The number one post this year was Tyler’s The changes in vibes — why did they happen? A prescient post and worth a re-read. Lots of quotable content that has become conventional wisdom after the election: The ongoing feminization of society has driven more and more men, including black and Latino men, into the Republican […]
Top MR Posts of 2024!
Top MR Posts of 2024!
30 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, gender, health and safety, human capital, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality Tags: economics of immigration, gender wage gap, Internet, political correctness, regressive left
Argentina facts of the day
29 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, F.A. Hayek, financial economics, fiscal policy, growth disasters, income redistribution, international economics, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Milton Friedman, monetarism, monetary economics, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, unemployment Tags: Argentina
Argentina’s bonds have already rallied dramatically. One gauge of the nation’s hard-currency debt, the ICE BofA US Dollar Argentina Sovereign Index, has generated a total return of about 90% this year. Meanwhile, the S&P Merval Index has risen more than 160% this year through Monday, far outpacing stock benchmarks in developed, emerging and frontier markets […]
Argentina facts of the day
On Trump On Panama Canal Fees
29 Dec 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, international economics, International law, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, tarrifs
TweetThis letter of mine appears in today’s New York Times: To the Editor: Donald Trump complains that the fees Panama charges for ships to use its canal are a “complete ‘rip-off.’” How mysterious. Given Mr. Trump’s belief that “the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff,’” he should be pleased that these fees are…
On Trump On Panama Canal Fees
How is the Russian war economy doing?
08 Dec 2024 1 Comment
in applied price theory, defence economics, development economics, economic growth, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, fiscal policy, growth disasters, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, law and economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, property rights, Public Choice, war and peace Tags: Russia, Ukraine
Here is a gloomy account from Vladimir Mirov: Ruble depreciation will contribute to inflation even further, as Russia is continued to be heavily reliant on imports – this is a kind of self-sustaining spiral. I also strongly disagree with those who say that cheaper ruble is “good” for exporters and the budget. Exporters have yet […]
How is the Russian war economy doing?
Paul Krugman Is Right…albeit Selectively and Hypocritically
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
Trump’s victory: Golden age or fiscal reckoning?
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?
DON BRASH: HOW ARE THEY GOING?
01 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, development economics, growth miracles, international economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: China
It is just over a year since last year’s general election, and nearly a year since the new coalition Government was formed. How are they going? When I speak to Rotary Club audiences and similar, I talk about the five big challenges facing New Zealand: 1) Our long-standing under-performance compared with other developed countries (and…
DON BRASH: HOW ARE THEY GOING?
WSJ Video on Trump-Biden-Trump Tariffs
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
Was WW1 Pointless? – War Goals Of Every Major Nation
18 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, international economics, International law, laws of war, war and peace Tags: World War I
Historian Anthony Comegna reviews Marc-William Palen’s book Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World
23 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, history of economic thought, international economics Tags: economics of colonialism, free trade, tariffs
See When Leftists Were Free Traders: In Pax Economica, historian Marc-William Palen chronicles the left-wing history of free trade. From Reason magazine.Dr. Marc-William Palen is a historian at the University of Exeter. His Ph. D. is from The University of Texas.The review is very good. Here is the Amazon link for the book: Pax Economica:…
Historian Anthony Comegna reviews Marc-William Palen’s book Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World
Main medieval slave routes in Africa
14 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism Tags: Africa, economics of slavery
Friedman vs Stiglitz: Estonia and Poland vs. Argentina and Venezuela
06 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, entrepreneurship, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, poverty and inequality, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: Argentina, Chile, Poland, regressive left, Venezuela
About 10 days ago, i showed that Milton Friedman was a much better economist than Joseph Stiglitz by comparing Chile (which followed Friedman’s ideas) and Venezuela (which followed Stiglitz’s ideas). It was a slam-dunk win for Friedman. Chile started poor and has become relatively prosperous. The opposite happened in Venezuela, which started relatively prosperous and […]
Friedman vs Stiglitz: Estonia and Poland vs. Argentina and Venezuela
New Zealand fact of the day
19 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in international economics, labour economics, labour supply, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand Tags: economics of immigration
In the year to June, 80,200 New Zealand citizens moved abroad, almost double the numbers prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, just 24,900 returned, according to Stats NZ — the country’s official data agency. The net loss of 55,300 citizens (which follows a net loss of 56,500 in the year to April) smashed the previous record […]
New Zealand fact of the day
Economic Sanctions on Russia: Ineffective or Insufficient?
19 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, defence economics, international economic law, international economics, International law, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Russia, sanctions, Ukraine
Russia had of course already invaded Ukraine back in 2014, but in February 2022 it dramatically escalated the earlier invasion. The U.S. and Ukraine’s allies met Russia’s invasion two years ago with an unprecedented set of sanctions. They put a price cap on Russian oil exports, froze $300 billion worth of Russian foreign exchange reserves,…
Economic Sanctions on Russia: Ineffective or Insufficient?
Kamala Harris, Price Controls, and the Contest for the Dumbest Policy Proposal of 2024
17 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, health economics, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: 2024 presidential election, price controls, tariffs
As a Senator, Kamala Harris embraced all sorts of terrible ideas, such as the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. But she’s now disavowed those proposals in an attempt to make herself seem more reasonable. Trump, by contrast, is consistent. For better or worse, he’s pushing in 2024 the same agenda that he ran […]
Kamala Harris, Price Controls, and the Contest for the Dumbest Policy Proposal of 2024
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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