An interesting research note from Eric Crampton and at the NZ Initiative on the benefits of devolution on development. It details how Canadian First Nations have transformed their economic fortunes and have built thousands of new homes after gaining powers for planning, zoning, tax, and infrastructure finance. A couple of examples: The Squamish Nation’s 6,000-apartment […]
Devolution and Development
Devolution and Development
18 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of regulation, labour economics, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, urban economics Tags: Canada
Ten Modest Proposals to End the Gender Pay Gap
17 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, economics of crime, economics of education, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, politics - USA Tags: gender wage gap
An anonymous Swiftian guest essay
Ten Modest Proposals to End the Gender Pay Gap
The Question of Disproportionate Black Imprisonment
16 Oct 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of crime, labour economics, law and economics
One of the most persistent concerns in contemporary criminal justice debates is the disproportionately high number of black people in prison, particularly in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. At first glance, this imbalance is often assumed to indicate systemic bias or racial discrimination within courts and law enforcement. Yet […]
The Question of Disproportionate Black Imprisonment
Is the earned income tax overrated?
09 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of education, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, Public Choice, public economics, welfare reform Tags: taxation and labour supply
This policy has been so popular with economists on a bipartisan basis, yet a recent piece in ReStud raises some doubts, as the wage subsidies induce many to drop out of school: As a complement to the federal earned income tax credit (EITC), some states offer their own EITC, typically calculated as a percentage of […]
Is the earned income tax overrated?
Part II: Yes, Taxes Change Behavior
08 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, labour economics, labour supply, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
There are several visual ways of helping people understand how fiscal policy (and especially marginal tax rates) can change behavior. The philoso-raptor meme. The questioning worker. Supply-and-demand curves. The Wizard-of-Id parody. To augment these examples, I’ve started a series that is based on real-world examples. Part I of the series highlighted how the capital gains […]
Part II: Yes, Taxes Change Behavior
The impact of taxes and transfers on inequality in New Zealand
08 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality
This week, my ECONS102 class covered inequality, and social security. Which is timely, because I have been meaning to blog about this Treasury Analytical Note from 2024, by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, for some time. Wright and Nguyen look at the distributional impact of taxes, transfers, and government spending (on healthcare and education).Importantly, they distinguish…
The impact of taxes and transfers on inequality in New Zealand
Cassandra Somers-Joce: A New Chapter for Governmental Candour? The Public Office (Accountability) Bill
07 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of crime, health and safety, health economics, labour economics, law and economics, Public Choice Tags: British constitutional law, British politics, Internet
The Public Office (Accountability) Bill was introduced into the House of Commons on 16 September 2025. It gives effect to the Labour Party’s 2024 Manifesto commitment to introduce a ‘Hillsborough Law’ which will ‘place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities and provide legal aid for victims of disasters or state-related deaths’. As the Government’s ‘Duty of […]
Cassandra Somers-Joce: A New Chapter for Governmental Candour? The Public Office (Accountability) Bill
Bill Maher’s New Rules
05 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, politics - USA, television, TV shows
Bill Maher is on a winning streak with his 7-8-minute politics and comedy bits on his “Real Time” show. Here’s the one from yesterday, called “New Rule: Long Division”: This one’s about gender (he means “sex”), with Maher saying “Until the Democrats come to grips with that, they’ve not going to have much success winning […]
Bill Maher’s New Rules
Unbeatable: The Brutally Honest Case for Free Markets | Bryan Caplan
04 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economic growth, economic history, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Public Choice Tags: The Great Enrichment
Carole Hooven in Tablet on binary sex
03 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, gender gap, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Dr. Hooven (“Carole” to me) has a new piece in Tablet (click headline below to read for free) explaining why all sensible biologists see sex as a binary defined by two (and only two) types of gametes. Perhaps you’ll already be familiar with some of her arguments in the article below (click to read), as […]
Carole Hooven in Tablet on binary sex
The population bust
02 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth miracles, labour economics, labour supply, population economics Tags: ageing society, China, population bust
Richard Dawkins stirs up things again in the Torygraph
29 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, property rights Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
I have to say this about Richard: he is fearless. Of course he’s in a position to say what he wants and not lose much, though he is sensitive to erosion of his reputation, but that won’t stop him from speaking out. And one thing he will not apologize for is the claim shown in […]
Richard Dawkins stirs up things again in the Torygraph
Richard Brant and Lauren Butler: Reform UK’s Plans for “Getting Tough on Illegal Immigration”: From Legal Reset to Sunset
29 Sep 2025 1 Comment
in health and safety, International law, labour economics, law and economics Tags: British constitutional law, British politics, economics of immigration
On 26 August 2025 Nigel Farage (Leader of Reform UK) and Zia Yusuf (now Head of Policy at Reform UK) unveiled their plan titled, ‘Operation Restoring Justice’. Key points from the plan were also reiterated at the Next Step Conference on 05 September 2025. Reform UK address the topic of immigration in their plan, adding […]
Richard Brant and Lauren Butler: Reform UK’s Plans for “Getting Tough on Illegal Immigration”: From Legal Reset to Sunset
“Scientific truth must prevail”
29 Sep 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is standing up for science against trans ideology: The slogan “trans women are women” is scientifically false and harms the rights of women, Richard Dawkins has said. In a new book, the evolutionary biologist warns that scientific truth must prevail over “personal feelings” and argues that academic institutions must defend facts above emotion. […]
“Scientific truth must prevail”
Local body ticket drops Jewish candidate due to threats
28 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, politics - New Zealand Tags: Israel, political correctness, racial discrimination
Karin Horen is standing for the Takapuna Local Board. As you can see she was on the “A fresh approach” ticket. But they have dropped her suddenly. Why? Because Karin is Jewish. She was born in Israel and like all Israeli citizens served in her youth in the IDF, over 30 years ago. She has […]
Local body ticket drops Jewish candidate due to threats
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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