TweetEvery time Victor Davis Hanson comments on the economics of international trade he displays his utter ignorance of the most basic facts and theories of that topic. Editor, Real Clear Politics Editor: Victor Davis Hanson’s declaration of victory for Trump’s tariffs is premature and confused (“The Decline and Fall of Our So-Called Degreed Experts,” July…
Victor Davis Hanson Continues to Write Foolishly About Economics
Victor Davis Hanson Continues to Write Foolishly About Economics
07 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: tarrifs
The Weird and Lovely Surge of US Productivity Growth
04 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economic growth, economic history, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, politics - USA
In the long run, a rising standard of living is always and everywhere based on productivity growth. Thus, Austan Goolsbee notedin a keynote address at the “Summit” conference held at the Stanford Institute of Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) in February (“Remarks on Productivity Growth and Monetary Policy,” February 28, 2025): As Goolsbee notes, annual productivity…
The Weird and Lovely Surge of US Productivity Growth
Failing to Learn the Lessons of History
01 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, entrepreneurship, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, public economics, unions, urban economics
Plenty of people have commented on New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s proposal to lower food prices by creating city-owned grocery stores, but there is still more to be said about this plan. Mamdani either thinks or believes that voters think that store owners are making huge profit through … Continue reading →
Failing to Learn the Lessons of History
Bad Economic History Fuels Bad Present-Day Economic Policies
28 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, liberalism, politics - USA, Public Choice
TweetAt CapX, I explain what motivated Phil Gramm and me to write our book, The Triumph of Economic Freedom: Debunking the Seven Great Myths of American Capitalism. A slice: Likewise with America’s own industrial revolution, the ‘Gilded Age’. American schoolchildren are taught that the final third of the 19th century witnessed John D. Rockefeller and…
Bad Economic History Fuels Bad Present-Day Economic Policies
Why “cheaper” wind and solar raise costs. Part III: The problem with power markets
20 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, industrial organisation Tags: solar power, wind power
by Planning Engineer (Russ Schussler) Part 3 of this series examines power markets, promoted by policymakers (FERC) and industry advocates to lower costs through competitive bidding and merit-order dispatch. While markets can optimize resource allocation in many sectors, they struggle to deliver affordability and reliability in electricity systems dominated by intermittent renewables. This post first […]
Why “cheaper” wind and solar raise costs. Part III: The problem with power markets
Predatory Pricing Is A Foolish Strategy
20 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economic history, history of economic thought, industrial organisation Tags: competition law
TweetI’m proud to have paired up with the Cato Institute’s Marian Tupy to pen this new piece at National Review on so-called ‘predatory pricing.’ A slice: Competition drives innovation, improves quality, and most importantly, lowers prices for consumers. Yet when foreign companies — particularly Chinese firms — successfully compete on price, accusations of “predatory pricing”…
Predatory Pricing Is A Foolish Strategy
Omissions in BBC report about strike on Iran state TV building
19 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, industrial organisation, war and peace Tags: Iran, Israel, media bias, Middle-East politics, war against terror
In the early hours of June 17th the BBC News website published a report by David Gritten headlined “Israel bombs Iran state TV during live broadcast” which opens as follows: [emphasis added] “Israeli aircraft have struck the headquarters of Iran’s state broadcaster in Tehran, after the Israeli military told residents of the area of the […]
Omissions in BBC report about strike on Iran state TV building
How America Built the World’s Most Successful Market for Generic Drugs
06 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, health economics, industrial organisation Tags: drug lags
The United States has some of the lowest prices in the world for most drugs. The U.S. generic drug market is competitive and robust—but its success is not accidental. It is the result of a series of deliberate, well-designed policy interventions. The 1984 Hatch-Waxman Act allowed generic drug manufacturers to bypass costly safety and efficacy […]
How America Built the World’s Most Successful Market for Generic Drugs
No Exit, No Entry
05 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, growth disasters, growth miracles, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, survivor principle Tags: employment law, India
In our textbook, Modern Principles, Tyler and I contrast basic U.S. labor law, at-will employment—where employers may terminate workers for any reason not explicitly illegal (e.g., racial or sexual discrimination), without notice or severance—with Portugal’s “just cause” regime, which requires employers to prove a valid reason, give advance notice, pay severance, and endure extensive regulatory […]
No Exit, No Entry
No smoking
02 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of information, economics of regulation, health economics, industrial organisation Tags: economics of smoking
Why the U.S. Produces More Unicorns Than China and the EU
01 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, human capital, industrial organisation, labour economics, occupational choice, poverty and inequality, survivor principle Tags: creative destruction
The United States has produced about twice as many unicorns (private startups valued at $1B+) as China and more than four times as many as the European Union. These numbers reflect deep institutional and cultural advantages in the U.S. startup ecosystem. Table: Number of Unicorns Created Since ~1990 Region Cumulative Unicorns United States ~1,950 China…
Why the U.S. Produces More Unicorns Than China and the EU
Quotation of the Day…
25 May 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply
Tweet… is from my late, great colleague Walter Williams’s January 6th, 2011, column, “Settled ‘facts’ that just ain’t so“: U.S. manufacturing is going through the same kind of labor-saving technological innovation as agriculture. In 1790, farmers were 90 percent of the U.S. labor force. By 1900, only about 41 percent of our labor force was…
Quotation of the Day…
Trade sentences to ponder
25 May 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, international economics Tags: European Union
The IMF puts the hidden cost of trading goods inside the EU at the equivalent of a 45% tariff. For services the figure climbs to 110%, higher than Trump’s “Liberation day” tariffs on Chinese imports—measures many saw as a near-embargo. These barriers are not direct taxes. Instead, a construction company might find its building materials or plans, […]
Trade sentences to ponder
Pro-Market & Pro-Business: Firms Strive to Satisfy the Customer
22 May 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of information, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, labour economics, law and economics, property rights
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments