RNZ reports:An RNZ investigation into the tobacco blackmarket found packs of cigarettes and loose tobacco being sold brazenly over the counter at heavily discounted prices.By law, cigarettes have to include pictures and health warnings covering at least 75-percent of the front of the packs. But the cigarettes being sold on the blackmarket are a throw…
This may come as no surprise
This may come as no surprise
30 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: black markets
Pandemics
30 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, health economics Tags: economics of pandemics
A discussion about Anti-Capitalism and “Public Health”
15 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, health economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: nanny state, regressive left
I spoke to my friends at the Sloavkian think tank INESS (the Institute of Economic and Social Studies) recently. We talked about my 2025 paper Anti-Capitalism and Public Health and you can watch the video below.
A discussion about Anti-Capitalism and “Public Health”
The economic value of eliminating cancer
14 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, econometerics, economic history, health economics Tags: life expectancies
This paper estimates the economic value to the United States of eliminating cancer mortality over a 35-year horizon beginning in 2030, which would eliminate 30.7 million cancer deaths with a total mortality burden of 380 million life-years. We quantify the economic value of this substantial reduction in cancer mortality by incorporating the monetized value of…
The economic value of eliminating cancer
Doctors Without Borders again accused of antisemitism
14 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, health economics, International law, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left
For a long time the otherwise admirable organization Doctors Without Borders (also known as “MSF” for its French name Médecins Sans Frontières) has been accused of antisemitism. The accusations have been credible enough to make me curb my donations to the group. I still regret having donated over $10,000 to the organization after Kelly Houle…
Doctors Without Borders again accused of antisemitism
That time we gave Cocaine to our kids for a sore throat and toothaches.
12 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of regulation, health economics
How things have changed. Nowadays we wouldn’t dream of giving our children cocaine to treat sore throats or toothaches, Firstly because we know how devastating cocaine is and secondly we would be arrested, But in days of yore it was perfectly acceptable to give you offspring and indeed yourself a ‘healthy’ dose of cocaine.
That time we gave Cocaine to our kids for a sore throat and toothaches.
The Fatal Conceit of Cheap Drugs
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
Not sweeping, but good
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
Bending the Curve of Health Care Costs (At Last?)
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?)
How WW2 Rationing shaped Britain
31 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, health economics, war and peace Tags: rationing, World War II
The rise of China as a global innovator in pharma (incentives matter)
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)
The Covid inquiry’s verdict nobody quite wants
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
Covid-19 Royal Commission report released
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
Travel advice for vapers
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
It Has Become Cheaper to Lose Weight
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
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