Social Impact Bonds http://t.co/43koVqOPRW—
Political Line (@PoliticalLine) June 15, 2015
Legal systems and property rights in Greece and Russia – Index of Economic Freedom rankings compared
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.
Only one line in this chart matters
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
Doing business in the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) – World Bank rankings
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.
New Zealand is an anomaly in the OECD Better Life index
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
Extreme poverty is not the same thing as digital poverty
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
Down and out in Australia as measured by consumer durables affordability
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
Food is now much smaller share of the average family’s budget than in the 60s
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
Bicycles (at night) must go!
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:
- Certain pedestrians should be allowed to share the road with cars as long as these pedestrians travel quickly on a metal contraption that is slower than cars, but still allows them to move relatively quickly;
- These fast moving pedestrians are near invisible in rear-view mirrors;
- These fast moving pedestrians should be allowed on the road at night when their visibility is poor against an every-varying contrast of a moving landscape;
- These pedestrians moving quickly at night on the road are overconfident in the extent to which drivers perceive their presence against a moving landscape; and
- Older drivers are 50% less likely to perceive the presence of a bike with lights and illumination at night than are younger drivers.
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.
HL Mencken on the Harmful Digital Communication Bill
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
More heat than light in the recent inequality debate
26 Jun 2015 1 Comment
The rise in articles about inequality in NZ sure doesn't match the data on inequality.
youtube.com/watch?v=uCT7aE… http://t.co/z2eWKgXJiL—
Eric Crampton (@EricCrampton) June 26, 2015
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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