Many of Trump’s signature policies overlap with those of the American progressive left—e.g. tariffs, economic nationalism, immigration restrictions, deep distrust of elite institutions, and an eagerness to use the power of the state. Trump governs less like Reagan, more like Perón. As Ryan Bourne notes, this ideological convergence has led many on the progressive left […]
Horseshoe Theory: Trump and the Progressive Left
Horseshoe Theory: Trump and the Progressive Left
26 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, income redistribution, international economics, International law, labour economics, labour supply, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: 2024 presidential election, regressive left, tarrifs
Expanding the Milei Miracle: Trade Liberalization
25 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, growth disasters, growth miracles, international economics, liberalism, libertarianism Tags: Argentina, tariffs
Part I of this series celebrated Javier Milei’s amazing success, Part II pointed out that labor market liberalization is still a big challenge, while Part III noted that the tax system still needs to be fixed. This final video in the series explains the need for free trade. As noted in the video, Milei inherited […]
Expanding the Milei Miracle: Trade Liberalization
Markets in everything, bet on tariff repeal edition
23 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, entrepreneurship, financial economics, international economics, politics - USA Tags: tarrifs
Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services company led by the sons of US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, has offered to buy the right to hundreds of millions of dollars in potential refunds from companies that have paid Trump’s tariffs. The offer means that the sons of the pro-tariff commerce secretary, Kyle and Brandon, have made a way for […]
Markets in everything, bet on tariff repeal edition
The Cross of Gold: Brazilian Treasure and the Decline of Portugal (due to the resource curse)
18 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economic history, growth disasters, international economics, law and economics, macroeconomics, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, resource economics Tags: Portugal, resources curse
By Davis Kedrosky and Nuno Palma. Published in The Journal of Economic History.In the book The Economics of Macro Issues which I used as a supplemental text, they mention that Russia has many resources but its per capita income is less than that of Luxembourg which has few resources. The book suggests that the economic…
The Cross of Gold: Brazilian Treasure and the Decline of Portugal (due to the resource curse)
Tariff Shenanigans
15 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, international economic law, international economics, politics - USA Tags: free trade, offsetting behavior, tarrifs
In our textbook, Tyler and I give an amusing example of how entrepreneurs circumvented U.S. tariffs and quotas on sugar. Sugar could be cheaply imported into Canada and iced tea faced low tariffs when imported from Canada into the U.S., so firms created a high-sugar iced “tea” that was then imported into the US and […]
Tariff Shenanigans
Technology Transfer and Development Economics
14 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in development economics, health economics, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics Tags: technology diffusion
Willis Carrier invented modern air conditioning around 1904 but technological innovations often take a long time to travel to less developed regions of the world. FT.
Technology Transfer and Development 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
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
Federal Judge Rules Against Trump on Use of “Invasion” Powers to Expedite Deportations
05 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in international economic law, international economics, International law, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration
In Washington, D.C., District Court Judge Randolph Moss has issued a notable decision against the Trump Administration in Refugee and Immigrant Center for Legal and Educational Services v. Noem. Judge Moss rejected the use of Trump’s January 20 “invasion” executive proclamation to block undocumented immigrants from pursuing asylum applications and other legal pathways. The court essentially rules […]
Federal Judge Rules Against Trump on Use of “Invasion” Powers to Expedite Deportations
Another Open Letter to Howard Lutnick
04 Jul 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, development economics, growth miracles, international economic law, international economics, politics - USA Tags: tarrifs, Vietnam
TweetMr. Howard Lutnick Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, DC Mr. Lutnick: Yesterday you tweeted this: Our trade deal with Vietnam is a massive win for America’s businesses, manufacturers, and farmers! For the FIRST TIME EVER, Vietnam will open its market to the United States. They will pay 20% to sell their products here, and…
Another Open Letter to Howard Lutnick
Quotation of the Day…
01 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, income redistribution, international economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: tarrifs
Tweet… is from page 45 of Milton & Rose Friedman’s great 1980 book, Free To Choose: Another source of “unfair competition” is said to be subsidies by foreign governments to their producers that enable them to sell in the United States below cost. Suppose a foreign government gives such subsidies, as no doubt some do.…
Quotation of the Day…
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
The Profit Motive Will Ensure Adequate Supplies of Rare Earths
21 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, international economics, politics - USA, resource economics Tags: China
TweetHere’s a letter to the Wall Street Journal: Editor: You’re correct that “Trump has no China trade strategy” (June 12). Nearly all trade talk coming from this administration is economically incoherent bluster from which we Americans can expect only diminished prosperity. You err, however, in describing China as having a “stranglehold on rare-earth minerals.” China…
The Profit Motive Will Ensure Adequate Supplies of Rare Earths
*Crisis Cycle*
02 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, currency unions, Euro crisis, fiscal policy, global financial crisis (GFC), great recession, history of economic thought, international economic law, international economics, macroeconomics, monetarism, monetary economics, Public Choice Tags: European Union
That is the new book by John H. Cochrane, Luis Garicano, and Klaus Masuch, and the subtitle is Challenges, Evolution, and Future of the Euro. Excerpt: Our main theme is not actions taken in crises, but that member states and EU institutions did not clean up between crises. They did not reestablish a sustainable framework […]
*Crisis Cycle*
Liberation Dusk? Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs in the Midst of Trade Negotiations
30 May 2025 Leave a comment
in international economic law, international economics, politics - USA Tags: tarrifs
Below is my column in the New York Post on the decision yesterday finding that the Trump tariffs are invalid. What happens now will be, if nothing else, interesting. Dusk has come to Liberation Day. Trump has options, but the pressure will now be greater on Congress as bilateral trade agreements are moving forward. Here […]
Liberation Dusk? Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs in the Midst of Trade Negotiations
The Import-So-That-They-Can-Export Firms
28 May 2025 Leave a comment
Much of the discussion about trade and imports is based on discussions of products and sectors of the economy. But among the researchers who study international trade, a major shift has been a focus on relatively small firms that are directly involved in international trade. It turns out that many of these firms are both…
The Import-So-That-They-Can-Export Firms
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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