Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
06 Nov 2015 Leave a comment
in international economics, politics - New Zealand
In the course of feuding with strangers on Twitter about how much tariff revenue is still collected in New Zealand, I discovered that the revenue from customs duties are less than I recall but more than most think. These customs duties are distinct from any GST collected at the border by New Zealand Customs.
Source: Tax Outturn Data — The Treasury – New Zealand.
Source: Import Tariff Levels After 2015 Cabinet Submission by Minister of Commerce.
04 Nov 2015 Leave a comment
in international economics, liberalism, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: British politics, capitalism and freedom, China, expressive voting, free trade, game theory, populists, rational ignorance, rational irrationality, Richard Cobden, World War I
Jeremy Corbyn is in trouble again, this time for describing World War I as pointless.
Corbyn has, for all his life, opposed the only means of securing peace either in Europe or anywhere else. He is against trade agreements, the European Union and NATO. Bernie Sanders is equally as misguided.
Corbyn and Sanders thinks you can make peace just by talking with people. Peace is made by trading with hostile countries to make them depend on you for their prosperity as well as yours. By growing rich through free trade, it’s in no ones interest to go to war or have poor relations with each other or each other’s friends.
31 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, international economics Tags: economics of advertising, Norway, purchasing power parity, Sweden, The Big Mac index
28 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, international economics, law and economics
The only clear advantage Greece has on Russia as a place to do business is trading across borders because of European Union membership. Russia is a dog of a place to get things across borders. Greece has dropped two places overall ranking as a place to do business while Russia climbed 3 places in the World Bank 2016 Doing Business rankings as compared to their 2015 Doing Business rankings.
Source: Historical Data – Doing Business- World Bank Group.
In 2016, Russia has considerable strengths as compared to Greece in a number of other areas of doing business such as enforcing contracts, registering property and starting a business. Russia is even a slightly better place to pay taxes than Greece! Russia’s World Bank Doing Business ranking for trading across borders has not changed between 2015 and 2016.
28 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in currency unions, economics of regulation, international economic law, international economics
Australia is certainly a dog of a place when it comes to trading across borders and the same pretty much goes for New Zealand. Continental European Union members who are next to each other have a good run when it comes to trading across borders. Germans seem to manage to stuff that up nonetheless.
Source: Historical Data – Doing Business- World Bank Group.
Australia and New Zealand get a poor rating because of border charges for a processing of customs documents. In Continental Europe, where there are no border controls for land crossings between EU members, these border compliance costs obviously do not apply nor is there any waiting at border checkpoints.
21 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in international economics, politics - USA Tags: 2016 presidential election, customs unions, free trade agreements, preferential trading agreements, regional trade agreements, TPA, TPPA
Timeline of Hillary Clinton's positions on Pacific trade deal over time: on.wsj.com/1OA728c by @willmauldin http://t.co/iPN0p5VZhn—
WSJ Think Tank (@WSJThinkTank) October 18, 2015
18 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, growth disasters, growth miracles, international economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: bootleggers and baptists, climate alarmism, expressive voting, free-riders, global warming, green tariffs, international public goods, Leftover Left, New Zealand Greens, Twitter left
It is time for the environmental movement to face up to the fact that there never will be an international treaty to restrain carbon emissions. The practical way to respond to global warming is healthier is wealthier, richer is safer. Faster economic growth creates more resources for resilience and adaptation to a changing environment.
NEW REPORT: The Futility and Farce of Global Climate Negotiations bit.ly/1LvFFv3 http://t.co/TwbFUwaPlm—
Manhattan Institute (@ManhattanInst) October 17, 2015
India's target compared to its recent history http://t.co/pIvwhoSTpL—
Richard Tol (@RichardTol) October 02, 2015
09 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in income redistribution, international economics, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: TPA, voter demographics
08 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, international economic law, international economics, Public Choice Tags: Cato Institute, customs unions, Douglas Irwin, preferential trade agreements, regional trade agreements, TPA, TPPA, trade policy
Good grief, the architect of "the pivot to Asia" opposes TPP? In her book she praised the deal! http://t.co/9XDiv0btzM—
Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) October 07, 2015
06 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in development economics, international economic law, international economics, International law, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: colonialism, GATT, Leftover Left, preferential trading agreements, TPA, TPPA
What's in the #TPP? Robust enforceable environmental protections. Get the facts ustr.gov/tpp #LeadOnTrade http://t.co/hzapJwGaCa—
USTR (@USTradeRep) October 05, 2015What's in the #TPP? Protections for American workers. Get the facts: ustr.gov/tpp #MadeInAmerica http://t.co/VPeV70zaPT—
USTR (@USTradeRep) October 05, 2015https://twitter.com/JimRose69872629/status/651230008875220992
One of my policy essays for my Masters of Public Policy Degree in Japan was on the social clauses of the GATT. I described the labour and environmental clauses is a new form of colonialism.
My classmates were government officials from all around Asia, more than 20 countries. As they spoke English as a second language, they were pleased to learn of a new way of describing social clauses in trade agreements in English.
A Filipino friend had a blunter way of referring to social clauses in trade agreements: “the whites are back, telling us what to do”.
Environmentalists are praising wildlife measures in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal nyti.ms/1hlu7hS http://t.co/ZLYarL9QE7—
The New York Times (@nytimes) October 05, 2015
Jane Kelsey in a television interview said she opposes the reductions in sovereignty in trade agreements that result from investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions because they limit the democratic choices of future governments.
If so, she must oppose environmental and labour standards in trade agreements and, more importantly, binding the hands of future governments with climate treaties. All international treaties are about restrictions on sovereignty.
Environmental and labour clauses in trade agreements and climate treaties all limit the powers of governments to legislate on environmental and employment law in accordance with the will of the people as expressed in the most recent election and change of government. Power to the people.
https://twitter.com/rorymccourt/status/625540621457960960
Jane Kelsey would do better focusing on those parts of the TPPA deal that lowers the net value of the deal such as those extending the term of patents over the drugs. All international treaties are about trade-offs.
View original post 212 more words
06 Oct 2015 1 Comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, international economic law, international economics, International law, law and economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, property rights Tags: conspiracy theories, David Friedman, foreign direct investment, free trade agreements, FTI, international investment law, Leftover Left, New Zealand Greens, preferential trading agreements, TPPA, Twitter left
About 1% more GDP but higher drug prices.
Source: No increased medicine costs under TPPA | Stuff.co.nz
.@MSF: Patients and treatment providers in developing countries the big losers of the #TPP bit.ly/TPPconcludes http://t.co/cbikANleyA—
MSF Access Campaign (@MSF_access) October 05, 2015
The next best arguments James Shaw made were xenophobia about foreign investment in land and some vast conspiracy theory regarding endangered dolphins.
When your next best argument is foreigners are coming to buy up all our land, you are playing from a weak populist hand. About half of million New Zealand born live in other countries.
About 80% of these live in Australia, the great majority as residents rather than as citizens. These New Zealanders living in Australia and elsewhere need protection under international agreements to ensure they are not the victim of populist outbreaks against the sale of land to foreigners.
Source: Statistics New Zealand.
In addition, if a foreigner wants to pay over the odds for my house I am glad to separate a fool from his money.
Source: Statistics New Zealand.
New Zealand has a strong interest in protecting the rights of its own expatriates as well as New Zealand foreign investors to buy land in other countries. As David Friedman explains:
Much more commonly, [economic imperialism] is used by Marxists to describe–and attack–foreign investment in “developing” (i.e., poor) nations. The implication of the term is that such investment is only a subtler equivalent of military imperialism–a way by which capitalists in rich and powerful countries control and exploit the inhabitants of poor and weak countries.
There is one interesting feature of such “economic imperialism” that seems to have escaped the notice of most of those who use the term. Developing countries are generally labour rich and capital poor; developed countries are, relatively, capital rich and labour poor. One result is that in developing countries, the return on labour is low and the return on capital is high–wages are low and profits high. That is why they are attractive to foreign investors.
To the extent that foreign investment occurs, it raises the amount of capital in the country, driving wages up and profits down. The effect is exactly analogous to the effect of free migration. If people move from labour-rich countries to labour-poor ones, they drive wages down and rents and profits up in the countries they go to, while having the opposite effect in the countries they come from.
If capital moves from capital-rich countries to capital-poor ones, it drives profits down and wages up in the countries it goes to and has the opposite effect in the countries it comes from. The people who attack “economic imperialism” generally regard themselves as champions of the poor and oppressed.
To the extent that they succeed in preventing foreign investment in poor countries, they are benefiting the capitalists of those countries by holding up profits and injuring the workers by holding down wages. It would be interesting to know how much of the clamour against foreign investment in such countries is due to Marxist ideologues who do not understand this and how much is financed by local capitalists who do.
04 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice Tags: economics of emigration, economics of immigration, expats
Which is the best country to be an expat? wef.ch/1j35Y1j #expats http://t.co/K58jgHSasy—
World Economic Forum (@wef) October 02, 2015
02 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
These are the most expensive countries for tourists to visit wef.ch/1Jr8zqx #tourism #travel http://t.co/WDFCUa8J2W—
World Economic Forum (@wef) October 01, 2015
23 Sep 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, currency unions, Euro crisis, international economics, macroeconomics Tags: comparative advantage, EU, Euroland
A single labour market in Europe? Chart shows labour costs in some countries 10 times higher than in others http://t.co/HEzvsSoCPb—
paulkirby (@paul1kirby) September 14, 2015
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