Oral submissions to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee
Inclusion of UNDRIP in India FreeTrade Agreement
Inclusion of UNDRIP in India FreeTrade Agreement
03 Jun 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, economics of regulation, international economics, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: constitutional law
Lord Cooke’s Indictment
02 Jun 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law
This column was first published in LawNews on 1 June 2026. It continues a series examining the Supreme Court’s departure from the constitutional limits of judicial power. * Roger Partridge writes – The debate about New Zealand’s Supreme Court has been framed as a question about the current court – its composition, its appointments, its judicial philosophy. This column […]
Lord Cooke’s Indictment
SEZs as policy trial areas
29 May 2026 1 Comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic growth, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, law and economics, macroeconomics, property rights
A decade ago, I coauthored a report looking at how greater localism and subsidiarity could be achieved in a very centralised country where local councils have variable capabilities. We settled on policy trial areas. The basic gist was as follows. First, a community would pitch a policy trial area – a special economic zone – with different policy…
SEZs as policy trial areas
Thomas Poole and Elena De Nictolis: The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026
25 May 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy Tags: British constitutional law, British politics
After months of parliamentary debate, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 (‘English Devolution Act’) received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. The Act has important implications for the relationship between central and local government and the long-running ‘English question’ in UK constitutional politics. This post situates the Act within almost three decades of […]
Thomas Poole and Elena De Nictolis: The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026
Scotland 2026: A normal election for its MMP design
24 May 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, Public Choice Tags: Scotland
The electoral system used for the Scottish Parliament is more restrictive than the Westminster parliamentary electoral system, and recognizing this characteristic is key to understanding the result of this election.
Scotland 2026: A normal election for its MMP design
The Case Against Socialism, Part V
24 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, macroeconomics, Marxist economics Tags: North Korea, South Korea
As far as I know, Matt Mitchell and I are not related, but we both have a low opinion of socialism. He covers a lot of ground (defining socialism, the role of prices, socialism’s death toll, and the myth of Nordic socialism) in this 15-minute interview. Matt does such a good job that I didn’t […]
The Case Against Socialism, Part V
Winding back Treaty references
21 May 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law, racial discrimination
Paul Goldsmith announced: The Government has agreed to amend 19 pieces of legislation to ensure references to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi are clear and consistent, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Over the last 30 or 40 years, Parliament has made all sorts of references to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.…
Winding back Treaty references
Dane Luo: Andy Burnham and the Constitution – The Conventions on the Appointment of the Prime Minister
20 May 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, politics, politics - Australia Tags: British constitutional law, British politics, Canada, constitutional law
After disastrous local government election results for the Labour Party, speculation has been rife about an internal leadership challenge to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. On Thursday 14 May 2026, the Member of Makerfield, Josh Simons, announced he was resigning his Manchester-based seat (formally given effect by an appointment to an ‘office of profit under the […]
Dane Luo: Andy Burnham and the Constitution – The Conventions on the Appointment of the Prime Minister
The Sting in the India Trade Deal
16 May 2026 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic history, economics of regulation, international economic law, international economics, International law, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: India, preferential trading agreements
A Constitutional Trojan Horse: advancing change through political stealth Trade Minister Hon Todd McClay has announced that the New Zealand-India free trade agreement has been signed and that the formal parliamentary treaty scrutiny process is now under way. The full text of the agreement is now public and has been referred to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee […]
The Sting in the India Trade Deal
A Friendly Appeal to the Unconvinced
14 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic history, liberalism Tags: The Great Enrichment
An excerpt from the conclusion of *Unbeatable*
A Friendly Appeal to the Unconvinced
Simon Karsunke: What comes next? The way forward on UK House of Lords reform
13 May 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy Tags: British constitutional law, British politics
On 18 March 2026 the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill became the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026. Following one final vote on the evening of the 10th of March 2026 in the House of Lords , and after having offered additional life peer appointments to Conservative peers, the Labour government has succeeded […]
Simon Karsunke: What comes next? The way forward on UK House of Lords reform
Economics is Counter-Emotional, Not Counter-Intuitive
30 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of education, economics of information, history of economic thought, Public Choice
A few months ago, a high school econ student asked me to zoom with his class. I’m working against a tight deadline for Blockade, so I was inclined to decline. But the student’s list of questions was so ambitious that I decided to make the time. See for yourself:Here is the plan:- 5 minutes -WELCOME…
Economics is Counter-Emotional, Not Counter-Intuitive
How Reform Happens
30 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, econometerics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, Public Choice
What determines whether and how regulations are reformed? We use a newly constructed data set of 3,590 successful and failed regulatory reforms in 189 countries, between 2005 and 2022, to address this question. We document that regulations have become more business friendly in some regulatory domains but not others. We also show that regulations are…
How Reform Happens
Francesca Jackson: King Charles, President Trump and the State Visit: Some Constitutional Considerations
08 Apr 2026 1 Comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, politics - Australia Tags: British constitutional law, British politics
Buckingham Palace has finally announced that the King and Queen’s planned visit to the US will indeed go ahead at the end of April 2026. After US President Donald Trump launched a string of verbal attacks on the UK Prime Minister, there had been growing calls for Keir Starmer to cancel the King’s visit, which […]
Francesca Jackson: King Charles, President Trump and the State Visit: Some Constitutional Considerations
Wealth Is Not a Fixed Pie
27 Mar 2026 1 Comment
in applied price theory, behavioural economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, growth disasters, growth miracles
One of the most destructive myths in economics is the zero-sum fallacy. Back in 2018, I shared a cartoon that sought to debunk the notion that one person getting richer meant another person had to be poorer. But I wasn’t satisfied with the cartoon, so I offered a modified version. But I still didn’t think […]
Wealth Is Not a Fixed Pie
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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