That is the topic of my latest Free Press column, here is one excerpt: Consider the special nature of Mexican politics. First and foremost, Mexico is still not a mature nation-state. By one estimate, drug gangs may control as much as one-third of its territory. That might sound bizarre, but from the standpoint of Mexican history,…
Safety and nation-building in Mexico
Safety and nation-building in Mexico
14 Jun 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, economics of crime, growth disasters, law and economics Tags: economics of prohibition, Mexico
My Opening Statement for the UATX Caplan-Jones Immigration Rematch
04 Jun 2026 Leave a comment
in liberalism, libertarianism, politics - USA, labour economics, development economics, applied price theory, labour supply, growth disasters Tags: economics of immigration
Garett Jones is the best critic of immigration in all of social science. In fact, it’s not even close. To the best of my knowledge, he is the only such critic who has seriously tried to show that the social costs of immigration are even more astronomical than the social benefits of immigration. In fact,…
My Opening Statement for the UATX Caplan-Jones Immigration Rematch
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
The Great Enrichment
12 May 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles Tags: The Great Enrichment
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
Cape Town estimate of the day
24 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, growth disasters, Public Choice, urban economics Tags: South Africa
From young professionals to the working poor, many Cape Town residents complain that out-of-control housing prices have forced them to live far from the jobs, affluent schools and healthy supermarkets available in the city center. They blame deep-pocketed tourists for occupying housing in prime locations and developers for pricing them out. Some 70 percent of…
Cape Town estimate of the day
Javier Milei Week, Part VII: What Is the Left Saying?
30 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economic growth, growth disasters, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics Tags: Argentina
Before the 2023 presidential election in Argentina, 108 left-leaning economists released a letter warning that Javier Milei’s “economic proposals…are fraught with risks that make them potentially very harmful for the Argentine economy.” Voters ignored those warnings and elected Milei. And the 108 lefty economists – including class-warfare ideologues such as Thomas Piketty and Gabriel Zucman – wound up with […]
Javier Milei Week, Part VII: What Is the Left Saying?
Javier Milei Week, Part VI: Continuing Challenges
28 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic growth, economic history, growth disasters, macroeconomics Tags: Argentina
I began this series by reviewing the terrible shape of the Argentinian economy when Javier Milei took over at the end of 2023. I then wrote four columns (here, here, here, and here) on the steps that Milei has taken to restore prosperity. The good news is that his reforms have produced very good results. […]
Javier Milei Week, Part VI: Continuing Challenges
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
Javier Milei Week, Part V: Fixing Argentina’s Monetary Crisis
27 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, budget deficits, business cycles, development economics, growth disasters, macroeconomics, monetary economics Tags: Argentina
I’ve been participating in a conference in Argentina this week on “Understanding Argentina’s Transformations Under Milei.” Part I reviewed the horrible economic conditions that plagued Argentina when Javier Milei took office. Part II looked at Milei’s spending restraint and some of the subsequent improvements in fiscal outcomes. Part III examined Milei’s remarkable progress with regards to […]
Javier Milei Week, Part V: Fixing Argentina’s Monetary Crisis
Javier Milei Week, Part IV: Argentina’s Pre-2023 Descent into Protectionism
26 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, development economics, economic history, growth disasters, industrial organisation, international economics, survivor principle Tags: Argentina
Last year, as part of a series on the additional reforms Milei needs to enact in Argentina, I shared this video on reducing protectionism. Since the video was only one-minute long, there was no chance to provide details. But at the conference in Buenos Aires this week, Professor Jorge Streb shared some fascinating details on […]
Javier Milei Week, Part IV: Argentina’s Pre-2023 Descent into Protectionism
Javier Milei Week, Part III: Good Economic Policies, Good Economic Results
25 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, development economics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, growth disasters, Public Choice Tags: Argentina
Part I of this series reviewed the horrible economic conditions that plagued Argentina when Javier Milei took office. Part II looked at Milei’s spending restraint and some of the subsequent improvements in fiscal outcomes. For today’s column, let’s focus on what Milei has achieved in areas other than fiscal policy, and it will be based […]
Javier Milei Week, Part III: Good Economic Policies, Good Economic Results
Javier Milei Week, Part II: Good Fiscal Policies, Good Fiscal Results
24 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, budget deficits, development economics, economic history, fiscal policy, growth disasters, macroeconomics Tags: Argentina
Part I of this series focused on the horrible economic conditions that led to Javier Milei’s election in late 2023. For Part II, let’s start with this segment from an interview I did last week while in Slovenia. In less than two minutes, I tried to summarize Milei’s achievements. Let’s take a more detailed look, […]
Javier Milei Week, Part II: Good Fiscal Policies, Good Fiscal Results
Javier Milei Week, Part I: Inheriting an Economic Crisis
23 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, budget deficits, business cycles, development economics, economic growth, economic history, growth disasters, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics Tags: Argentina
Given my enthusiasm for Javier Milei and his libertarian reforms, I’m excited to be in Buenos Aires for a week-long program on “Understanding Argentina’s Transformations Under Milei.” This means a heavy does of Milei-ism this week. For today’s column, I’m going to share some slides from a presentation by Alejandro Rodriguez on the “Inheritance” Milei […]
Javier Milei Week, Part I: Inheriting an Economic Crisis
Some simple spatial analytics of Cape Town
21 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of regulation, growth disasters, transport economics, urban economics Tags: South Africa
Rio de Janeiro let its hillsides be filled in with lower-cost dwellings. The result was a significant increase in the crime rate. On the more positive side of the ledger, upward mobility increased too. If you live in a decent favela, you can get to a downtown job with not too much difficulty, albeit with…
Some simple spatial analytics of Cape Town
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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