On the effectiveness of homoeopathic medication
15 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in health economics Tags: Quacks
Smallpox was eradicated not that long ago by vaccines
14 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in health economics Tags: Anti-Science left, anti-vaccination movement, smallpox, The Great Escape, vaccinations, vaccines
First World "privilege"
13 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in health economics Tags: Andy vaccinations movement, The Great Escape, vaccinations, vaccines
Darwin Awards ‘winners’ are overwhelmingly male, analysis reveals
13 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, health economics, liberalism, population economics, technological progress Tags: Darwin awards
- Darwin Awards is an annual review of most foolish way people have died
- Nominees improve the gene pool by eliminating themselves from the human race using foolish methods
- Scientists were surprised to discover 90% of award ‘winners’ were male
- Worthy candidates include a terrorist who opened his own letter bomb
- Another man attempted to travel by hitching a shopping trolley to a train
According to “male idiot theory” (MIT) many of the differences in risk seeking behaviour, emergency department admissions, and mortality may be explained by the observation that men are idiots and idiots do stupid things…
In addition, alcohol may play an important part in many of the events leading to a Darwin Award. It is conceivable that the sex difference is attributable to sociobehavioural differences in alcohol use.
Anecdotal data support the hypothesis that alcohol makes men feel “bulletproof” after a few drinks, and it would be naïve to rule this out.
For example, the three men who played a variation on Russian roulette alternately taking shots of alcohol and then stamping on an unexploded Cambodian land mine.
HT: dailymail.co.uk and The Darwin Awards: sex differences in idiotic behaviour | The BMJ.
Nurses against vaccines!
13 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in health economics, occupational choice Tags: anti-vaccination movement, vaccinations, vaccines
Why 2013 Was The Best Year In Human History | ThinkProgress
11 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in development economics, growth disasters, growth miracles, health economics, liberalism Tags: The Great Fact
Anti-GMO bingo
11 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in environmental economics, environmentalism, health economics Tags: Anti-Science left, Quacks
Anti-science Left alert: GMOs have already escaped into the environment
10 Dec 2014 1 Comment
in health economics Tags: Anti-Science left, GMOs, Quacks
Poverty and Behavior: Bryan Caplan
09 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, health economics, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, poverty and inequality, welfare reform Tags: causes of poverty, economics of personality, poverty and inequality
- alcoholism: Alcohol costs money, interferes with your ability to work, and leads to expensive reckless behavior.
- drug addiction: Like alcohol, but more expensive, and likely to eventually lead to legal troubles you’re too poor to buy your way out of.
- single parenthood: Raising a child takes a lot of effort and a lot of money. One poor person rarely has enough resources to comfortably provide this combination of effort and money.
- unprotected sex: Unprotected sex quickly leads to single parenthood. See above.
- dropping out of high school: High school drop-outs earn much lower wages than graduates. Kids from rich families may be able to afford this sacrifice, but kids from poor families can’t.
- being single: Getting married lets couples avoid a lot of wasteful duplication of household expenses. These savings may not mean much to the rich, but they make a huge difference for the poor.
- non-remunerative crime: Drunk driving and bar fights don’t pay. In fact, they have high expected medical and legal expenses. The rich might be able to afford these costs. The poor can’t.
Yet as Charles Murray keeps reminding us, all of the pathologies on my list are especially prevalent among the poor.
Anti-science Left alert: Biotech and global warming
09 Dec 2014 Leave a comment
in environmental economics, global warming, health economics Tags: Anti-Science left, biotechnology, climate alarmism, GMOs, Quacks
Behind on my anti-GMO movement blogging
08 Dec 2014 2 Comments
in health economics Tags: anti-GMO movement, Anti-Science left
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