Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
05 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, international economics, law and economics, property rights, survivor principle Tags: doing business, Eurosclerosis, Italy, rule of law, Russia, transitional economies
Figure 1: Doing Business rankings, Russia and Italy, 2014
Source: World Bank Doing Business 2015.
It is rather disturbing that it is a lot easier to register property and enforce contracts in Russia than in Italy and far harder to pay your taxes in Italy. Once again, Italy’s saving grace is the ability to trade across borders Because of its membership of the European Union.
05 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economics of crime, economics of regulation, growth disasters, industrial organisation, law and economics, property rights Tags: capitalism and freedom, Greece, rule of law, Russia
Figure 1: Index of Economic Freedom rankings for legal systems and property rights, Greece, Russia and USA, 2012
Source: Economic Freedom of the World – Annual Report 2014 | www.freetheworld.com.
Overall, there are not that many differences between Greece and Russia in the quality of their legal systems and property rights. Don’t go to the police in Russia and good luck trying to enforce contracts in Greece.
04 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles Tags: capitalism and freedom, child poverty, extreme poverty, global poverty, Malaysia, The Great Escape, The Great Fact
In #Malaysia inequality and poverty are falling.
More at: bit.ly/1KLUA02 http://t.co/aXEmuA0bnb—
Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) July 02, 2015
03 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, currency unions, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, Euro crisis, health and safety, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, law and economics, minimum wage, occupational regulation, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle, unions, welfare reform Tags: cost of doing business, Eurosclerosis, Greece, Italy, PIGS, Portugal, Spain
Figure 1: Doing Business rankings, PIGS, 2014
Source: World Bank Doing Business 2015.
All in all, Italy and Greece are a dog of a place to enforce a contract. The long-suffering taxpayer is better off paying taxes in Greece than in Italy! Not surprisingly, trading across borders is the greatest strength in doing business in the PIGS. The European Union does have some benefits.
Figure 2: Doing Business rankings, Greece and Italy, 2014
Source: World Bank Doing Business 2015.
All in all, Italy and Greece are equally bad places to do business and Italy is much worse when it comes to taxes. About the only saving graces of Italy is the registration of property and the protection of minority interests in companies.
Figure 3: Doing Business rankings, Spain and Portugal, 2014
Source: World Bank Doing Business 2015.
Spain and in particular Portugal are much better places to do business than Italy and Greece.
02 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: New Zealand, OECD Better Life Index
OECD Better Life Index correlates with GDP
But US lower than poorer countries
& NZL higher than richer countries http://t.co/yrTCnO1B0l—
Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) June 26, 2015
01 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
Percentage of people around the world who own smartphones, via @conradhackett. Note #China. http://t.co/wAOmIklVbW—
Legatum Institute (@LegatumInst) May 30, 2015
30 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, economic history Tags: Australia, living standards, The Great Enrichment
Economic freedom improves everyone's lives – especially the poor – as this graph from the IPA's @NovakMikayla shows: http://t.co/5qHIRcVRcN—
InstofPublicAffairs (@TheIPA) April 17, 2015
28 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, labour economics, population economics, welfare reform Tags: child poverty, family poverty, poverty line, poverty measurement, statistics
26 Jun 2015 5 Comments
in applied welfare economics, health and safety, transport economics
I had an unnerving near miss at my local roundabout tonight with a bike as I was turning left. The bicycle appeared out of nowhere on my right in the middle of the roundabout as I glanced of the left to check again while turning so I crash stopped.
The bike had a light at the front but wasn’t visible to me until it was halfway into the roundabout when I glanced of the right again. The bike rider was going into that roundabout at a good speed against a wall of car lights behind it, so it was impossible to see it until it was close to the door of my car because of the background of car lighting after dark.
Bike riders have an overinflated self-perception of their visibility at night. Not surprisingly, more accidents happen during peak hours when drivers think motorists can see them when they cannot. 
Even on an empty road, bicycles are not easy to see at night – certainly there not as perceived as quickly as cars. Bicycles are a much more dangerous transport mode than driving a car.
A recent study found the bicycle lighting is overrated as a method of making bikes more conspicuous – perceptions of visibility do not necessarily match reality:
The presence of a bicycle light, whether static or flashing, did not enhance the conspicuity of the bicyclist; this may result in bicyclists who use a bicycle light being overconfident of their own conspicuity at night.
Consider this thought experiment. Suppose bicycles have never been invented until tonight. The business case for allowing them on to the road is as follows:
Would that business case pass under the precautionary principle championed by environmentalists, many of whom are bicyclists? Would that business case pass under normal cost benefit analysis? I say no. Bicycles at night must go.
26 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of crime, economics of media and culture, economics of regulation, law and economics, liberalism, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: chilling effect, disorderly conduct, free speech, infotopia, Internet trolls, meddlesome preferences, nanny state, offsetting behaviour, The fatal conceit, The pretence to knowledge, unintended consequences
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
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
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
A blog (primarily) on Canadian and Commonwealth political history and institutions
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
Cutting edge science you can dice with
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.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments