Tomorrow at 2 PM ET, I’ll be debating “What is the best policy response to poverty?” versus Matt Bruenig. Venue: Econoboi channel P.S. You might recall that… 9 more words
My Econoboi Poverty Debate vs. Matt Bruenig
My Econoboi Poverty Debate vs. Matt Bruenig
04 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, welfare reform Tags: child poverty, social insurance, family poverty
Quotation of the Day…
03 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, labour economics, labour supply, poverty and inequality
Tweet… is from page 181 of the late UCLA economist William Allen’s superb 1989 collection of the transcripts of his radio addresses, The Midnight Economist; specifically, it’s from Allen’s April 1985 address “Employment and Wages, Competition and Fairness”: The more valuable the worker, the higher the bid for his services. The high wage offer reflects…
Quotation of the Day…
US Poverty and Policy
01 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - USA, labour economics, welfare reform, applied price theory, poverty and inequality Tags: child poverty, family poverty
The US economy is the largest in the world, and at least among the large-population countries of the world (setting aside smaller economies strongly influenced by international capital flows like Monaco, Cayman Islands, and Ireland or by oil resources), it also has the highest per capita GDP. But at the same time, according to the…
US Poverty and Policy
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
In defence of inequality
20 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, human capital, poverty and inequality
An excellent speech by the President of the University of Austin on inequality: But on the heels of America’s quarter-millennium since the Declaration of Independence, I want to do something a bit unfashionable: I want to defend inequality. Of course, all men are created equal. But all men are not the same. We have unequal…
In defence of inequality
Moving on Up
18 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of education, human capital, labour economics, poverty and inequality, welfare reform
James Heckman and Sadegh Eshaghnia have launched a broadside in the WSJ against the Chetty-Hendren paper The Impacts of Neighborhoods on Intergenerational Mobility I: Childhood Exposure Effects. It’s a little odd to see this in the WSJ but since the Chetty-Hendren paper has been widely reported in the media, I suppose this is fair game. […]
Moving on Up
Predistribution, Not Redistribution, in the Nordic Countries
15 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economics of education, fiscal policy, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden
Maybe it’s just because I live in Minnesota, a state where the differences between immigrants from Sweden, Norway, and Finland are still apparent in the names of towns and the surnames of people. But when I run into people who would prefer that the US distribution of income be more equal, they often point to…
Predistribution, Not Redistribution, in the Nordic Countries
David Splinter on how much tax billionaires pay
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, entrepreneurship, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment
Here is his comment on the paper presented here: Summary: The U.S. tax system is highly progressive. Effective tax rates increase from 2% for the bottom quintile of income to 45% for the top hundredth of one percent. But rates may be lower among those with the highest wealth. This comment starts with the “top 400” […]
David Splinter on how much tax billionaires pay
The smallest gender pay gap in history
28 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economic history, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
Stats NZ reports: The gender pay gap was 5.2 percent in the June 2025 quarter, down from 8.2 percent in the June 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. “The June 2025 quarter gender pay gap of 5.2 percent is the lowest since the series began in 1998,” labour market spokesperson Abby […]
The smallest gender pay gap in history
Why I disagree with Helen Clark
20 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in liberalism, politics - New Zealand, labour economics, Public Choice, welfare reform, labour supply, economics of education, Marxist economics, poverty and inequality Tags: child poverty, family poverty
According to the NZ Herald this morning: “Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has described the departure of former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern from politics as “devastating for women around the world”.” Not this one. But then very little devastates me beyond the loss of a loved person or pet. Or dwelling on the suffering of…
Why I disagree with Helen Clark
The Greens’ weekend gift to the government
19 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economic growth, entrepreneurship, fiscal policy, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, wealth tax
Roger Partridge writes – The Greens’ coronation of Chlöe Swarbrick at last weekend’s AGM delivered a manifesto for economic transformation that would make Soviet economists nostalgic for their glory days.
The Greens’ weekend gift to the government
Chlöe Swarbrick’s homelessness hyperbole
11 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of regulation, human capital, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, transport economics, urban economics Tags: family poverty, homelessness, regressive left
Ani O’Brien writes – Chlöe Swarbrick wants you to believe the Government is intentionally increasing homelessness. She told RNZ’s Mata with Mihingarangi Forbes: “The only conclusion that I can really come to is that this Government has intentionally increased homelessness…” It’s the kind of soundbite that plays well on social media. Outrage travels faster than nuance, and a […]
Chlöe Swarbrick’s homelessness hyperbole
Who relies most heavily on welfare?
06 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in labour economics, labour supply, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, welfare reform Tags: social insurance
This short piece is a partial answer to the question posed. It addresses the ‘who’ but not the ‘why’.The following chart uses Census data from Statistics NZ and benefit data from MSD. Both sets are from March 2023.At that time there were 345,417 individuals reliant on a main benefit which primarily comprised Jobseeker (formerly Unemployment…
Who relies most heavily on welfare?
“An Evolving Economic Force,” A Conversation with Claudia Goldin
03 Jul 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economic history, gender, health and safety, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
Unfettered: Fishback 25 Years Later
25 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, history of economic thought, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, poverty and inequality Tags: economics of immigration, employment law, monopsony
A quarter century ago, economist Price Fishback published “Operations of ‘Unfettered’ Labor Markets: Exit and Voice in American Labor Markets at the Turn of the Century” 1,762 more words
Unfettered: Fishback 25 Years Later
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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