Rethinking keynesian fiscal stimulus | LSE Event
31 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, econometerics, economic growth, economic history, global financial crisis (GFC), great recession, history of economic thought, labour economics, macroeconomics, public economics, unemployment
‘The Logic of Political Survival,’ by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Alastair Smith, Randolph M. Siverson & James D. Morrow
31 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, income redistribution, Public Choice, rentseeking
Since the COVID-19 pandemic and the political upheavals that followed, concerns have grown that many Western democracies face authoritarian pressure and are becoming less democratic. This shift has renewed interest in one of political science’s most influential frameworks for understanding democratic and nondemocratic rule: Selectorate Theory, developed by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Alastair Smith, Randolph…
‘The Logic of Political Survival,’ by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Alastair Smith, Randolph M. Siverson & James D. Morrow
Can Chile Once Again Become the Latin Tiger?
30 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic growth, economic history, growth miracles, history of economic thought, macroeconomics Tags: Chile
In 2012, I wrote that pro-market reforms had turned Chile into the Latin Tiger. But two years later, in 2014, I wrote a column fretting that a recently elected left-leaning government was going to undermine prosperity. Based on the Maddison data, my concerns were justified. The country’s economic performance can be divided into three periods. […]
Can Chile Once Again Become the Latin Tiger?
#OTD
28 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, liberalism Tags: British politics, economics of slavery
The Great Enrichment
28 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, entrepreneurship Tags: The Great Enrichment
Fanta and the Third reich
26 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, war and peace Tags: Nazi Germany
Prior to the outbreak of the second world war, Coca-Cola’s only unqualified success on the international scene was its bottling operations in Nazi Germany. Sales records were being set year after year in that venue, and by 1939 Coca-Cola had 43 bottling plants and more than 600 local distributors in that country. Fanta originated as a result of difficulties importing Coca-Cola syrup into Nazi […]
Fanta and the Third reich
Fidel Castro: Human Garbage
22 Aug 2026 1 Comment
in development economics, economic history, growth disasters, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: Cuba, regressive left
I’ve written many columns documenting Cuba’s economic misery. Probably the most-persuasive evidence that socialism has failed in that country is the chart showing how Cuba has fallen behind other (very similar) countries ever since Fidel Castro took over more than six decades ago. Though I’ve always thought the most-damning visual came from the Economist, which […]
Fidel Castro: Human Garbage
The History and Importance of the Austrian Theory of the Market Process …
21 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, economic history, history of economic thought
The Confucian fertility paradox
21 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, econometerics, economic history, economics of love and marriage, growth miracles, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, population economics
Total fertility rates in East Asia have fallen to levels without historical precedent, even though the region’s Confucian heritage long placed extraordinary emphasis on family continuity and large families. We argue that this “Confucian Fertility Paradox” dissolves once we separate two strands of the tradition and recognize that modernization affected them very differently. The pro-natal…
The Confucian fertility paradox
Dr. Israel M. Kirzner — “Economics and Entrepreneurship”
21 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, economic history, entrepreneurship, F.A. Hayek, history of economic thought, Israel Kirzner, market efficiency
The 1934 German Head of State Referendum: A Pivotal Moment in Nazi Consolidation of Power
19 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, politics, Public Choice Tags: Nazi Germany
The 1934 German head-of-state referendum, held on August 19, stands as a crucial moment in the Nazi regime’s consolidation of power. Following the death of President Paul von Hindenburg on August 2, 1934, Adolf Hitler sought to solidify his grip on Germany by merging the offices of President and Chancellor, thus assuming the title of […]
The 1934 German Head of State Referendum: A Pivotal Moment in Nazi Consolidation of Power
Dr. Israel M. Kirzner — “Economics and Entrepreneurship”
19 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, Public Choice, regulation, rentseeking Tags: competition law
The Cost of Going to Space
18 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economic history, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation Tags: space
Terzi & Nicoli have a fascinating new paper analyzing over 4,400 orbital launches since 1960 to estimate “Wright’s Law.” This law states that a new technology’s unit costs fall in proportion to cumulative experience. Essentially, it is an expression of learning-by-doing. They show:… that the average cost of sending a kilogram to orbit has dropped…
The Cost of Going to Space
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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