The Great Escape
22 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, health economics Tags: child mortality, infant mortality, The Great Escape
Effects of the minimum wage on the nonprofit sector
19 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economic history, labour economics, labour supply, minimum wage
After a few days of ‘rest’ (by which I really mean some intensely long work days), I’m going to pick up again on my recent series of posts about the minimum wage (see here for the most recent post), but returning to more familiar ground – the disemployment effects of the minimum wage. The story…
Effects of the minimum wage on the nonprofit sector
Another Great Escape
16 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, health economics Tags: The Great Escape
New Study: Today’s Climate Models ‘Do Not Agree With Reality’ And Thus Their Usefulness Is ‘Doubtful’
15 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in econometerics, economic history, economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming
Because the current state-of-the-art general circulation models (GCMs) cannot simulate the trends and variances in global precipitation over the last 84 years (1940-2023), their usefulness should be reconsidered. Hydrological processes – ocean circulation, water vapor, clouds – are key components of climate, easily overshadowing the impact of anthropogenic CO2 emissions by a factor of 2,100…
New Study: Today’s Climate Models ‘Do Not Agree With Reality’ And Thus Their Usefulness Is ‘Doubtful’
The Effect of inbreeding of European Monarchs on State Performance
14 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history Tags: Europe
We create a novel reign-level data set for European monarchs, covering all major European states between the 10th and 18th centuries. We first document a strong positive relationship between rulers’ cognitive ability and state performance. To address endogeneity issues, we exploit the facts that (i) rulers were appointed according to hereditary succession, independent of their […]
The Effect of European Monarchs on State Performance
David Friedman on consequences of climate change 2023
13 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, David Friedman, economic history, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, Ronald Coase
Good question
13 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, war and peace Tags: China
I like maps
12 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, International law, law and economics, property rights Tags: economics of borders, maps
Ireland: Good Corporate Tax Policy vs. Bad Government Spending Policy
11 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, economic growth, economic history, Euro crisis, fiscal policy, global financial crisis (GFC), great recession, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, public economics Tags: Ireland, taxation and investment
I’m a big fan of Ireland’s low corporate tax rate for three reasons. First, it shows that good tax policy generates positive economic outcomes as per-capita GDP in Ireland has grown by record amounts. Second, it shows that lower tax rates can in some cases lead to more revenue. Sort of a turbo-charged version of […]
Ireland: Good Corporate Tax Policy vs. Bad Government Spending Policy
Interesting piece of history
10 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, International law, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left
The sovereign reality and our path to nationhood
07 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law
Roger Partridge writes – Waitangi day debates about New Zealand’s sovereignty often fixate on a single moment: the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. This focus is understandable, given the Treaty’s significance to both Māori and the Crown. But is this the full story of how New Zealand’s sovereignty was established? And if […]
The sovereign reality and our path to nationhood
Some Links
06 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic history, history of economic thought, international economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, game theory, tariffs
TweetNational Review‘s Charles Cooke explains that Trump’s trade war is needless. Two slices: How do I hate President Trump’s capricious levying of tariffs? Let me count the ways. They are constitutionally suspect, statutorily usurpative, diplomatically toxic, and culturally chaotic; they represent a profound political risk for the new administration — the potential upsides of which…
Some Links
Identity-based hiring goes wild in New Zealand
05 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economic history, economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: affirmative action, Age of Enlightenment, constitutional law, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Just to show you how, in the hiring process, New Zealand gives much more weight to identity than to merit, I enclose part of the job description for the position of Chief Operating Officer of Wellington Water, the water utility for the Greater Wellington region (Wellington, a lovely city, is the capital of New Zealand). […]
Identity-based hiring goes wild in New Zealand
*Progressive Myths*: The Caplan-Huemer Interview
05 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in econometerics, economic history, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left
I recently interviewed Mike Huemer on his new Progressive Myths. To repeat, I consider it “the best book on wokeness.” You know you’re reading a special book by page 3, when Huemer states:I will not give a neutral presentation in the following chapters, but I do aim to give an objective presentation. I am a…
*Progressive Myths*: The Caplan-Huemer Interview
Levels of Industrial Policy
05 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: industry policy
In arguments over industrial policy, there’s often a moment where someone makes an assertion like: “Every nation has industrial policy. Even not having an industrial policy is a type of industrial policy. The only relevant question is what kind of industrial policy we should choose.” In my experience, the people who make this argument then…
Levels of Industrial Policy
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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