Charles Shultz on the social sciences… thesocietypages.org/socimages/2015… http://t.co/xVTf7kJ6KP—
(@SocImages) July 19, 2015
The dangers of different modes of transport
18 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in health and safety, transport economics Tags: accident rates, risk risk trade-offs
The benefits and costs of the @NZSuperFund since its inception
17 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic growth, economic history, entrepreneurship, financial economics, fiscal policy, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, public economics Tags: ageing society, company tax rate, deadweight cost of taxes, demographic crisis, efficient markets hypothesis, laffer curve, New Zealand superannuation fund, old age pensions, retirement savings, social insurance, sovereign wealth funds, taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
Most mutual funds still can't beat their benchmark read.bi/1GkTig1 http://t.co/r7ezoDGJbV—
BI Chart of the Day (@chartoftheday) June 03, 2015
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund, the sovereign wealth fund part funding New Zealand’s old-age pension from 2029/2030 onwards, has been a bit of a wild ride. Sometimes the earnings of the Fund were well below and sometimes earning well above the long-term bond rate.
![image_thumb[3]](https://utopiayouarestandinginit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/image_thumb310.png "image_thumb[3]")
Source: New Zealand Superannuation Fund Annual Report 2014.
Since its inception, the Fund earned an average annual return of 9.78%, which was 5.06% above the long-term bond rate, and 1.03% above its reference portfolio.
No information was given in the annual report of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund on the marginal dead weight cost of the taxes raised to fund the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to see whether there is any net benefit to taxpayers from its establishment and continued operation.
The New Zealand Government has contributed $14.88 billion to the fund from prior its inception in 2001 to the suspension of contributions in 2009 by the incoming National Party Government.
Source: New Zealand Treasury.
Over the nine years in which contributions were made, the company tax rate of 28% could have easily been up to 10 percentage points lower.
The New Zealand Treasury estimates that a one percentage point cut in the company tax costs about $220 million in forgone revenue if there are no other changes to the tax system. These are static estimates that do not include any feedback from greater investment and higher growth.
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund must beat the market every single year to make up for the deadweight cost of its funding, a premium for the investment risk added to the Crown’s portfolio and the cost to New Zealand’s growth rate of higher than otherwise taxes on income, entrepreneurship and investment.
Source: Abolish the Corporate Income Tax – The New York Times.
Incidence of long-term unemployment in the PIGS since 1983
17 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in business cycles, currency unions, economic growth, economic history, Euro crisis, job search and matching, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, occupational choice, unemployment, unions, welfare reform Tags: employment law, equilibrium unemployment, Greece, Italy, labour market regulation, natural unemployment rate, Portugal, Spain, unemployment duration
The boom that preceded the bust in the Greek economy did nothing for the rate of long-term unemployment among Greeks. Long-term unemployment had been pretty stable prior to the economic boom after joining the euro currency union.
Source: OECD StatExtract.
Nothing much happened to long-term unemployment in Italy or Portugal in recent decades. Spanish long-term unemployment fell in line with the economic boom in Spain over the 1980s and 1990s up until the global financial crisis.
Collective-bargaining agreement coverage and union density rates, major economies, latest available data
16 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in labour economics, unions Tags: collective bargaining, union membership, union power, union wage premium
In the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, if you want to be covered by a union collective-bargaining agreement, join a union. Does not seem to matter if you are a union member in France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands and to a lesser extent Italy because you is covered by collective bargaining agreements in most jobs.
Source: OECD estimates and J. Visser, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (2011), ICTWSS Database on Institutions, Coordination, Trade Unions, Wage Setting and Social Pacts (version 3.0) in OECD (2013) Economic Policy Reforms 2013: Going for Growth.
In the Nordic countries, it runs the other way with most workers covered by collective bargaining agreement but also are union members.
US Teen Pregnancy, Birth and Abortion Rates
16 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, gender, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, population economics, welfare reform Tags: abortion, economics of fertility, marriage and divorce, single mothers, single parents, teen pregnancy
US Teen Pregnancy, Birth and Abortion Rates since 1972 http://t.co/mwR1U6WJg8—
Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) August 06, 2015
% of unemployment lasting longer than 12 months in Scandinavia since 1976
16 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, business cycles, constitutional political economy, economic history, job search and matching, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, Public Choice, unemployment Tags: borders, deployment subsidies, economics of borders, equilibrium unemployment rate, Finland, labour market programs, long-term unemployment, maps, natural unemployment rate, Norway, Scandinavia, search and matching, Sweden, unemployment durations
As I recall, most unemployed have been unemployed longer than 12 months in Sweden have to go on a labour market program. When they returned to unemployment after the program, the clock starts again. They are deemed to be freshly unemployed rather than adding to the previous spell with an interlude on a make work program. This makes Swedish long-term unemployment data rather unintelligible.
Source: OECD StatExtract.
Finland was recovering from its worst depression since the 1930s and the early 1990s when its data on long-term unemployment started to be continuous. This makes Finnish unemployment data rather difficult to interpret. Norway’s data for the long-term unemployed goes up and down a bit too much to be trustworthy without a background policy narrative.
@DandLMitchell Lindsey Mitchell on poverty
15 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in labour economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, welfare reform Tags: child poverty, family poverty, Lindsey Mitchell, welfare state
Another aspect of helicopter parenting
15 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of love and marriage, human capital, labour economics, law and economics, welfare reform Tags: child rearing, economics of families, marital division of labour, marriage and divorce
More time with mom has little to no effect on children's well-being: thesocietypages.org/socimages/2015… http://t.co/zyirz1QvQs—
(@SocImages) April 08, 2015
Union density rates in Scandinavia since 1960
15 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, labour economics, unions Tags: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, union membership, union power, union wage premium
Union membership has been very high all the time in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
Source: OECD Stat Extract.
Director’s Law in New Zealand?
14 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, income redistribution, labour economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: child poverty, Director's Law, family poverty, family tax credits, welfare state
One group with negative net tax liability is low- to middle-income households with dependent children. For example, single-earner families with two children can earn up to around $60,000 pa before they pay any net tax.
Around half of all households with children receive more in welfare benefits and tax credits than they pay in income tax.
![clip_image002[6]](https://utopiayouarestandinginit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/clip_image0026.jpg "clip_image002[6]")
% of unemployment that is more than 12 months, USA, UK, Germany and France
14 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in currency unions, Euro crisis, job search and matching, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, unemployment Tags: British economy, equilibrium unemployment rate, France, Germany, long-term unemployment, natural unemployment rate, social insurance, unemployment duration, unemployment insurance, welfare state
As the British labour market and long-term unemployment was starting to get something like that in the USA, the USA started to have unemployment it was more like the European labour markets in terms of the number of long-term unemployed. Nothing much happened in Germany and France.
Source: OECD StatExtract.
Gender politics on college campuses
14 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, labour economics Tags: fainting couch feminism, male privilege, meddlesome preferences, micro-aggressions, nanny state, safe spaces, trigger warnings
Union density rates in Germany, France and Italy
14 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, Euro crisis, labour economics, unions, urban economics Tags: Eurosclerosis, France, German unification, Germany, Italy, union membership, union power, union wage premium
There are large differences in unionisation rates between the three countries. France has always had low levels of unionisation which halved since the 1970s. Italy had a sharp boost in union membership in the number of unions in the 1960s and 70s. This may have been associated with increased urbanisation. Union membership rate stayed pretty high in Italy ever since with a small taper downwards. Germany had stable unionisation rates prior to German unification after which the numbers about halved up in a slow taper.
Source: OECD Stat Extract.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments