
Foreigners
08 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in human capital, labour economics, labour supply, population economics Tags: economics of immigration

The Regulation Review Committee’s tikanga decision
07 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of education, economics of regulation, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, occupational regulation, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
The Committee probably went as far as it could Gary Judd writes – What the Committee did The Regulation Review Committee decided (1) that making tikanga a compulsory subject for law students did not unduly trespass on personal rights and liberties, but (2) requiring tikanga to be incorporated in the other compulsory subjects was an […]
The Regulation Review Committee’s tikanga decision
Not much parliamentary scrutiny
01 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in business cycles, econometerics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, inflation targeting, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, unemployment Tags: economics of pandemics, monetary policy

This was the post I was planning to write this morning to mark Orr’s final day. That said, if the underlying events – deliberate attempts to mislead Parliament – were Orr’s doing, the post is more about the apparent uselessness of Parliament (specifically the Finance and Expenditure Committee) in holding him and the rest of […]
Not much parliamentary scrutiny
U.S. Trade Deficit Do Not Mean that We Americans Are Living Beyond Our Means
31 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, industrial organisation, international economics, labour supply Tags: free trade, tariffs
TweetHere’s a note to a new correspondent. Mr. P__: Thanks for your feedback on Phil Gramm’s and my piece, in yesterday Wall Street Journal, on trade deficits. You believe that I “and Sen. Gramm omit that every US trade deficit means Americans are consuming more than they are producing, a habit that is unsustainable.” With…
U.S. Trade Deficit Do Not Mean that We Americans Are Living Beyond Our Means
Minimal gender wage gap in NZ!
30 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, econometerics, economics of education, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
Personality traits and gender gaps
30 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economics of education, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice Tags: gender wage gap
This paper examines the effects of the Big Five personality traits on labor market outcomes and gender wage gaps using a job search and bargaining model with parameters that vary at the individual level. The analysis, based on German panel data, reveals that both cognitive and noncognitive traits significantly influence wages and employment outcomes. Higher […]
Personality traits and gender gaps
People Barely Care About Equality
27 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of education, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: regressive left

Another simple proof.
People Barely Care About Equality
Bosses Don’t Need a ‘What Did You Do’ Email. They’re Already Tracking You. (and how this might be related to Keynes’ theory of sticky wages)
27 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, macroeconomics, managerial economics, monetary economics, organisational economics, personnel economics, property rights, unemployment Tags: efficiency wage, wage rigidity
Elon Musk’s email to federal employees prompted angst, but lots of employers use technology for continuous feedback on worker performanceBy Natasha Khan and Ray A. Smith. Excerpts:”What did you do last week?The question that Elon Musk lobbed to federal workers in an email set off anger and angst from unions and employees. It also prompted…
Bosses Don’t Need a ‘What Did You Do’ Email. They’re Already Tracking You. (and how this might be related to Keynes’ theory of sticky wages)
Facial surgeons wanted in New Zealand, must be intimately familiar with all things Māori
26 Mar 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, health economics, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand Tags: political correctness. affirmative action, racial discrimination, regressive left

Here’s an archived link to an ad for a consultant oral maxillofacial surgeon at Dunedin Hospital. The curious thing—well, not so curious given that it’s New Zealand,—is the list of required qualifications. Click to read (a New Zealand dollar is worth about 57¢ in U.S. currency): Some of the details: About the role In this […]
Facial surgeons wanted in New Zealand, must be intimately familiar with all things Māori
What does India want – and what is New Zealand willing to give?
25 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, economics of education, growth disasters, growth miracles, human capital, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economic law, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: India, preferential trade agreements
Chris Trotter writes – What does India want from New Zealand? Not our dairy products, that’s for sure, it’s got plenty of those. Indeed 45 percent of the Indian population are small-scale farmers, most of them running a few head of cattle – not to eat, you understand – but to milk. If it once […]
What does India want – and what is New Zealand willing to give?
Should asylum be restricted to neighbouring countries
24 Mar 2025 1 Comment
in defence economics, development economics, economic history, labour economics, labour supply, laws of war, war and peace Tags: economics of immigration

100,000 asylum seekers a year is massive, especially when you consider the many countries one has to pass through to get to the UK. The right of asylum is an ancient right to flee a government or ruler that persecutes you. It goes back thousands of years. In the modern era the UDHR says: Everyone […]
Should asylum be restricted to neighbouring countries
Book Nook Reading Notes on *Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids*
22 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, poverty and inequality Tags: College premium, signaling

Bet On It reader Dan Barrett wrote these notes for his Book Nook book club on my Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids: Why Being a Great Parent Is Less Work and More Fun Than You Think. Dan’s idea:I’m organizing reading groups packaged as the Book Nook to help colleagues (1) guide their own learning…
Book Nook Reading Notes on *Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids*
McCaskill: Trump is Trying to “Disappear” People Like Putin
20 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, Economics of international refugee law, international economics, International law, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, economics of immigration, law and order, law enforcement

MSNBC analyst and former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill has long been criticized for unhinged rhetoric. That was evident on “Morning Joe” recently when McCaskill said that the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members was akin to Putin “disappearing” people. It is not the first such analogy by McCaskill, who has called those opposing the censorship […]
McCaskill: Trump is Trying to “Disappear” People Like Putin
University of Chicago updates equal-opportunity statement for job ads
20 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, affirmative action, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, sex discrimination
This announcement came from our Provost’s office, but apparently hasn’t been sent to all parts of the University. Nevertheless, it surely applies to all job ads for the University of Chicago. What it shows is that the University has updated its Equal Employment Opportunity statement, a statement that must be included in all ads for […]
University of Chicago updates equal-opportunity statement for job ads

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