Science, fundamentally, is a universal methodology grounded in observation, experimentation, and evidence. The term “Western science” can be misleading as it suggests a geographical or cultural monopoly over scientific inquiry, which is not the case. Science transcends regional and cultural boundaries; its principles are based on empirical evidence that is objective and replicable, regardless of […]
Science is science
Science is science
07 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
“Crucial Conversations”: Federal Court Rules Against Ohio State in Free Speech Case
07 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
We have previously discussed cases (here, here, here, here, and here) of professors being fired or suspended for using offensive terms such as the n-word in discussions or tests. I have generally argued that such usage is protected on free speech and academic freedom grounds. Now, a federal judge has ruled against Ohio State University […]
“Crucial Conversations”: Federal Court Rules Against Ohio State in Free Speech Case
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
The Child Penalty: An International View
03 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economics of education, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice Tags: economics of fertility, gender wage gap, marriage and divorce
It’s well-known that when a couple has a child, the average woman experiences a “child penalty” in labor market outcomes, while outcomes for the man are largely unchanged. For a discussion of this pattern using US data, here’s an article by Jane Waldfogel from back in 1998 in the Journal of Economic Perspectives. As that…
The Child Penalty: An International View
‘Free’ school lunches: Why?
02 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: child poverty, family poverty
This week, headline after headline bitched about the new ‘free’ school lunch programme. Principals apparently compared the meals to ‘dog food’. There were numerous teething problems with delivery. KidsCan jumped on the bandwagon to promote child poverty and useless government yet again.It beggars belief really. Parents are already paid cash every week to help them…
‘Free’ school lunches: Why?
Trying to reconcile indigenous ways of knowing with “white” ways of being in New Zealand
29 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
This article actually appeared on the Museum of New Zealand’s website, and is about as explicit an argument for the country adopting indigenous “ways of knowing” (Mātauranga Māori, or MM) as I have found. You may remember that MM is a mixture of practical knowledge, religion, superstition, morals, teleology and guidelines for living. Despite this […]
Trying to reconcile indigenous ways of knowing with “white” ways of being in New Zealand
Here Lies the Systematic Racism
28 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economic history, economics of education, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, urban economics Tags: political correctness. regressive left, racial discrimination. free speech
I pretty much hate the term “systematic racism,” which is a clever rebranding by the DEI folks of the Christian concept of “original sin.” Try to tell the Church that you have behaved ethically? Doesn’t matter, you still need us to remove the stain of your original sin. Try to tell the DEI trainer you…
Here Lies the Systematic Racism
“No Consistent Patterns:” Scientists Find No Evidence that Closing Schools Materially Reduced Transmission
27 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of information, health economics, liberalism, politics - USA Tags: economics of pandemics, free speech
For years, scientists and commentators who questioned COVID policies were censored, blacklisted, and canceled across the country. Many of these dissenting views have since been vindicated from the lab origins theory to the lack of efficacy of surgical masks to the opposition to the closure of schools. Now, a new study in the Journal of […]
“No Consistent Patterns:” Scientists Find No Evidence that Closing Schools Materially Reduced Transmission
A Wartime Natural Experiment About Copyright
26 Jan 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, defence economics, econometerics, economic history, economics of education, economics of information, economics of media and culture, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, war and peace Tags: patents and copyrights, World War II
One of the hardest questions in copyright policy is: “What would have happened otherwise?” When Disney lobbies for longer copyright terms or academic publishers defend high subscription fees, we struggle to evaluate their claims because we can’t observe the counterfactual. What would happen to creativity and innovation if we shortened copyright terms or lowered prices? […]
A Wartime Natural Experiment About Copyright
Barrett-Lite: The Supreme Court Takes Up Major New Religion Clause Case With One Notable Exception
26 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of religion, politics - USA Tags: Freedom of religion, School choice
On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to review a potentially blockbuster religion clause case in Oklahoma Charter School Board v. Drummond. However, there is a catch. While the lawyers representing St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School may need every vote they can get in this heaving contested area, they may have to prevail without Justice […]
Barrett-Lite: The Supreme Court Takes Up Major New Religion Clause Case With One Notable Exception
The DEI preference cascade
23 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, behavioural economics, discrimination, economics of bureaucracy, economics of education, economics of information, economics of media and culture, economics of regulation, gender, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice Tags: affirmative action, Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, sex discrimination
Trump Issues Major New Executive Order Impacting Higher Education
23 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, affirmative action, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, sex discrimination
Last night, I discussed a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump that included an extension of his earlier move against “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) policies to the area of higher education. The order makes direct reference to the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, […]
Trump Issues Major New Executive Order Impacting Higher Education
Consortium of secular organizations attack scientists deemed transphobic, The Center for Inquiry responds
21 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of religion, health economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
This will be the next-to-last item I write about my entanglement with the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF)—I hope. I am pretty sure that the joint statement below resulted from the fracas that ensued after the FFRF took down my post about biological sex, followed by my resignation and those of Richard Dawkins and Steve […]
Consortium of secular organizations attack scientists deemed transphobic, The Center for Inquiry responds
No Tech Workers or No Tech Jobs?
19 Jan 2025 1 Comment
in economics of education, entrepreneurship, human capital, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice
Several recent tweets(xeets) about tech talent re-ignited the conversation about native-born STEM workers and American policy. For the Very Online, Christmas 2024 was about the H-1B Elon tweets. Elon Musk implies that “elite” engineering talent cannot be found among Americans. Do Americans need to import talent? What would it take to home grow elite engineering […]
No Tech Workers or No Tech Jobs?
The Acemoglu arguments against high-skilled immigration
13 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of education, entrepreneurship, human capital, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality Tags: economics of immigration
Here is Daron Acemoglu’s Project Syndicate piece, mostly critical on high-skilled immigration. Here is the first argument from Acemoglu: …one would expect corporate America’s growing need for skilled STEM workers to translate into advocacy for, and investments in, STEM education. But an overreliance on the H-1B program may have broken this link and made American […]
The Acemoglu arguments against high-skilled immigration
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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