Judicial independence and the reliance on tikanga in New Zealand courts
A Sacred Trust Betrayed
A Sacred Trust Betrayed
03 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic history, economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: constitutional law
William Nordhaus, 1941-2026
02 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, environmental economics, macroeconomics, applied welfare economics, economic growth, history of economic thought, econometerics, applied price theory, economic history
I was saddened to hear of the passing of William Nordhaus last Friday. Nordhaus won the Nobel Prize in 2018 “for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis”, and it is his work on climate change and economics that he might be best known for. However, that was far from his only contribution to economics.…
William Nordhaus, 1941-2026
The Morally Bankrupt Death Cult of Che Guevara, Part II
01 Nov 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, growth disasters, liberalism, libertarianism, Marxist economics Tags: Cuba
As part of my 2017 series on the tragic history of communism, I wrote a column about the bizarre affection on the left for Che Guevara. Why is it bizarre? Well, watch this video. I hardly need to add anything. Che Guevara was a reprehensible human being. So the rest of this column will recycle […]
The Morally Bankrupt Death Cult of Che Guevara, Part II
Huge differences that require explanation
28 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, growth miracles, labour economics, labour supply, population economics
When Moochers Outnumber Producers, Can a Nation Be Salvaged?
27 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, development economics, economic history, fiscal policy, growth disasters, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, welfare reform
I periodically share data on the age-dependency ratio in various nations. That’s very important data. It helps to explain why young-to-old redistribution programs in many nations are becoming a recipe for fiscal crisis. But to fully understand the level of dependency in a country, you have to know the share of people who actually produce […]
When Moochers Outnumber Producers, Can a Nation Be Salvaged?
Brazil’s economic problems, in a nutshell
26 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, development economics, economic growth, economic history, fiscal policy, growth disasters, labour economics, macroeconomics, welfare reform Tags: Brazil
It would take true Milei-like ardour to slice through Brazil’s economic troubles. These are caused by a gnarly mix of high public spending, stubborn inflation and low saving. The result is a crippling cost of capital. Some analysts put Brazil’s real interest rate, the BCB’s policy rate adjusted for next year’s expected inflation, at 9% or…
Brazil’s economic problems, in a nutshell
Was 1800 (approximately) A Pivotal Year In Human History? Robert Fogel, Francis Fukuyama, And Deirdre McCloskey All Seem To Think So
24 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth miracles, history of economic thought Tags: The Great Enrichment
Robert Fogel is a Nobel Prize Winning Economist. Here is something he said recently:”Technology rescued humankind from centuries of physical maladies and malnutrition, Mr. Fogel argues. Before the 19th century (1800), most people were caught in an endless cycle of subsistence farming.”See Technology Advances; Humans Supersize.Francis Fukuyama, author of the famous book The End of…
Was 1800 (approximately) A Pivotal Year In Human History? Robert Fogel, Francis Fukuyama, And Deirdre McCloskey All Seem To Think So
Vladimir Putin and western hypocrisy
21 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, development economics, economic history, growth disasters, International law, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Ukraine, Iraq, Russia, Afghanistan, economics of colonialism
Reading the final chapters of Orlando Figes’ excellent and highly readable history of Russia, about the rise of Vladimir Putin and the lead-up to the war with Ukraine, I found myself growing more sympathetic to Putin’s accusations of western hypocrisy, and began to make a list of examples. Putin is a dangerous monster, but sometimes […]
Vladimir Putin and western hypocrisy
Book review: The Narrow Corridor
16 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking
My last book review was of Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson’s 2012 book Why Nations Fail. It’s taken me a while (with many interruptions), but I recently finished reading their 2019 book… 731 more words
Book review: The Narrow Corridor
China fact (?) of the day
15 Oct 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, growth miracles, health economics, labour economics, labour supply, population economics Tags: China
A monograph by Yi Fuxian, a University of Wisconsin-Madison demographer and longtime critic of China’s population policies, argues that China’s actual population may be closer to 1.27 billion—not the 1.4 billion officially reported. The gap would be as much as 130 million people, roughly the population of Mexico. And Yi argues the distortion has warped…
China fact (?) of the day
Canada’s First Nations Are Using Their Land To Build Dense Housing
13 Oct 2026 1 Comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, environmental economics, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, transport economics, urban economics Tags: Canada
Exempt from Vancouver’s building restrictions, Squamish Nation is constructing a 6,000-unit residential high-rise.
Canada’s First Nations Are Using Their Land To Build Dense Housing
Why Mowbray donates
07 Oct 2026 1 Comment
in development economics, entrepreneurship, growth miracles, politics - New Zealand Tags: 2026 general election, China
Nick Mowbray writes: I’m aware of the criticism we receive for donating to National and ACT. I’m also aware of the false narrative that we lobby the government and expect something in return. So let me be clear: we have never lobbied the government. Less than 1% of ZURU’s revenue is in New Zealand. We…
Why Mowbray donates
India Rejects UN Climate Politics in Favor of Industrialization
07 Oct 2026 1 Comment
in development economics, economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, growth disasters, growth miracles, International law, resource economics Tags: India
By Vijay Jayaraj India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, used the U.N. General Assembly gathering to say something that climate scaremongers like Al Gore and John Kerry have spent… The post India Rejects UN Climate Politics in Favor of Industrialization appeared first on Watts Up With That?.
India Rejects UN Climate Politics in Favor of Industrialization
Capitalism or Free Enterprise?
29 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, liberalism, libertarianism, Marxist economics Tags: The Great Enrichment
I’ve addressed this issue in 2016 and 2021, so let’s continue this once-every-five-years tradition and ask whether supporters of economic liberty should stop advocating for “capitalism.” Instead, they should say they believe in “free enterprise” or the “free market.” I’ve used all of these terms, but polling data suggests that I’m making a mistake when […]
Capitalism or Free Enterprise?
Quotation of the Day…
28 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economics of education, Thomas Sowell
Tweet… is from page 12 of Thomas Sowell’s 1993 book, Inside American Education (footnotes deleted): An international look at per-pupil expenditures likewise gives the lie to claims that more money produces better education. Despite claims that money is needed to hire more teachers to relieve “overcrowded classrooms,” the United States already has a smaller average…
Quotation of the Day…
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