Who Won the Socialist Calculation Debate (with Peter Boettke) 2/17/25
29 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, economics of information, entrepreneurship, F.A. Hayek, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, Ludwig von Mises, market efficiency, property rights, survivor principle, Thomas Sowell
The Great Escape
27 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, health economics Tags: child mortality, life expectancies, The Great Escape
The Milei Miracle, Part III
25 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic growth, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, growth disasters, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, unemployment Tags: Argentina
I’m still riding high after Javier Milei’s political party won a landslide in last month’s mid-term elections in Argentina. And I’m very much hoping and expecting that gives him enough legislative support to enact big reforms next year to further liberate the Argentinian economy (tax reform, free trade, and labor market liberalization). But let’s take […]
The Milei Miracle, Part III
The Great Enrichment again
25 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles Tags: The Great Enrichment
Argentine Rental Market Natural Experiment
24 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of regulation, growth disasters, history of economic thought, income redistribution, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, regulation, rentseeking, transport economics, urban economics Tags: Argentina, rent control
One of Argentine President Milei’s radical reforms was to “take a chainsaw” to rent control laws. Argentina had had some of the most restrictive rent control regimes ever. All of that was abandoned almost over night. Many media outlets noted with glee that rents fell dramatically. Even most economists were surprised by how much supply…
Argentine Rental Market Natural Experiment
Don Brash’s Oxford Union speech
11 Nov 2025 1 Comment
in defence economics, development economics, economic history, history of economic thought, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: economics of colonialism
The House believes that the Sun should never have set on the British Empire Don Brash says – Mr/Madame President, I speak in opposition to the motion. But I also want to acknowledge at the outset that the British Empire did more good things for more people than any other empire in human history.
Don Brash’s Oxford Union speech
*Violent Saviors*
11 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, international economics Tags: economics of colonialism 0
That is the new William Easterly book, and the subtitle is The West’s Conquest of the Rest. I liked this book very much, but found the title and also book jacket and descriptions misleading. I think of this work as a full-throated examination and study of the classical liberal anti-imperialist tradition. We have been needing […]
*Violent Saviors*
Implications of the (Second) Libertarian Landslide in Argentina
29 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, development economics, economic growth, fiscal policy, growth disasters, growth miracles, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics Tags: Argentina
In yesterday’s column, I celebrated the huge victory for Javier Milei and his libertarian LLA party in Argentina’s mid-term elections. Today, let’s contemplate the consequences. Starting with this video. The above video is from an interview yesterday with the great Ross Kaminsky of KOA in Denver. He wanted to know the big-picture meaning of Sunday’s […]
Implications of the (Second) Libertarian Landslide in Argentina
Agustín Etchebarne on Milei and the election
29 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, growth disasters, growth miracles, liberalism, libertarianism Tags: Argentina
Passed along to me by the excellent Gonzalo Schwarz, I will not double indent: “Against all odds, Javier Milei achieved a major national victory, surpassing the expectations of polls that had predicted a technical tie, and doing so in a context where markets were deeply pessimistic and heavily dollarized. Despite having most of the media […]
Agustín Etchebarne on Milei and the election
Another Libertarian Landslide in Argentina
28 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, growth miracles, liberalism, libertarianism Tags: Argentina
The good part about being a libertarian or classical liberal is that you are always morally and economically correct. The bad part is that very few elections ever produce unambiguously happy outcomes. Here’s my list: 1980 presidential election in the United States. 1994 and 2010 congressional elections in the United States.* 2016 vote for Brexit […]
Another Libertarian Landslide in Argentina
The Out-Sized Importance of Today’s Mid-Term Elections in Argentina
27 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, development economics, economic growth, fiscal policy, growth disasters, growth miracles, macroeconomics, monetary economics Tags: Argentina
I explained two months ago that Argentina’s mid-term elections are critically important, and here’s some of what I said in an interview with Austin Peterson. I’ll be paying close attention to the results later today for three reasons. The mid-term elections will determine whether Milei has legislative support for the additional reforms that are desperately […]
The Out-Sized Importance of Today’s Mid-Term Elections in Argentina
What does a Nobel Prize on ‘innovation-driven economic growth’ actually reward?
21 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic growth, economic history, history of economic thought, macroeconomics
A historian’s perspective on how to deal with the Nobel frenzy I generally try to stay away from the Economics Nobel frenzy, if only because the hyper-personalization of scientific achievements it entails it at odds with how we historians understand credit dynamics in science. Economics research has become increasingly collective, drawing on expertise in theory, […]
What does a Nobel Prize on ‘innovation-driven economic growth’ actually reward?
The Costs and Benefits of British Colonialism
20 Oct 2025 1 Comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles Tags: age of empires, economics of colonialism
The British Empire, which at its height ruled over a quarter of the world’s population and landmass, remains one of the most consequential forces in global history. Its legacy is deeply contested: defenders emphasize the spread of law, education, and infrastructure, while critics highlight the violence, exploitation, and cultural destruction it entailed. A balanced assessment […]
The Costs and Benefits of British Colonialism
Devolution and Development
18 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of regulation, labour economics, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, urban economics Tags: Canada
An interesting research note from Eric Crampton and at the NZ Initiative on the benefits of devolution on development. It details how Canadian First Nations have transformed their economic fortunes and have built thousands of new homes after gaining powers for planning, zoning, tax, and infrastructure finance. A couple of examples: The Squamish Nation’s 6,000-apartment […]
Devolution and Development
A Nobel for Innovation-Driven Economic Growth: Aghion, Howitt, and Mokyr
14 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economic history, history of economic thought, macroeconomics
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025 was awarded this morning for “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth.” The award was divided between Joel Mokyr ““for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress” to Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt “for the theory of sustained growth through…
A Nobel for Innovation-Driven Economic Growth: Aghion, Howitt, and Mokyr
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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