Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
17 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, law and economics Tags: competition law
Online commerce has transformed how firms design their distribution systems, yet EU competition law continues to treat many online-sales restrictions as suspect by default. This tension lies at the heart of today’s vertical restraints debate. While the economic theory of vertical agreements has been largely settled for decades, the legal framework has not fully absorbed…
Vertical Restraints in the EU: Economics Has Updated, Law Hasn’t Installed the Patch
16 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, transport economics, urban economics Tags: British politics, electric cars
Ed Miliband has been left isolated over his Net Zero policies after the European Union dropped “indefinitely” a flagship pledge to ban sales of new petrol cars.
Miliband Isolated as EU Prepares to Reverse Petrol Car Ban
14 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: celebrity technologies, solar power, wind power
Policymakers would do well to heed energy experts like Schernikau and Stein. Chasing luxury beliefs do not cost well-heeled climate bureaucrats and renewables ideologues much, but the burdens of irrational energy policies will be borne by the world’s poorest. The real path forward lies in pragmatic, technology-neutral approaches that prioritise energy abundance over austerity.
Time to Stop Pretending Renewables Are Cheap
13 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, politics - New Zealand
Joel McManus at The Spinoff writes: Bishop sided with former Wellington mayor Tory Whanau’s call to allow more housing in the capital, even though every conservative councillor was opposed. He made Christchurch zone for high-density housing, which centre-right mayor Phil Mauger called a “kick in the guts”. In Auckland he could barely disguise his glee…
The Minister for Abundance
13 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
Inside the reform that will change how New Zealand is built Ani O’Brien writes – If you’ve ever tried to build a deck, subdivide a section, or watched a major infrastructure project slowly suffocate in a decade of “consenting hell,” you already know the RMA is New Zealand’s great productivity killer. For over 30 years, […]
New Zealand’s Planning Revolution: bye bye RMA
12 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, sports economics Tags: constitutional law, takings
Oliver Hartwich writes – Let me state this clearly at the outset: I have never placed a bet on a greyhound. I have never owned a greyhound. If I were a dog, I would likely prefer a soft sofa to a hard track. I am not writing this because I have a passion for racing, […]
Greyhound racing law change is legal overreach
11 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights
09 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, market efficiency Tags: competition law
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has announced that it is selling its major assets to Netflix, including Warner Bros. Pictures (home of Harry Potter), DC Studios, and HBO Max. Netflix was chosen among a group of bidders that also included Paramount and Comcast. This post explores some of the antitrust issues and hurdles that a combined…
Evaluating the Sale of Warner Bros Discovery to Netflix from an Antitrust Perspective
09 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: competition law
The memorandum and order in FTC v. Meta Platforms Inc. that U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg filed Nov. 18, ruling in favor of Meta, has now been followed by a Dec. 2 revised order that contained fewer redactions. The memorandum doesn’t exactly provide the law & economics analysis I would have produced, had…
Antitrust at the Agencies: Meta Analysis Edition
06 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, politics - USA Tags: competition law, creative destruction
This morning’s announced merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) would create a global media company of unprecedented scale. The transaction will also almost certainly attract scrutiny from antitrust regulators—most likely the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) Antitrust Division, rather than the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The deal would offer a direct test of the…
Metrics, Markets, and Merger Scrutiny: A Netflix-WBD Combination
06 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, international economics Tags: competition law, creative destruction
Nations around the world are reassessing antitrust policy (generally called “competition policy” overseas). Governments, regulators, and industry leaders are increasingly asking whether traditional antitrust enforcement is holding back the “competitiveness” of domestic firms. The term now shows up in speeches by European commissioners, in UK government directives, in U.S. merger battles, and in Canadian legislative…
Is Competitiveness Transforming Competition Policy?
28 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, transport economics, urban economics Tags: employment law
The Supreme Court has ruled that four Uber drivers are employees of Uber, despite written agreements they are contractors, not employees. The practical effect of this decision is terrible. Uber has been great for passengers. Not only can we hold drivers to account through ratings, we save a lot of money. An Uber to the…
The terrible Supreme Court decision on Uber
25 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, rentseeking, transport economics, urban economics Tags: creative destruction, employment law
Roger Partridge writes – The Supreme Court’s Uber judgment (Rasier Operations BV v E Tū Inc [2025] NZSC 162) has delivered clarity of a sort. The Court dismissed Uber’s appeal, upholding the finding that the drivers involved in the proceedings are employees when logged into the Uber app. Yet the decision is deeply flawed. The Court […]
The Flaw at the Core of the Supreme Court’s Uber Decision
25 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic growth, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, growth disasters, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, unemployment Tags: Argentina
I’m still riding high after Javier Milei’s political party won a landslide in last month’s mid-term elections in Argentina. And I’m very much hoping and expecting that gives him enough legislative support to enact big reforms next year to further liberate the Argentinian economy (tax reform, free trade, and labor market liberalization). But let’s take […]
The Milei Miracle, Part III
24 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of regulation, growth disasters, history of economic thought, income redistribution, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, regulation, rentseeking, transport economics, urban economics Tags: Argentina, rent control
One of Argentine President Milei’s radical reforms was to “take a chainsaw” to rent control laws. Argentina had had some of the most restrictive rent control regimes ever. All of that was abandoned almost over night. Many media outlets noted with glee that rents fell dramatically. Even most economists were surprised by how much supply…
Argentine Rental Market Natural Experiment
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