TweetHere’s my just-published remembrance, in Public Choice, of my late teacher, dissertation advisor, co-author, and friend, Bob Ekelund. Three slices: The only textbook assigned for the course was Milton Friedman’s Price Theory. From some younger members of Auburn’s economics faculty, I heard a few cocktail-lubricated complaints that core theory courses in a modern economics Ph.D.…
Bob Ekelund Remembered
Bob Ekelund Remembered
23 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of bureaucracy, economics of information, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, health economics, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, market efficiency, Milton Friedman, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, regulation, theory of the firm Tags: competition law, Product safety
Popuphobia’s Javier Milei Problem
22 Nov 2024 1 Comment
in development economics, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, growth disasters, income redistribution, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, monetary economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, unemployment Tags: Argentina
My dear friend and colleague Dan Klein wrote this. He loves feedback, so please share your thoughts in the comments. And he’d especially appreciate reactions from friends Shikha Dalmia and Nils Karlson, which I’d definitely be glad to run.P.S. Dan asked me to link to the latest Milei news.I define popuphobe as someone who propagates…
Popuphobia’s Javier Milei Problem
How come the new Ministry of Regulation has been taken over by Career Regulators, Mr Seymour?
19 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice
America is super excited about the new Department of Government Efficiency that is being set up, headed by Elon Musk and Vivak Ramaswamy. We all know Musk – his achievement was launching a space program at about 1% the cost of NASA’s space program. What had gone wrong at NASA? It had turned into a…
How come the new Ministry of Regulation has been taken over by Career Regulators, Mr Seymour?
The Climate Case of the Century
16 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics, property rights Tags: climate activists, nuisance suits
All in all, the ruling of the Hague Court of Appeal is an important first step towards restoring rationality and balance in judicial decision-making in climate cases. The rejection of the case against Shell will have ripple effects on many other climate cases throughout the world, and should cause the EU to rethink the obligation for companies to implement a climate transition plan consistent with 1.5C.
The Climate Case of the Century
Resolving the infrastructure deficit
16 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, environmental economics, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, transport economics, urban economics
Peter Dunne writes – Last week the government announced plans to build two new tunnels in central Wellington to ease traffic congestion. One will be a second tunnel through Mount Victoria to improve the flow of traffic to the eastern suburbs and Wellington International Airport. The other will be alongside the existing Terrace tunnel to […]
Resolving the infrastructure deficit
Electric Vehicles: A Tale of Woe in the Absence of the Market Process
09 Nov 2024 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, industrial organisation, politics - USA, survivor principle, transport economics, urban economics Tags: electric cars
There is a market for electric vehicles, but government mandates and subsidies—regulators predicting winners and losers—cause more harm than good. By forcing technology into widespread use before it is ready for primetime, governments are causing consumers to resist EVs. Instead, government regulators should allow consumer demand, competition, and the “market process” to guide EV adoption.
Electric Vehicles: A Tale of Woe in the Absence of the Market Process
Biden administration lets Medicaid pay for Native American “traditional medicines”
06 Nov 2024 1 Comment
in economics of regulation, health economics Tags: cranks
Just yesterday I wrote about the drive in New Zealand to integrate indigenous medicine (Rongoā Māori, or RM) with modern (often called “Western”) medicine. The problem is that RM not only uses spiritual treatments (prayer, singing, dunking the sufferer in water) but also herbal remedies, and neither of these have been tested for efficacy using […]
Biden administration lets Medicaid pay for Native American “traditional medicines”
Biden-Harris policies and their consequences were no surprise to those paying attention
30 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, budget deficits, business cycles, econometerics, economic growth, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, financial economics, fiscal policy, global warming, health economics, income redistribution, industrial organisation, law and economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: 2024 presidential election, drug lags, taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment
Milton Friedman used to advise researchers to focus on large policy changes rather than attempting to separate a small change’s signal from the noise. In this sense, the “ambitious” policy agenda of the Biden-Harris administration was expected to be a gift to the research community. Accepting this gift, since 2020 I have been making forecasts…
Biden-Harris policies and their consequences were no surprise to those paying attention
BBC Still In Denial About Sri Lanka’s Ban on Fertilisers
30 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in development economics, economics of regulation, growth disasters Tags: Sri Lanka
By Paul Homewood One of our readers sent me this correspondence he had with the BBC a few weeks ago: Below is a letter I wrote at the beginning of October to Tony Grant, the editor of Radio 4’s ‘From our Own Correspondent’: Dear Mr Grant, I listened with disbelief at your piece […]
BBC Still In Denial About Sri Lanka’s Ban on Fertilisers
Over the Border: Gun and Torts Liability to Collide in Mexican Case Before the Supreme Court
28 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in development economics, economics of crime, economics of regulation, growth disasters, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: Mexico
This month, there is a new case on the docket after the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Smith & Wesson Brands v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos. The First Circuit reversed a trial court that dismissed the case, alleging that the American firearms industry is legally responsible for violence in Mexico. I believe the First Circuit is […]
Over the Border: Gun and Torts Liability to Collide in Mexican Case Before the Supreme Court
Rural and coastal residents delay, block green energy projects
28 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice Tags: celebrity technologies, solar power, wind power
Environmentalists insist that they love the “little guys” — until they get in their way, ask inconvenient questions or try to block renewable energy projects intended to save the planet from “human-caused climate cataclysms.”
Rural and coastal residents delay, block green energy projects
Scott Alexander on the Progress Studies conference
25 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economic history, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, liberalism, macroeconomics Tags: creative destruction
Here is one excerpt: Over-regulation was the enemy at many presentations, but this wasn’t a libertarian conference. Everyone agreed that safety, quality, the environment, etc, were important and should be regulated for. They just thought existing regulations were colossally stupid, so much so that they made everything worse including safety, the environment, etc. With enough political will, […]
Scott Alexander on the Progress Studies conference
Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson Win Nobel Prize for Institutions and Prosperity
15 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, income redistribution, macroeconomics, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking
The Nobel prize goes to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson for their work on institutions, prosperity, and economic growth. Here is a key piece summarizing their work: Institutions as a Fundamental Cause of Long-Run Growth. This paper develops the empirical and theoretical case that differences in economic institutions are the fundamental cause of […]
Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson Win Nobel Prize for Institutions and Prosperity
‘Taxpayer Talk’ | Simon Court joins Jordan Williams to talk RMA reform
14 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, environmental economics, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, resource economics, transport economics, urban economics Tags: zoning
The Economic Way of Thinking in a Pandemic
12 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, health economics Tags: economics of pandemics
During the pandemic, economists often found themselves at odds with politicians, physicians, epidemiologists and others. Some politicians, for example, were worried that the pharma companies might engage in profiteering while economists worried that the pharma companies were not nearly profitable enough. Physicians focused on maximizing the health of patients while economists focused on maximizing the […]
The Economic Way of Thinking in a Pandemic
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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