Socialism has always possessed considerable moral appeal. Its advocates commonly appeal to equality of opportunity, social justice, fairness and the desire to prevent poverty and exploitation. Those are legitimate moral concerns. But there is an important distinction between socialism as an ethical aspiration and socialism as an economic system. There is also an important distinction between socialism and […]
The Problem with Socialism
A Pac-Man Defense Against Predatory Pricing?
08 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, history of economic thought, industrial organisation Tags: competition law
After the story of how Southwest Airlines broke an attempt at predatory pricing with booze, I learned of the Dow vs. Die Deutsche Bromkonvention episode. See here for an interesting narrative of events. To summarize, at the turn of the twentieth century, the German chemical industry was dominant and the various producers there had a comfortable cartel selling bromine…
A Pac-Man Defense Against Predatory Pricing?
Further progress in South America
08 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, health economics Tags: The Great Escape
The share of people who are hungry has been decreasing faster in South America than anywhere else in the world. It is down by one-third since 2020, according to a report published on July 21st by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Just 3.5% of people in the region consume insufficient calories, the lowest…
Further progress in South America
The Lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith: A Dark Mirror of American History
07 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economic history, economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: racial discrimination
On the night of August 7, 1930, the small city of Marion, Indiana became the site of one of the most infamous and haunting episodes of racial violence in American history—the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith. What makes this event particularly searing in the American consciousness isn’t just the brutality of the act. […]
The Lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith: A Dark Mirror of American History
New Zealand shows how to solve the equal pay crisis
07 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, economic history, economics of regulation, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap
Outgoing governments often try to craft a legacy for themselves by introducing policy traps that incoming governments find hard to undo, such as Rishi Sunak’s National Insurance cuts in 2024 or Gordon Brown’s introduction of the 50p top rate of income tax in 2010. Keir Starmer just did something similar by initiating a huge expansion in the […]
New Zealand shows how to solve the equal pay crisis
The population bust
05 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, labour economics, labour supply, population economics
JFK & PT 109
02 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, war and peace Tags: World War II
On the night of August 1-2, 1943, during World War II, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, future President of the United States, experienced a defining moment in his military career when his patrol torpedo boat, PT-109, was destroyed in the Solomon Islands. This event not only showcased Kennedy’s leadership and bravery but also became a significant […]
JFK & PT 109
The common sense of Fareed Zakaria
28 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic growth, economic history, fiscal policy, labour economics, macroeconomics, unemployment
This is one of the best Op-Eds you will read this year, though it deliberately deemphasizes the personal (no one is attacked) in a manner that will result in less attention. Better to write the truth! Excerpt: Why has this [voter discontent} happened? Some of it is economic. Expensive housing, stagnant incomes and widening inequality have fueled public…
The common sense of Fareed Zakaria
Cataloging Growth: A Re-Evaluation of 1900–1990
25 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economic history, entrepreneurship, macroeconomics
From Verónica Bäcker-Peral and Benjamin Wittenbrink of MIT: Measuring real GDP growth requires distinguishing changes in prices from changes in product quality and composition, yet systematic quality adjustment of price indexes is unavailable for much of the twentieth century. We construct a new quality-adjusted price index for U.S. consumer goods using 5.1 million product listings…
Cataloging Growth: A Re-Evaluation of 1900–1990
Fixing Argentina’s Punitive Tax System
20 Jul 2026 1 Comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, development economics, economic growth, economic history, fiscal policy, growth disasters, macroeconomics Tags: Argentina
Almost exactly one year ago, the Center for Freedom and Prosperity released this short video as part of a series on the additional reforms Javier Milei should implement to maximize Argentinian prosperity. Let’s take a closer look at the country’s tax policy, and I’ll start today’s column with an analogy. When Milei took office, Argentina […]
Fixing Argentina’s Punitive Tax System
Is Progress Sustainable? Mokyr’s Nobel Lecture
18 Jul 2026 1 Comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economic growth, economic history, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, macroeconomics
“Progress” is a word that often generates both a lot of positive vibes, and also a lot of pushback? Progress toward what? At what cost? So it’s perhaps useful to specify that when I refer to “progress,” I’m referring to an overall movement toward good things of life: in no particular order, longer and healthier…
Is Progress Sustainable? Mokyr’s Nobel Lecture
The Great Enrichment continues
17 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation Tags: creative destruction, The Great Enrichment
Germany Needs Milei-ism but Is Getting Romney-ism
13 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, macroeconomics Tags: Germany
In the past year, I’ve written about Germany’s fiscal deterioration and its costly fixation on net-zero environmentalism. As illustrated by the chart, these policies have contributed to malaise and economic stagnation (and were caused by – or contributed to – eroding societal capital). The good news is that Friedrich Merz, the country’s chancellor, wants economic […]
Germany Needs Milei-ism but Is Getting Romney-ism
How does an MP resign? The Chiltern Hundreds & the Manor of Northstead
09 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history Tags: British constitutional law
Have you just heard that an MP has resigned by ‘taking the Chiltern Hundreds’? Our Senior Research Fellow, Dr Martin Spychal, explains the practice and explores its historical context… MPs are not allowed to resign from Parliament. However, a parliamentary loophole exists that allows an MP to vacate their seat by asking the chancellor of…
How does an MP resign? The Chiltern Hundreds & the Manor of Northstead
The Troubled History of Government Equity in Technology
07 Jul 2026 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, privatisation, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: creative destruction, Germany
Even though Germany privatized Deutsche Telekom in 1996, the federal government retained a substantial ownership stake. This partial state ownership status, which remains to this day, presents a textbook example of how this type of arrangement distorts incentives and delays the competitive dynamism necessary for technological progress. Through the late 1990s and into the 2000s, Deutsche Telekom…
The Troubled History of Government Equity in Technology
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