Here is his comment on the paper presented here: Summary: The U.S. tax system is highly progressive. Effective tax rates increase from 2% for the bottom quintile of income to 45% for the top hundredth of one percent. But rates may be lower among those with the highest wealth. This comment starts with the “top 400” […]
David Splinter on how much tax billionaires pay
David Splinter on how much tax billionaires pay
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, entrepreneurship, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment
The smallest gender pay gap in history
28 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economic history, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
Stats NZ reports: The gender pay gap was 5.2 percent in the June 2025 quarter, down from 8.2 percent in the June 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. “The June 2025 quarter gender pay gap of 5.2 percent is the lowest since the series began in 1998,” labour market spokesperson Abby […]
The smallest gender pay gap in history
Dude, Whatever Happened to Difference Feminism?
17 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice Tags: gender gap, sex discrimination
Time to Revive an Out of Fashion Idea
Dude, Whatever Happened to Difference Feminism?
Chlöe Swarbrick’s homelessness hyperbole
11 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of regulation, human capital, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, transport economics, urban economics Tags: family poverty, homelessness, regressive left
Ani O’Brien writes – Chlöe Swarbrick wants you to believe the Government is intentionally increasing homelessness. She told RNZ’s Mata with Mihingarangi Forbes: “The only conclusion that I can really come to is that this Government has intentionally increased homelessness…” It’s the kind of soundbite that plays well on social media. Outrage travels faster than nuance, and a […]
Chlöe Swarbrick’s homelessness hyperbole
Govt fiscal constraints are the elephant in the pay equity room
11 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, fiscal policy, gender, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: gender wage gap, pay equity, sex discrimination
Michael Johnston writes – The way the government went about rolling back 33 pay equity claims lodged under the last government’s Pay Equity legislation was clumsy at best. The changes were made under urgency and applied retrospectively. It was not a good look. Predictable howls of rage and furious accusations ensued. Critics say the government […]
Govt fiscal constraints are the elephant in the pay equity room
“An Evolving Economic Force,” A Conversation with Claudia Goldin
03 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economic history, gender, health and safety, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
The gender wage gap uses bogus statistics | FACTUAL FEMINIST
02 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economics of regulation, gender, health and safety, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
Unfettered: Fishback 25 Years Later
25 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, history of economic thought, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, poverty and inequality Tags: economics of immigration, employment law, monopsony
A quarter century ago, economist Price Fishback published “Operations of ‘Unfettered’ Labor Markets: Exit and Voice in American Labor Markets at the Turn of the Century” 1,762 more words
Unfettered: Fishback 25 Years Later
What Explains Growing Gender and Racial Education Gaps?
16 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economic history, economics of love and marriage, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, racial discrimination, sex discrimination
In the 1960 cohort, American men and women graduated from college at similar rates, and this was true for Whites, Blacks and Hispanics. But in more recent cohorts, women graduate at much higher rates than men. Gaps between race/ethnic groups have also widened. To understand these patterns, we develop a model of individual and family […]
What Explains Growing Gender and Racial Education Gaps?
Counting the Cost
01 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, gender, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: constitutional law, gender wage gap, sex discrimination
For all the gravitas which Dame Marilyn’s involvement has conferred upon PSCPE, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that it represents a deliberate attempt to morally overpower what is now the law of the land. Chris Trotter writes – The People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity (PSCPE) is looking for evidence. […]
Counting the Cost
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
The cost of Labour’s botched pay equity scheme
23 May 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
The Herald reports: During her Budget presentation, Willis said that pay equity costs in 2020 were initially expected to reach $3.7b but there had since been a “blowout” with costs rising steeply, especially due to Labour’s 2022 decision to fund claims in the “funded sector”. The exact figure isn’t known, but as they have announced […]
The cost of Labour’s botched pay equity scheme
Willis responds to Vance celling her a c**t
12 May 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, health and safety, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
Nicola Willis writes: Having the C-word directed at me by a journalist in a mainstream publication wasn’t on my bingo-list for Mother’s Day 2025. Nor was being accused of “girl-math”. But there you have it, that’s what was thrown at me and my female colleagues in a recent newspaper column as hopelessly devoid of facts as it […]
Willis responds to Vance celling her a c**t
The Mainstream World Is Not Free-Market
10 May 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic history, economics of education, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, human capital, labour economics, occupational choice
An excerpt from Chapter 1 of *Unbeatable*
The Mainstream World Is Not Free-Market
The Economic Consequences of Ever-Growing Government in Finland
10 May 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, entrepreneurship, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, Public Choice Tags: Finland, taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
I’m currently in Finland for meetings with various people and I learned that the country’s bloated public sector and expensive welfare state are imposing a very heavy cost on the economy. How heavy of a cost? According to IMF data, there’s been no growth in per-capita GDP over the past 18 years. Why is Finland […]
The Economic Consequences of Ever-Growing Government in Finland
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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