Obamacare just died. Jon Stewart demolishes Gruber and the Democrats
http://t.co/zUBjZQAVq8 #GruberGate @instapundit— Old Whig. 🇺🇲🇸🇪🇫🇮🇪🇪🇦🇹 (@aClassicLiberal) November 19, 2014
Jon Stewart demolishes Gruber and the Democrats on Obamacare
20 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economics, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - USA Tags: health insurance, Jon Stewart, Obamacare
Free Market Environmentalism: Breaking the Shackles of Regulation | Terry Anderson 2013
20 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, environmental economics, law and economics, property rights Tags: free market environmentalism, Terry Anderson
Offsetting behaviour alert: KiwiSaver and the Accumulation of Net Wealth (WP 14/22) — The Treasury
18 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economics of regulation, financial economics Tags: KiwiSaver, offsetting behaviour
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to analyse the extent to which membership of KiwiSaver has been associated with greater accumulations of net wealth.
The paper utilises two linked sources of data which cover the period 2002 to 2010: Statistics New Zealand’s Survey of Family, Income and Employment and Inland Revenue Department administrative data on KiwiSaver membership.
Two approaches are employed: difference-in-differences (where the outcomes of interest are changes in net wealth) and various panel regression techniques.
Results appear consistent with earlier evaluations of KiwiSaver. Neither approach suggests KiwiSaver membership has been associated with any positive effect on net wealth accumulation.
via KiwiSaver and the Accumulation of Net Wealth (WP 14/22) — The Treasury – New Zealand.
Judge calls for tourists to sit driving test – National – NZ Herald News
18 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of crime, economics of regulation, human capital, law and economics
Speaking through an interpreter, Judge Phillips told Sun his driving was “nothing short of atrocious”.
“You were all over the road for no reason, you were drifting around corners, cutting corners and crossing the centre line.
“It’s a classic case of why people need to have examinations done before taking control of powerful rental cars on New Zealand roads.”
I don’t think a driver’s test would fix this obviously irresponsible driver of his lack of regard for the safety of others. He does not have a skill gap as a driver. He is just plain irresponsible.
via Judge calls for tourists to sit driving test – National – NZ Herald News.
Sam Peltzman radio interview
17 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, business cycles, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, liberalism, macroeconomics, Sam Peltzman Tags: Sam Peltzman
Financial regulation and financial crisis | Sam Peltzman Oct 19, 2014
17 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, global financial crisis (GFC), macroeconomics, monetary economics, Sam Peltzman Tags: economics of regulation, financial crises, offsetting behaviour, Sam Peltzman
BEER HISTORIES: The ‘six o’clock swill’
13 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economics of regulation Tags: alcohol regulation, drinking and driving, economics of regulation, offsetting behaviour
Legal bar closing times in England and Wales have historically been early and uniform.
Recent legislation liberalised closing times with the object of reducing social problems thought associated with drinking to “beat the clock.”
Colin P. Green, John S. Heywood and Maria Navarro (2013) showed that one consequence of this liberalization was a decrease in traffic accidents. This decrease was concentrated heavily among younger drivers. The effect was most pronounced in the hours of the week directly affected by the liberalization; late nights and early mornings on weekends.
On May 1, 1996, Ontario, Canada, amended the Liquor Licence Act to extend the hours of alcohol sales and service in licensed establishments from 1 AM to 2 AM.
Guest Blogger: Stephanie Gibson, Curator Contemporary Life & Culture Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Many New Zealanders will remember the years of six o’clock closing of pubs. Urban pubs were often overcrowded, charmless places, where binge drinking took place in a race against the clock, resulting in the infamous ‘six o’clock swill’. Until the 1960s, alcohol could only be sold and consumed publicly in licensed places that provided accommodation. These were known as public hotels or ‘pubs’ for short.
In October 1917 New Zealand became the only country in the world to impose a nation-wide ban on the sale of liquor after six o’clock. Many believed that restricted access would result in less drinking. The ban lasted for 50 years until October 1967, when closing was brought forward to 10 o’clock by public vote.
Glassware, mid-1960s, by Crown Crystal Glass, New Zealand
(GH021024-25, GH023164, GH024221, Te Papa)
Standardised…
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Pharmaceutical Regulation: A Matter of Life and Death | Sam Peltzman
13 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, liberalism, Sam Peltzman Tags: drug lags, Sam Peltzman
Is Growth of Government Inevitable? | Sam Peltzman video
12 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, income redistribution, liberalism, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, Sam Peltzman Tags: growth of government, Sam Peltzman
The rapid rise of Uber in DC for politicians and their staffs » AEI
12 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, Austrian economics, economics of regulation Tags: taxi regulation, Uber
The Effects of Liability Rules on Precaution and Activity Levels
10 Nov 2014 4 Comments
The care and activity level effects of various rules are summarized on the following table:
|
Is There An |
No Liability |
Strict Liability |
Negligence |
Strict Liability |
| Care by Truck Driver? |
. |
|
|
|
|
Truck Activity? |
. |
|
. |
|
|
Care by Car Driver? |
|
. |
|
. |
|
Car Activity? |
|
. |
|
. |
The general lesson is that whether a negligence standard or a strict-liability standard would be better depends on:
(a) the relative risk aversion of the parties and
(b) who is most likely to be the best activity-level modulator.
If defendants can best adjust the level of their activities, we might wish to use a strict liability rule.
If plaintiffs are the best activity-level modulators, we would tend to prefer a negligence rule.
For further discussion of the effects of legal rules on care and activity levels in unilateral and bilateral accidents, see Steven Shavall’s Strict Liability versus Negligence 9 J. Legal Stud. 1, 2-3 (1980).
Why Middle-Class Americans Can’t Afford to Live in Liberal Cities – The Atlantic
07 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, economics of regulation, environmental economics, income redistribution, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: Director's Law, green rent seeking, land use regulation, zoning
Andrew Atkin explains how housing affordability has been destroyed in New Zealand.
05 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, urban economics Tags: Auckland urban limit, land use regulation, metropolitan urban limits, Resource Management Act, zoning
Heritage trumps safety
03 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, economics of regulation, urban economics Tags: Christchurch earthquake, green rent seeking, health and safety, Heritage regulation
Quote of the day:
. . . Deaths in earthquakes are somewhat unavoidable. But deaths caused by regulatory structures that force that little value is placed on human life, or that prevent a building owner from tearing down a building very likely to kill a pile of people in a quake, are worse than tragic – they’restupid. Offsetting Behaviour.
It’s in a post on heritage rules which make some buildings untouchable and how the burden of providing the heritage amenity falls on the owner of the building.
He has a better idea:
I’ve suggested an alternative structure where we run heritage protection as an on-budget Council expenditure. Have each Council decide how much money they’re willing to put into heritage preservation, perhaps have Central provide a matching grant, and open it up to further voluntary contributions from the public. Then, have the heritage boards decide how and…
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Coalition Celebrating Equal Pay Case Outcome
29 Oct 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economics of regulation, gender, income redistribution, minimum wage, politics - New Zealand, rentseeking Tags: gender wage gap, living wage, minimum wage, pay equity
I wonder who will pay for this? Caregiver wages are funded out of a fixed budget allocated by the government.
A higher wage will change the type of worker that the caregiving sector will seek to recruit, as happened after increases in the teenage went minimum wage.
When the teenage minimum wage went up in New Zealand, employment of 17 and 18-year-olds fell, while the employment of 18 to 19-year-olds increased because the latter were more mature and reliable than the younger contemporaries.
Media release: Pay Equity Challenge Coalition
28 October 2014
Coalition Celebrating Equal Pay Case Outcome
“The Court of Appeal’s decision declining the employers’ appeal in the Kristine Bartlett case is a huge victory for women workers” said Pay Equity Coalition Challenge spokesperson Angela McLeod.
“The Courts’ decision that equal pay may be determined across industries in female-dominated occupations revitalises the Equal Pay Act 1972 and will be a major factor in closing New Zealand’s stubborn 14 percent gender pay gap”.
The judgement by the Court of Appeal upholding the Employment Court decision again validates the work of caregivers and that they are underpaid, she said.
“We commend the Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota in taking this case and exposing the underpayment and undervaluation of aged care workers. And the decision is a victory for all the women’s organisations who have never given up fighting for equal pay,”…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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