In my ECONS102 class, we cover economic explanations for media bias. Drawing on past research from Matthew Gentzkow and others, we demonstrate that there are demand-side explanations (media bias arises because of a bias in the preferences of the news-consuming public) and supply-side explanations (media bias arises because media firms segment the market, and focus…
The supply side of media bias
The supply side of media bias
12 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, industrial organisation, politics - USA, survivor principle Tags: media bias
The Green Party Calls for the Abolishment of Private Landlords in the United Kingdom
08 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, income redistribution, industrial organisation, law and economics, Marxist economics, property rights, Public Choice Tags: British politics
On Sunday, the Green Party in the United Kingdom voted to “abolish” private landlords in a move that reaffirms the…
The Green Party Calls for the Abolishment of Private Landlords in the United Kingdom
Getting rid of subidies creates wealth
06 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, energy economics, industrial organisation, Public Choice, public economics Tags: electric cars, Internet, subsidies
REASON: Starting Today, Electric Vehicle Buyers No Longer Get a Federal Tax Credit. It’s bad news for upper-income motorists wanting a deal, but good news for taxpayers. In 2022, then-President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law…,[awarding] up to $7,500 for purchasing an electric vehicle. …Donald Trump [terminated the subsidy] on September…
Getting rid of subidies creates wealth
Unbeatable: The Brutally Honest Case for Free Markets | Bryan Caplan
04 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economic growth, economic history, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Public Choice Tags: The Great Enrichment
Is it dangerous to say that entrepreneurs are heroes?
30 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, industrial organisation
Back in the early 1990s, I wrote a paper called “The Creative-Destroyers: Are Entrepreneurs Mythological Heroes?” A reviewer at a journal said “The conclusion that entrepreneurs are heroes seems to be very dangerous!” That was in 1993.There is a picture of this review below. After that is a link to where I posted this paper here…
Is it dangerous to say that entrepreneurs are heroes?
Not-so-killer acquisitions
27 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, law and economics, politics - USA, theory of the firm Tags: competition law
Eric Crampton writes – A lot of changes are coming in competition policy. Last week, the government announced a package of reforms that, overall, set the Commerce Commission on a more activist tack. One proposed reform will align New Zealand more closely with Australia’s regime, guarding against so-called ‘killer acquisitions’.
Not-so-killer acquisitions
Economics of Trade Sanctions
26 Sep 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, defence economics, development economics, economic history, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, international economics Tags: trade sanctions
The exercise of US foreign policy (along with the European Union and the United Nations) has been increasingly characterized by the use (or threat) of trade sanctions. What do we know about how such sanctions work? Gabriel Felbermayr, T. Clifton Morgan, Constantinos Syropoulos, and Yoto V. Yotov review the evidence in “Economic Sanctions: Stylized Facts…
Economics of Trade Sanctions
Porsche delays new electric car after demand slump
21 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, entrepreneurship, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, industrial organisation, survivor principle Tags: electric cars, Germany
By Paul Homewood h/t Ian Magness From the Telegraph: Porsche has delayed the launch of its new electric vehicle (EV) as weak demand forces the German car manufacturer to focus on petrol and diesel engines.
Porsche delays new electric car after demand slump
More corporate welfare for airlines
18 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, politics - New Zealand, survivor principle, transport economics
The Government announced: The Coalition Government will support at risk regional air routes with up to $30 million in loans from the Regional Infrastructure Fund for small passenger airlines, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and Associate Transport Minister James Meager say. “Reliable air services are critical for the economic and social wellbeing of regional New […]
More corporate welfare for airlines
Greens say taxing supermarkets more will lower food prices!
10 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics Tags: competition law
Radio NZ reports: But the Greens’ commerce and consumer affairs spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March told RNZ that was only “one part of the puzzle” and the government needed to explore all its options – including breaking up the supermarket duopoly. “While we support having new players in the market, Nicola Willis is banking on big […]
Greens say taxing supermarkets more will lower food prices!
Shell abandons huge biofuel project in Netherlands
04 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, industrial organisation, transport economics Tags: biofuels
By Paul Homewood Another one bites the dust: From AFP: British oil giant Shell announced Wednesday it has abandoned construction of one of Europe’s largest biofuel plants in the Netherlands, as it focuses on its fossil fuels business. Faced with weak market conditions, the company last year suspended construction of the […]
Shell abandons huge biofuel project in Netherlands
The Ongoing Tragedy of Cuban Socialism
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, econometerics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, Marxist economics, property rights, Public Choice Tags: Cuba
I’ve written several articles about the failure of Cuban socialism (2024, 2022, 2021, 2019, and 2016). My leftist friends almost always respond by claiming that U.S.-imposed trade restrictions are the primary reason for Cuba’s terrible economy. Since I like free trade, I certainly agree that trade restrictions are bad for growth (a lesson I wish […]
The Ongoing Tragedy of Cuban Socialism
Why Are Electricity Prices So High?–Dieter Helm
29 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, industrial organisation Tags: British politics, climate activists, wind power
By Paul Homewood Why is the price of electricity so high? It’s a puzzle, because successive politicians (Blair, Cameron, May, Johnson and now Starmer and Miliband) and lots of lobbyists have told us we should have expected quite the opposite: cheap energy, to be achieved by getting out of fossil fuels. First exit […]
Why Are Electricity Prices So High?–Dieter Helm
World War II Liberty Ships and the Law of Increasing Opportunity Cost
27 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, defence economics, economic history, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, war and peace Tags: World War II
See ‘Launching Liberty’ Review: Shipyard Victory The U.S. quickly constructed a fleet of vessels to carry vital war supplies across the oceans. Did the rush to build so fast affect quality? by Marc Levinson. He reviewed the book Launching Liberty: The Epic Race to Build the Ships That Took America to War by Doug Most.The Liberty…
World War II Liberty Ships and the Law of Increasing Opportunity Cost
More On Alleged Chinese Dumping
24 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economic history, entrepreneurship, growth miracles, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: free trade, tariffs
TweetHere’s a second note to a commenter at my Facebook page. Mr. Schlomach: Commenting on my Facebook page, you allege that China ‘dumps’ goods in the U.S. and, in doing so, “has used our love of cheap stuff to suck our country of strategically critical technology/industry.” By suggesting that your fellow Americans buy stuff simply…
More On Alleged Chinese Dumping
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