By Davis Kedrosky and Nuno Palma. Published in The Journal of Economic History.In the book The Economics of Macro Issues which I used as a supplemental text, they mention that Russia has many resources but its per capita income is less than that of Luxembourg which has few resources. The book suggests that the economic…
The Cross of Gold: Brazilian Treasure and the Decline of Portugal (due to the resource curse)
The Cross of Gold: Brazilian Treasure and the Decline of Portugal (due to the resource curse)
18 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economic history, growth disasters, international economics, law and economics, macroeconomics, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, resource economics Tags: Portugal, resources curse
The population bust
15 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, labour economics, labour supply, population economics Tags: ageing society, economics of fertility, population bust
Technology Transfer and Development Economics
14 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in development economics, health economics, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics Tags: technology diffusion
Willis Carrier invented modern air conditioning around 1904 but technological innovations often take a long time to travel to less developed regions of the world. FT.
Technology Transfer and Development Economics
Book review: Empire of Guns
13 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, development economics, economic history Tags: industrial revolution
My ECONS101 class discussed the Industrial Revolution in class last week, focusing on why it happened first in England, rather than France or China or elsewhere. By coincidence, I was just finishing up reading the book Empire of Guns by Priya Satia. A conventional view of factors underlying the Industrial Revolution in England, such as the…
Book review: Empire of Guns
Expanding the Milei Miracle: Labor Market Deregulation
12 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in development economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, growth disasters, labour economics, labour supply, Public Choice Tags: Argentina, employment law
Part I of this video series gave a brief summary of how Javier Milei’s free market policies have rejuvenated Argentina’s economy. But more reform is needed and this second video makes the case for labor market deregulation. Politicians impose so-called employment protection laws because of “public choice.” To be more specific, they understand that the […]
Expanding the Milei Miracle: Labor Market Deregulation
#TheGreatEscape
11 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, health economics Tags: India, Pakistan
Another Open Letter to Howard Lutnick
04 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, development economics, growth miracles, international economic law, international economics, politics - USA Tags: tarrifs, Vietnam
TweetMr. Howard Lutnick Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, DC Mr. Lutnick: Yesterday you tweeted this: Our trade deal with Vietnam is a massive win for America’s businesses, manufacturers, and farmers! For the FIRST TIME EVER, Vietnam will open its market to the United States. They will pay 20% to sell their products here, and…
Another Open Letter to Howard Lutnick
Massive Rent-Seeking in India’s Government Job Examination System
03 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of education, growth disasters, growth miracles, labour economics, occupational choice, personnel economics, Public Choice Tags: India
In India, government jobs pay far more than equivalent jobs in the private sector–so much so that the entire labor market and educational system have become grossly distorted by rent seeking to obtain these jobs. Teachers in the public sector, for example, are paid at least five times more than in the private sector. It’s […]
Massive Rent-Seeking in India’s Government Job Examination System
Bad Economic History Fuels Bad Present-Day Economic Policies
28 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, liberalism, politics - USA, Public Choice
TweetAt CapX, I explain what motivated Phil Gramm and me to write our book, The Triumph of Economic Freedom: Debunking the Seven Great Myths of American Capitalism. A slice: Likewise with America’s own industrial revolution, the ‘Gilded Age’. American schoolchildren are taught that the final third of the 19th century witnessed John D. Rockefeller and…
Bad Economic History Fuels Bad Present-Day Economic Policies
World’s Best Tweet about Communism and Capitalism
25 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, history of economic thought, liberalism, Marxist economics, Public Choice Tags: capitalism and freedom, capitalism and socialism, economics of central planning
I shared a very clever tweet back in 2018 that highlighted the huge gap between “almost capitalism” and “almost socialism.” That column was entitled the “World’s Best Tweet about Socialism and Capitalism.” And capitalism won the comparison (needless to say). Let’s do the same thing today, but we’ll replace socialism with communism. And our “Best […]
World’s Best Tweet about Communism and Capitalism
G-7: Africans Deserve Real Electricity
20 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in development economics, economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: solar power, wind power
Those that aspire to net-zero are condemning Africa to extreme poverty. Those that promote African access to fossil fuels, want Africans to have the chance to rise up.
G-7: Africans Deserve Real Electricity
An American Enterprise Institute Discussion of “The Triumph of Economic Freedom”
05 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, macroeconomics Tags: anticapitalist mentality, capitalism and freedom
Tweet The post An American Enterprise Institute Discussion of “The Triumph of Economic Freedom” appeared first on Cafe Hayek.
An American Enterprise Institute Discussion of “The Triumph of Economic Freedom”
No Exit, No Entry
05 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, growth disasters, growth miracles, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, survivor principle Tags: employment law, India
In our textbook, Modern Principles, Tyler and I contrast basic U.S. labor law, at-will employment—where employers may terminate workers for any reason not explicitly illegal (e.g., racial or sexual discrimination), without notice or severance—with Portugal’s “just cause” regime, which requires employers to prove a valid reason, give advance notice, pay severance, and endure extensive regulatory […]
No Exit, No Entry
India Rejects Carbon Tax, Backs Fossil Fuels and Trade in Defiance of Green Policies
03 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in development economics, economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, growth disasters, growth miracles Tags: carbon tax, India
India won’t bow to carbon taxes and it won’t join an unscientific climate war that sacrifices its future. The U.K. and EU would do well to listen, lest they find themselves on the losing end of an Asian-dominated trade battle over manufactured goods.
India Rejects Carbon Tax, Backs Fossil Fuels and Trade in Defiance of Green Policies
Why the U.S. Produces More Unicorns Than China and the EU
01 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, human capital, industrial organisation, labour economics, occupational choice, poverty and inequality, survivor principle Tags: creative destruction
The United States has produced about twice as many unicorns (private startups valued at $1B+) as China and more than four times as many as the European Union. These numbers reflect deep institutional and cultural advantages in the U.S. startup ecosystem. Table: Number of Unicorns Created Since ~1990 Region Cumulative Unicorns United States ~1,950 China…
Why the U.S. Produces More Unicorns Than China and the EU
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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