TweetHere’s a letter to the New York Times. Editor: Encountering, in David Leonhardt’s report, a summary of Peter Navarro’s attempted justifications of Trump’s tariffs makes the head spin (“A Disagreement on Tariffs,” February 18). Navarro’s arguments are so illogical, self-contradictory, and economically ignorant that they’d be merely laughable were he not an advisor to the…
The Spectacular Economic Ignorance of Peter Navarro
The Spectacular Economic Ignorance of Peter Navarro
20 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, survivor principle, unemployment Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tarrifs
Selfishly Speaking, Who Should Skip College?
20 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of education, economics of information, human capital, James Buchanan, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice Tags: adverse selection, asymmetric information, College premium, signaling
The central thesis of my The Case Against Education is that actually-existing education is a terrible waste of taxpayer money. Since signaling, not building human capital, is the main function of education, the main effect of government subsidies is credential inflation. In economic jargon, my claim is that education has a low (indeed, negative) social…
Selfishly Speaking, Who Should Skip College?
Our letter to the three societies on the definition of sex—with signers
20 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, gender gap, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Six days ago I posted a group letter to the Presidents of three ecology/evolution/systematics societies who had issued a joint statement that many of us found deeply misguided. As I wrote at the time: The Presidents of three organismal-biology societies, the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) and […]
Our letter to the three societies on the definition of sex—with signers
Effects of the minimum wage on the nonprofit sector
19 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economic history, labour economics, labour supply, minimum wage
After a few days of ‘rest’ (by which I really mean some intensely long work days), I’m going to pick up again on my recent series of posts about the minimum wage (see here for the most recent post), but returning to more familiar ground – the disemployment effects of the minimum wage. The story…
Effects of the minimum wage on the nonprofit sector
Minimum Wages, Efficiency, and Welfare
17 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, econometerics, labour economics, labour supply, minimum wage
Recently Alex raised some doubts, to say the least, about the Card-Krueger view of minimum wage hikes. Well, it turns out there is more, and a new consensus is on the verge of forming. Here are David Berger, Kyle Herkenhoff, and Simon Mongey, from a new Econometrica piece: Many argue that minimum wages can prevent efficiency […]
Minimum Wages, Efficiency, and Welfare
Guest Post: NEW ZEALAND’s RETIREMENT PENSION
17 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, fiscal policy, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics, welfare reform Tags: ageing society
A guest post by Sir Roger Douglas: Michael Littlewood’s ‘Guest Post’ for David Farrar on pensions, and his belief that our social welfare system is fit for purpose and doesn’t need change, reminded me of why New Zealand is currently well on the way to bankruptcy, and why our brightest young people are leaving the […]
Guest Post: NEW ZEALAND’s RETIREMENT PENSION
RODNEY HIDE: Schooling Through a Te Ao Maori Lens
16 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: age of empires, Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, economics of colonialism, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Last week my 13-year-old at Wakatipu High studied in English “An introduction to culture and identity in literature”. The class guide was as follows: Below are some links to helpful clips that may be useful for understanding ‘The Why’ when it comes to teaching and learning about all things culture and identity through a Te…
RODNEY HIDE: Schooling Through a Te Ao Maori Lens
Apparent independent and multiple evolution of binary sex
15 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, gender gap, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
My friend Phil Ward at UC Davis found this reference and called it to my attention. It’s from the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (B), and access is free (click on title below). The pdf with the numbered references is here. The paper is about how the evolution of two different types of gametes […]
Apparent independent and multiple evolution of binary sex
How employers respond to minimum wage increases
15 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, labour economics, labour supply, minimum wage, unemployment Tags: offsetting behavior, unintended consequences
In yesterday’s post, I made reference to this 2021 article by Jeffrey Clemens (University of California at San Diego), published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives (open access). Clemens puts forward an interesting perspective on the debate about the observed employment impacts of the minimum wage (or lack thereof):…I contend that controversies over the economics of minimum wages…
How employers respond to minimum wage increases
A group letter to the presidents of three evolution/ecology societies objecting to their characterization of sex as a spectrum in humans and all other species
14 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, gender gap, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
As I reported recently, the Presidents of three organismal-biology societies, the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) sent a declaration addressed to President Trump and all the members of Congress. Implicitly claiming that its sentiments were endorsed by the 3500 members […]
A group letter to the presidents of three evolution/ecology societies objecting to their characterization of sex as a spectrum in humans and all other species
Future unemployment will be (mostly) voluntary unemployment
14 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - Australia, unemployment
A shortage of electricians means that those willing to endure long shifts and live on remote sites can potentially earn up to A$200,000 (US$124,000) a year — double the national average salary and not far off the average MP salary. “It’s a cup half full/half empty life. You do 12-hour shifts, there’s the heat, the […]
Future unemployment will be (mostly) voluntary unemployment
More on the “three-societies letter” about sex
11 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Here’s a quick update on my critique of a letter issued by three organismal-biology-society Presidents claiming that sex isn’t binary—not in humans and, indeed, not in any species. The signers were the Presidents of the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the American Society of Naturalists (ASN), and the Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB), […]
More on the “three-societies letter” about sex
Ireland: Good Corporate Tax Policy vs. Bad Government Spending Policy
11 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, economic growth, economic history, Euro crisis, fiscal policy, global financial crisis (GFC), great recession, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, public economics Tags: Ireland, taxation and investment
I’m a big fan of Ireland’s low corporate tax rate for three reasons. First, it shows that good tax policy generates positive economic outcomes as per-capita GDP in Ireland has grown by record amounts. Second, it shows that lower tax rates can in some cases lead to more revenue. Sort of a turbo-charged version of […]
Ireland: Good Corporate Tax Policy vs. Bad Government Spending Policy
Does the Gender Wage Gap Actually Reflect Taste Discrimination Against Women?
11 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economics of education, economics of information, economics of media and culture, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply Tags: gender wage gap
One explanation of the gender wage gap is taste discrimination, as in Becker (1957). We test for taste discrimination by constructing a novel measure of misogyny using Google Trends data on searches that include derogatory terms for women. We find—surprisingly, in our view—that misogyny is an economically meaningful and statistically significant predictor of the wage […]
Does the Gender Wage Gap Actually Reflect Taste Discrimination Against Women?
Ideology trumps biology: Three evolution societies again issue a misleading statement about the definition of sex (Post #30,000)
10 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, free speech, gender gap, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
I wish I had a happier post for number 30,000, but you’re stuck with this one. However, it’s in line with the kind of stuff I’ve been writing about for a while, so it’s appropriate. Today we must deal with a letter from the Presidents of three organismal evolution and ecology societies (The Society for […]
Ideology trumps biology: Three evolution societies again issue a misleading statement about the definition of sex (Post #30,000)
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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