A group of economists have written to Nicola Willis complaining about the modest fiscal restraint imposed on the public sector. Grant Robertson grew government expenditure by $76 billion/year or a massive 7.6% of GDP, leaving NZ with a structural deficit. Many were champions of his policies or worked for him, and now they complain his […]
Usual suspects want more debt
Usual suspects want more debt
30 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, budget deficits, business cycles, economic growth, fiscal policy, labour economics, liberalism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics, unemployment Tags: monetary policy
Unauthorized Immigration and Local Government Finances
30 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: economics of immigration
This paper examines how unauthorized immigration affects the fiscal health of local governments in the United States. Using detailed data on unauthorized immigrants’ countries of origin and arrival dates from the Syracuse TRAC database, we isolate immigration flows driven by social, economic, and political conditions in source countries. We predict local immigration patterns using a […]
Unauthorized Immigration and Local Government Finances
Desired Fertility versus the Mueller Effect
28 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of love and marriage, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, population economics Tags: economics of fertility
Six months ago, I’m not sure that I’d ever heard of demographer Lyman Stone. Now, people in my circles randomly drop his name on a weekly basis. His favorite topic, in case you haven’t heard, is global fertility decline. As a longtime natalist, I share his concerns. One of Stone’s top takeaways: Instead of talking…
Desired Fertility versus the Mueller Effect
A defense of the sex binary against Steven Novella’s “multidimensional” definition of sex
27 Nov 2024 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, health economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left
At the CSICon meetings in Las Vegas this November, I gave a half-hour talk on the two aspects of evolutionary biology that have been most deeply misrepresented by ideologues: sex and race. “Progressives” maintain that sex is not binary but a spectrum, and also that “race and ethnicity are social constructs, without scientific or biological […]
A defense of the sex binary against Steven Novella’s “multidimensional” definition of sex
Maximum Progress on Progressivism
27 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, discrimination, economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: conjecture and refutation
If you are not yet a fan of Michael Huemer, you should be. Hyperbole is the worst thing in the universe, but I still affirm the following: Huemer’s The Problem of Political Authority is the best book on political philosophy. Huemer’s Ethical Intuitionism is the best book on meta-ethics. Huemer’s Knowledge, Reality, and Value is…
Maximum Progress on Progressivism
Try as they might, the Australian Green party can’t make university education free
25 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of education, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, liberalism, Marxist economics, occupational choice, politics - Australia, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: College premium, regressive left
The Australian Green party has proposed cancelling all student debt in Australia, as part of an aim for government to provide “free education for life”. However, free education is not free. In an article in The Conversation earlier this month, Bruce Chapman (Australian National University) makes a case against the claim that cancelling student debt…
Try as they might, the Australian Green party can’t make university education free
Milei and populism
23 Nov 2024 1 Comment
in applied price theory, budget deficits, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, growth disasters, income redistribution, macroeconomics, monetarism, monetary economics, Public Choice, rentseeking, unemployment Tags: Argentina
Bryan Caplan and Daniel Klein both opine on Milei and populism, Dan being very enthusiastic, while Bryan praising Milei but more reserved in his praise of populism. I too am a big fan of Milei, and I think he is still on a good track. If his reforms do not succeed, likely it will not […]
Milei and populism
Popuphobia’s Javier Milei Problem
22 Nov 2024 1 Comment
in development economics, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, growth disasters, income redistribution, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, monetary economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, unemployment Tags: Argentina
My dear friend and colleague Dan Klein wrote this. He loves feedback, so please share your thoughts in the comments. And he’d especially appreciate reactions from friends Shikha Dalmia and Nils Karlson, which I’d definitely be glad to run.P.S. Dan asked me to link to the latest Milei news.I define popuphobe as someone who propagates…
Popuphobia’s Javier Milei Problem
Defying cries of “transphobia”, the Washington Post calls for debate on whether trans women should participate in women’s sports
22 Nov 2024 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights, sports economics Tags: free speech, gender gap, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
The good news is that the Washington Post, defying the inevitable cries that the paper is “transphobic”, is calling for a “respectful debate on trans women in sports”. This is, of course, because of the increasing number of biological men who identify as women (I prefer that jawbreaker to “trans women” because the latter plays […]
Defying cries of “transphobia”, the Washington Post calls for debate on whether trans women should participate in women’s sports
The Borjas-Caplan Immigration Debate
20 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, population economics Tags: economics of immigration
Before the fictional musical Borjas-Caplan immigration debate of 2024, there was the non-fictional non-musical Borjas-Caplan immigration debate of 2019. It was an unusual format: Both of us had the floor for over hour each. Borjas:Me:If you pay close attention to my opponent’s presentation, you’ll discover that he’s quite unlike every other critic of immigration. In…
The Borjas-Caplan Immigration Debate
Hikoi organiser rebuffs Seymour while a bloke named Jones (no, not Shane) says he understands the Māori Party’s frustration
19 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in discrimination, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: constitutional law, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Bob Edlin writes – Associate Justice Minister David Seymour “refused” Morning Report’s invitation to be interviewed on RNZ’s Morning Report, the day after the Treaty Principles Bill he is promoting had passed its first reading in Parliament after “a fiery debate and vote”. No matter. There were plenty of other people all too eager to […]
Hikoi organiser rebuffs Seymour while a bloke named Jones (no, not Shane) says he understands the Māori Party’s frustration
Local Labor Market Effects of Amazon
18 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, labour economics, labour supply, urban economics
Does the entry of a large employer to a local labor market increase welfare for residents? To answer this question, I analyze the local effects of the dramatic expansion of Amazon’s fulfillment center (FC) network from 2010 onward. I exploit the staggered roll-out of FCs across large U.S. metros in a difference-in-difference framework. I find […]
Local Labor Market Effects of Amazon
Pamela Paul on politics and transgender issues
17 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: 2024 presidential election, free speech, gender gap, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
I keep thinking that Pamela Paul, who is consistently heterodox by criticizing the “progressive” left, will be given the boot as a regular NYT op-ed columnist. But I’m happy to see that she’s still in there swinging, this time criticizing the progressive (do I need to keep calling it that?) brand of transgender activism in […]
Pamela Paul on politics and transgender issues
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?
PNAS publishes an opinion piece arguing that the politicization of science is bad (contradicting the NAS President’s views)
13 Nov 2024 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: affirmative action, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
I’m actually surprised that the article below was published in The Proceedings of the National Academies of Science (PNAS), one of the more high-quality science journals, just a tad below Science and Nature in prestige. It has had a reputation for being “progressive” (e.g., woke), one that I discussed last year when Steve Pinker had […]
PNAS publishes an opinion piece arguing that the politicization of science is bad (contradicting the NAS President’s views)
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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