How many congressmen are convicted of crimes?
27 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, occupational choice, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: official corruption, political corruption
All in less cash transfers average income tax rates at average wage, USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand
27 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in labour supply, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, public economics Tags: Australia, British economy, family tax credits, family taxation, in-work tax credits, social insurance, taxation and the labour supply, welfare state
Figure 1: All in less cash transfers average income tax rates at average wage, 2014
Source: OECD tax database
The success of Indian migrants
27 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
Indians have become an extraordinarily successful minority in America. A burgeoning new elite econ.st/1cgD0GN http://t.co/XxwcclHpDJ—
The Economist (@EconEconomics) May 26, 2015
The average wage for almost every job in America
26 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice Tags: labour demographics
This epic chart shows the average wage for almost every job in America buff.ly/1cWtQj3 http://t.co/7wudAaWF6d—
Business Insider (@businessinsider) June 16, 2015
Bicycles (at night) must go!
26 Jun 2015 5 Comments
in applied welfare economics, health and safety, transport economics
I had an unnerving near miss at my local roundabout tonight with a bike as I was turning left. The bicycle appeared out of nowhere on my right in the middle of the roundabout as I glanced of the left to check again while turning so I crash stopped.
The bike had a light at the front but wasn’t visible to me until it was halfway into the roundabout when I glanced of the right again. The bike rider was going into that roundabout at a good speed against a wall of car lights behind it, so it was impossible to see it until it was close to the door of my car because of the background of car lighting after dark.
Bike riders have an overinflated self-perception of their visibility at night. Not surprisingly, more accidents happen during peak hours when drivers think motorists can see them when they cannot. 
Even on an empty road, bicycles are not easy to see at night – certainly there not as perceived as quickly as cars. Bicycles are a much more dangerous transport mode than driving a car.
A recent study found the bicycle lighting is overrated as a method of making bikes more conspicuous – perceptions of visibility do not necessarily match reality:
The presence of a bicycle light, whether static or flashing, did not enhance the conspicuity of the bicyclist; this may result in bicyclists who use a bicycle light being overconfident of their own conspicuity at night.
Consider this thought experiment. Suppose bicycles have never been invented until tonight. The business case for allowing them on to the road is as follows:
- Certain pedestrians should be allowed to share the road with cars as long as these pedestrians travel quickly on a metal contraption that is slower than cars, but still allows them to move relatively quickly;
- These fast moving pedestrians are near invisible in rear-view mirrors;
- These fast moving pedestrians should be allowed on the road at night when their visibility is poor against an every-varying contrast of a moving landscape;
- These pedestrians moving quickly at night on the road are overconfident in the extent to which drivers perceive their presence against a moving landscape; and
- Older drivers are 50% less likely to perceive the presence of a bike with lights and illumination at night than are younger drivers.
Would that business case pass under the precautionary principle championed by environmentalists, many of whom are bicyclists? Would that business case pass under normal cost benefit analysis? I say no. Bicycles at night must go.
Why is the Australian top 0.1% far less greedy than the UK, US and Canadian top 0.1%?
26 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, entrepreneurship, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, Marxist economics, occupational choice, politics - Australia, politics - USA, poverty and inequality Tags: Australia, British economy, Canada, Leftover Left, top 0.1%, top 1%
Figure 1: top 0.1% share of gross income, Australia, UK, USA and Canada since 1946
Source: Chartbook of Economic Inequality.
The top 0.1% in Australia is earning not much more than it did in 1946. For most of the post-war period, the Australian top 0.1% earned less than what it earned in 1946. The only spike in the earnings of the Australian top 0.1% occurred after the top tax rate of 66% was reduced to 49% in 1986.
There were major cuts in the top tax rates in Australia,the USA and UK in the early 1980s. Figure 1 shows that these top tax rate cuts were matched with a spike in the earnings of the top 0.1% subsequent to those large tax cuts.
More heat than light in the recent inequality debate
26 Jun 2015 1 Comment
The rise in articles about inequality in NZ sure doesn't match the data on inequality.
youtube.com/watch?v=uCT7aE… http://t.co/z2eWKgXJiL—
Eric Crampton (@EricCrampton) June 26, 2015
More minimum wage job replacement units spotted
26 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, minimum wage, survivor principle, unions Tags: antimarket bias, creative destruction, expressive voting, technological unemployment
Tertiary education attainment of young adults in Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK and Canada, 2000 and 2011
24 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: Australia, British economy, Canada, College premium, educational attainment, graduate premium
Figure 1: tertiary educational attainment of adults aged 25 to 34 in Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK and Canada, 2000 and 2011
Source: OECD Factbook.
@MaxRashbrooke The top 1% in New Zealand are lazy and incompetent as a ruling class
24 Jun 2015 1 Comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic history, entrepreneurship, health and safety, human capital, industrial organisation, liberalism, Marxist economics, poverty and inequality, Rawls and Nozick, unions Tags: capitalism and freedom, Class war, Joan Robinson, Joseph Schumpeter, social insurance, The Great Enrichment, top 1%, welfare state, withering away in the proletariat
New work by Chris Ball and John Creedy shows substantial *declines* in NZ inequality.
initiativeblog.com/2015/06/24/ine… http://t.co/f94fw4Bhae—
Eric Crampton (@EricCrampton) June 24, 2015
The top 1% in New Zealand really have been dropping the class war ball for at least a generation.
Source: The World Top Incomes Database.
Not only have the New Zealand top 1% been pretty miserable at increasing their share of incomes, hardly any change since 1990 and not much before that, the top 1% allowed inequality in both consumption and disposable income to actually fall since 1990 as shown by Treasury analysis published today.
Joan Robinson was on to this in the 1940s when she said the battle cry of Marxists would have to change from the 1848 version “rise up ye workers, rise up for you have nothing to lose but your chains” to “rise up ye workers, rise up for you have nothing to lose but the prospect of a suburban home and a motorcar”.
Today that battle cry of the Marxist revolution would have to be “rise up ye workers rise up for you have nothing to lose but your iPhone and your air points”. As Joan Robinson observed in the 1940s, that’s not much of a basis for a revolutionary movement.
P.T. Bauer on overpopulation
24 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in development economics, human capital, labour economics, P.T. Bauer, population economics Tags: economics of fertility, endogenous growth theory, overpopulation, population bomb
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Dying to be famous: the mortality rates of 1489 rock and pop stars, 1956 and 2006.
24 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in health and safety, health economics, labour economics, Music, occupational choice Tags: compensating differentials, life expectancy, risk risk trade-offs
Rock/pop star mortality increases relative to the general population with time since fame. Increases are greater in North American stars and those with solo careers.
Relative mortality begins to recover 25 years after fame in European but not North American stars. Those reaching fame from 1980 onwards have better survival rates.
For deceased stars, cause of death was more likely to be substance use or risk-related in those with more adverse childhood experiences.
Those reaching fame from 1980 onwards have better survival rates.
For deceased stars, cause of death was more likely to be substance use or risk-related in those with more adverse childhood experiences.
% of children living with 2 parents
23 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
% of children living with 2 parents
Israel 92%
Egypt 89
Turkey 88
Brazil 72
US 69
S Africa 36worldfamilymap.org/2014/e-ppendix… http://t.co/GveypeU6tK—
Conrad Hackett (@conradhackett) June 22, 2014
The academic bias that dare not speak its name
23 Jun 2015 2 Comments
Academic libs in soc sci and humanities, cons in business and nursing, moderates in engineering and computer sci http://t.co/ixwbWb5M6X—
Whyvert (@whyvert) May 23, 2015
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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