Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
07 Apr 2026 1 Comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, economics of information, economics of regulation, health economics, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: copyrights and patents, intellectual property
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Hikma v. Amarin to answer a narrow question. It may end up saying far more about how policymakers misunderstand pharmaceutical markets. On its face, the case is narrow. It asks whether a generic drug manufacturer can face liability for inducing patent infringement based on how it markets a…
The Fatal Conceit of Cheap Drugs
02 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: nanny state
Stuf reported: Government proposes sweeping changes to alcohol laws The changes are far from sweeping. They are good, and tidy up some stupid stuff, but it is not a major change. As I said, all pretty minor but useful changes. It is good that someone living in Auckland can’t object anymore to an application in…
Not sweeping, but good
01 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, health economics Tags: health insurance
Health care spending had been a rising share of US GDP for decades, but since about 2010, the rate of increase seemed to level out. David M. Cutler and Lev Klarnet address “Has the United States bent the health care cost curve?” (Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Spring 2026, readable overview of paper at link, including a…
Bending the Curve of Health Care Costs (At Last?)
31 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, health economics, war and peace Tags: rationing, World War II
26 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, entrepreneurship, growth miracles, health economics Tags: drug lags
This paper examines China’s transition from pharmaceutical “free rider” to global innovator over the last decade. In 2010, China accounted for less than 8% of global clinical trials; by 2020, it had surpassed the US in annual registered clinical trial volume. To study this transformation, we compile a comprehensive, synchronized database spanning the pharmaceutical drug…
The rise of China as a global innovator in pharma (incentives matter)
13 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: economics of pandemics
The final phase of the Covid inquiry is out, and almost nobody will be fully happy with what it says. The report says New Zealand got plenty right, but it also lays out a string of failures, blind spots and overreaches. It is neither the devastating indictment that opponents of the Labour government wanted, nor […]
The Covid inquiry’s verdict nobody quite wants
10 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in Alfred Marshall, comparative institutional analysis, economics of bureaucracy, economics of natural disasters, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: economics of pandemics
The Royal Commission has released their second and final report. Some key aspects: Simeon Brown points out: The post Covid-19 Royal Commission report released first appeared on Kiwiblog.
Covid-19 Royal Commission report released
03 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health economics, international economics Tags: nanny state
The Telegraph has written a guide for vapers travelling to parts of the world that are even more hostile to e-cigarettes. I am quoted in it. Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs and editor of the Nanny State Index, which ranks countries by how much they interfere with people’s lifestyle…
Travel advice for vapers
28 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, health economics, industrial organisation Tags: creative destruction
Finding out that GLP-1 drugs can help reduce weight has been life changing for many and could stem the social costs of being overweight. Recently, prices have fallen dramatically. I asked ChatGPT to for some summary data for Wegovy & Zepbound which I plot below. Competition matters. Initially, Wegovy was the effective monopolist selling at a list price…
It Has Become Cheaper to Lose Weight
27 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, health economics, industrial organisation
See The Weight-Loss Price Wars Are Breaking Big Pharma’s Business Model: Prices for GLP-1s are falling fast and forcing companies to adapt by David Wainer of The WSJ.”Two years ago, a GLP-1 prescription could cost an uninsured patient more than $1,000 a month. Today, Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill starts at just $149 through cash-pay programs.””Typically, drug…
Competition, elasticity and weight-loss drugs
27 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of education, health economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: sex discrimination
For two reasons I think that Jesse Singal‘s long op-ed (really a “guest essay”) in today’s NYT will mark a turning point in public and professional attitudes towards “affirmative care.” First, the NYT saw fit to publish a piece showing that many American medical associations have promoted “affirmative care” of gender-dysphoric adolescents, despite those associations…
Jesse Singal’s op-ed in the NYT: A turning point in “affirmative care”?
18 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of regulation, health economics
Most people know that the number of drinkers and smokers is in decline in the UK, but you might be surprised to hear that the same is true of gamblers. For the first time since the early 1990s, gamblers are in the minority with only 48% of English adults engaging in any gambling activity in…
The rise and fall of British gambling
12 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in law and economics, health economics, economics of crime Tags: crime and punishment
The Herald reports on Scott Watson: That’s a pretty good sign that Watson shouldn’t be released. Unprovoked violence. And they also report on Clayton Weatherston: The reports referred to his diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder – specifically characterised as “gross narcissism”. They also mentioned “psychopathy” and categorised Weatherston as being a high risk of reoffending. …
Two killers who shouldn’t get parole
12 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, economics of regulation, gender, health economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
I used to subscribe to the New York Review of Books, which, while sometimes a repository for boring academic cat-fights, often included engaging and illuminating articles—until fabled editor Bob Silvers died in 2017. Now, under the leadership of editor Emily Greenhouse, the magazine, always Left-leaning, seems to have become more progressive. The article by gender…
NYRB article attacks the biological definition of sex holding with definitions based on self-identification
07 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, health economics, politics - USA Tags: price discrimination
Pharmaceuticals have high fixed costs of R&D and low marginal costs. The first pill costs a billion dollars; the second costs 50 cents. That cost structure makes price discrimination—charging different customers different prices based on willingness to pay—common. Price discrimination is why poorer countries get lower prices. Not because firms are charitable, but because a…
Trump’s Pharmaceutical Plan
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
A History of the Alt-Right
Econ Prof at George Mason University, Economic Historian, Québécois
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Scholarly commentary on law, economics, and more
Beatrice Cherrier's blog
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
A rural perspective with a blue tint by Ele Ludemann
DPF's Kiwiblog - Fomenting Happy Mischief since 2003
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
The world's most viewed site on global warming and climate change
Tim Harding's writings on rationality, informal logic and skepticism
A window into Doc Freiberger's library
Let's examine hard decisions!
Commentary on monetary policy in the spirit of R. G. Hawtrey
Thoughts on public policy and the media
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Politics and the economy
A blog (primarily) on Canadian and Commonwealth political history and institutions
Reading between the lines, and underneath the hype.
Economics, and such stuff as dreams are made on
"The British constitution has always been puzzling, and always will be." --Queen Elizabeth II
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
WORLD WAR II, MUSIC, HISTORY, HOLOCAUST
Undisciplined scholar, recovering academic
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Res ipsa loquitur - The thing itself speaks
In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an ambassador from my world of economics, and help in “finding topics of conversation fit for the entertainment of rational creatures.”
Researching the House of Commons, 1832-1868
Articles and research from the History of Parliament Trust
Reflections on books and art
Posts on the History of Law, Crime, and Justice
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Exploring the Monarchs of Europe
Cutting edge science you can dice with
Small Steps Toward A Much Better World
“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert”. - J Robert Oppenheimer.
The truth about the great wind power fraud - we're not here to debate the wind industry, we're here to destroy it.
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments