I’ve got a new paper out with the IEA about a growing trend in the British economy: command capitalism. Download it for free.
The rise of command capitalism
The rise of command capitalism
23 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of information, economics of regulation
Can the Feds Ban You From Making Liquor in Your Own Home?
17 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - USA, law and economics, economics of regulation, property rights Tags: constitutional law
A challenge to the federal prohibition on home distilling could give the Supreme Court a chance to rein in Congress’ Commerce Clause power.
Can the Feds Ban You From Making Liquor in Your Own Home?
Slow Growth: Mexico Edition
16 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, growth disasters, industrial organisation, law and economics, property rights, survivor principle Tags: Mexico
For the last eight years or so, going back before the pandemic, Mexico’s economy has been growing at 1% per year or less, which is barely faster than the population of Mexico has been growing. It is a fact of arithmetic that an upper-middle-income country, as Mexico is classified by the World Bank, will not…
Slow Growth: Mexico Edition
BREAKING: EPA eliminates rule that limits ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions from power plants
16 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA
They’re not only repealing the Endangerment Finding, but also trying to make it so future presidents can’t reinstate it. The post BREAKING: EPA eliminates rule that limits ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions from power plants appeared first on Watts Up With That?.
BREAKING: EPA eliminates rule that limits ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions from power plants
Post article overlooks REINZ chief’s thought about the REA’s treatment of Janet Dickson and the role of Maori culture
15 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of regulation, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, occupational regulation, politics - USA Tags: racial discrimination
Bob Edlin writes – After a year in the job as chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, Lizzy Fyley discussed a range of industry issues with The Post. One matter that was not addressed was the governance role of the Real Estate Authority in the light of its cancellation of Auckland […]
Post article overlooks REINZ chief’s thought about the REA’s treatment of Janet Dickson and the role of Maori culture
The Pro-Growth Impact of Deregulation
12 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, macroeconomics Tags: European Union
Regulation adds “clutter” to an economy, sort of akin to creating an obstacle course that workers and businesses have to navigate in order to be productive. In other words, red tape makes it harder to be profitable. And that reduces incentives to invest. And every economic theory agrees that less investment means less prosperity. That’s […]
The Pro-Growth Impact of Deregulation
‘Incomplete Contracts and the Theory of Contract Design,’ by Robert Scott and George Triantis
11 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of information, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, property rights
Economists and lawyers know that almost every contract is incomplete. Contracts routinely omit or leave undefined important terms, and they rarely anticipate every circumstance that might frustrate performance. The reason is simple: It makes little sense to spend $1,000 drafting a provision that has an expected value of only $100. Parties therefore leave lower-value contingencies…
‘Incomplete Contracts and the Theory of Contract Design,’ by Robert Scott and George Triantis
The case for unilateral recognition
11 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of information, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, international economic law, international economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, regulation
Bilateral, plurilateral, and multilateral are words that New Zealand’s civil service love. There is nothing that can’t be improved by doing it in concert with others. Sometimes there’s good reason for just doing stuff. New Zealand made the right decision when it unilaterally slashed all of its tariffs. It also progressed all the other trade agreements that helped…
The case for unilateral recognition
Potential deregulations
08 Sep 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, labour economics, labour supply, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration
Cato’s Handbook on Affordability provides a set of policy recommendations for reducing unnecessary government-imposed costs. There’s the usual stuff you’d expect, much of which is US-focused.But a few bits are worth thinking about here too.In the chapter on healthcare, Cato suggests automatic removal of prescription-only requirements from medicines. They write:Eliminate prescription regulation. The FDA makes medicines…
Potential deregulations
Trump Space Policy Targets 1,000 U.S. Launches, Reentries Annually by 2030
30 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, politics - USA, transport economics Tags: space
If our country is serious about returning to the Moon, reaching Mars, and maintaining its leadership in the new space race, it cannot allow launch pads, range scheduling, and reentry capacity to become the bottlenecks. The post Trump Space Policy Targets 1,000 U.S. Launches, Reentries Annually by 2030 appeared first on Watts Up With That?.
Trump Space Policy Targets 1,000 U.S. Launches, Reentries Annually by 2030
FAA Moves to Exempt Commercial Rocket Launches From Key Environmental Reviews
27 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, environmentalism, industrial organisation, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, transport economics Tags: space
FAA moves to ensure regulatory processes serve genuine environmental interests rather than becoming a legal mechanism for undermining American space competitiveness. The post FAA Moves to Exempt Commercial Rocket Launches From Key Environmental Reviews appeared first on Watts Up With That?.
FAA Moves to Exempt Commercial Rocket Launches From Key Environmental Reviews
Do Minimum Wages Help Worker in Poor and Low-Income Families?
25 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in econometerics, economics of regulation, labour economics, minimum wage, poverty and inequality
We provide the first direct estimates of the effects of minimum wages on low-wage workers in families at different points of the distribution of income-to-needs, using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, which oversamples low-income families. We find adverse – rather than beneficial – effects of minimum wages on the employment, hours,…
Do Minimum Wages Help Worker in Poor and Low-Income Families?
West Point Professor Challenges Ban on “Un-American, Divisive…Radical, Extremist, and Irrational Theories.”
23 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech
There is an important lawsuit being litigated in the Southern District of New York over the limits of free speech…
West Point Professor Challenges Ban on “Un-American, Divisive…Radical, Extremist, and Irrational Theories.”
Dr. Israel M. Kirzner — “Economics and Entrepreneurship”
19 Aug 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, Public Choice, regulation, rentseeking Tags: competition law
The International Court of Justice Climate Liability Ruling Sets a Worrying Precedent for Pandemics and Public Health
19 Aug 2026 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics, property rights, regulation, resource economics
In many countries the Covid response mimicked the climate change playbook. The catastrophism of both agendas was based on models. Claims of scientific authority and existential crisis escalated the agendas into moral crusades and people were asked to bear sacrifices for the good of the collective humanity and the planet. The post The International Court…
The International Court of Justice Climate Liability Ruling Sets a Worrying Precedent for Pandemics and Public Health
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