Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
06 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, financial economics, industrial organisation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, survivor principle
Bronwyn Howell writes: KiwiRail is a state-owned enterprise, and so by law its principal objective is “to operate as a successful business”.1 Success in the business world means that you provide something that your customers are willing to pay for, at a price for that exceeds your cost of production, leaving something to reward your owners/investors…
The Kiwirail black hole
05 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, health economics, industrial organisation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: nanny state, zoning
If you thought McDonald’s was some kind of public health hazard, using processes under the Resource Management Act to try to block one from opening in Wanaka would be among the stupidest possible ways of dealing with it. The country already has food safety regulations. If you thought that (in fact delicious and fine) McDonald’s food…
Misuse of land use planning
04 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: tarrifs
I like profits. But let me qualify that statement. I like profits that are the result of businesses providing goods and services that consumers value. Those profits are earned. By contrast, I don’t like it when businesses get in bed with government and get money via cronyism, bailouts, subsidies, protectionism, or industrial policy. Those profits […]
Paul Krugman Is Right…albeit Selectively and Hypocritically
02 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, financial economics, global warming, income redistribution, industrial organisation, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: climate alarmism
The Herald reported: The Government has $115 million at risk from the collapse of SolarZero. Finance Minister Nicola Willis said she was seeking urgent advice on the SolarZero situation. She had no further comment. NZ Green Investment Finance – a “green investment bank” created by the previous Government to fund environmentally-friendly businesses – made a $145m…
Another corporate welfare failure
30 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of information, economics of regulation, human capital, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, occupational regulation, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: cranks
Here is the link, “Prohibits fraudulently taking money by “pretended fortune telling.”” Seen referenced somewhere on Twitter.
Massachusetts has occupational licensing for fortune tellers
23 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of bureaucracy, economics of information, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, health economics, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, market efficiency, Milton Friedman, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, regulation, theory of the firm Tags: competition law, Product safety
TweetHere’s my just-published remembrance, in Public Choice, of my late teacher, dissertation advisor, co-author, and friend, Bob Ekelund. Three slices: The only textbook assigned for the course was Milton Friedman’s Price Theory. From some younger members of Auburn’s economics faculty, I heard a few cocktail-lubricated complaints that core theory courses in a modern economics Ph.D.…
Bob Ekelund Remembered
14 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in business cycles, economic growth, fiscal policy, industrial organisation, international economics, labour economics, law and economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - USA, property rights, public economics Tags: 2024 presidential election
Oliver Hartwich writes – In his victory speech, Donald Trump promised Americans a new “golden age”. While he had the numbers to win the election, the economic realities he faces will make delivering on his promise challenging. Trump’s victory reflects many Americans’ frustrations with living standards and inflation during the Biden-Harris administration. Vice President Kamala […]
Trump’s victory: Golden age or fiscal reckoning?
09 Nov 2024 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, industrial organisation, politics - USA, survivor principle, transport economics, urban economics Tags: electric cars
There is a market for electric vehicles, but government mandates and subsidies—regulators predicting winners and losers—cause more harm than good. By forcing technology into widespread use before it is ready for primetime, governments are causing consumers to resist EVs. Instead, government regulators should allow consumer demand, competition, and the “market process” to guide EV adoption.
Electric Vehicles: A Tale of Woe in the Absence of the Market Process
04 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in economic growth, economic history, industrial organisation, macroeconomics, survivor principle Tags: creative destruction, The Great Enrichment
01 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in industrial organisation, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights, survivor principle Tags: 2024 presidential election, free speech, Freedom of the press, political correctness, regressive left
Jeff Bezos writes: In the annual public surveys about trust and reputation, journalists and the media have regularly fallen near the very bottom, often just above Congress. But in this year’s Gallup poll, we have managed to fall below Congress. Our profession is now the least trusted of all. Something we are doing is clearly not […]
Bezos on endorsements
30 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, budget deficits, business cycles, econometerics, economic growth, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, financial economics, fiscal policy, global warming, health economics, income redistribution, industrial organisation, law and economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: 2024 presidential election, drug lags, taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment
Milton Friedman used to advise researchers to focus on large policy changes rather than attempting to separate a small change’s signal from the noise. In this sense, the “ambitious” policy agenda of the Biden-Harris administration was expected to be a gift to the research community. Accepting this gift, since 2020 I have been making forecasts…
Biden-Harris policies and their consequences were no surprise to those paying attention
30 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, industrial organisation, macroeconomics, Public Choice, public economics, survivor principle, transport economics, urban economics Tags: Japan
Japan is known for many things, but two of them are the Shinkansen high-speed trains and the nation’s three Lost Decades of slow economic growth. Unfortunately, most tourists who go to Japan see the former and don’t see the latter and especially don’t see the connection between the two. The … Continue reading →
The Shinkansen and Japan’s Lost Decades
24 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, industrial organisation Tags: creative destruction
22 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic history, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA, survivor principle Tags: 2024 presidential election, tarrifs
TweetI can pick a few nits with this eight-minute-long video from the Wall Street Journal on tariffs – for example, for all of their many problems, tariffs do not (contrary to what’s reported in the video) cause any net, economy-wide loss of jobs. Nevertheless, this video is quite good, not least because it features the…
WSJ Video on Trump-Biden-Trump Tariffs
13 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, income redistribution, industrial organisation, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, survivor principle
Industrial policy is when politicians and bureaucrats use various combinations of tax, spending, and regulatory policies to steer the economy. In other words, they are putting their thumbs on the scale to pick winners and losers. It means replacing the “invisible hand” of the market with the “grabbing hand” of politics. I’m motivated to write […]
Industrial Policy: The Triumph of Hope over Experience
Econ Prof at George Mason University, Economic Historian, Québécois
Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
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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
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Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
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Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
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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
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