […]
Fauci Didn’t Test
The 2024 Hayek Lecture: Phil Gramm & John Early on “The Myth of American…
04 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic history, economics of education, entrepreneurship, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality
*Best Things First*
01 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, development economics, growth disasters, health economics Tags: The Great Escape
The author is Bjorn Lomborg, and the subtitle is The 12 most efficient solutions for the world’s poorest and our global SDG promises. I missed this book when it first came out last year. Here is what Lomborg presents as the twelve best global investments, in no particular order: Tuberculosis Maternal and newborn health Malaria […]
*Best Things First*
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