In the 1960 cohort, American men and women graduated from college at similar rates, and this was true for Whites, Blacks and Hispanics. But in more recent cohorts, women graduate at much higher rates than men. Gaps between race/ethnic groups have also widened. To understand these patterns, we develop a model of individual and family […]
What Explains Growing Gender and Racial Education Gaps?
What Explains Growing Gender and Racial Education Gaps?
16 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economic history, economics of love and marriage, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, racial discrimination, sex discrimination
“In the Spirit of Your Loyalty”: LA Citycouncil Member Asks Police to Warn Citizens of Federal Operations
15 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration, law and order

There was an extraordinary moment this week in Los Angeles where City Councilmember Imelda Padilla asked LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell to monitor and warn citizens whenever the federal authorities are conducting an operation or seeking to make an arrest. Padilla asked McDonnell if they could use “AI” and other means to give immigrants a heads […]
“In the Spirit of Your Loyalty”: LA Citycouncil Member Asks Police to Warn Citizens of Federal Operations
Effects of Zoning: when we restrict supply, prices go up.
14 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, income redistribution, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
Always Ready, Always There: Democrats Mobilize Against the National Guard Deployment
10 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: constitutional law, economics of immigration, law and order

Below is my column in Fox.com on the deployment of National Guard in Los Angeles. Another round of court challenges are unfolding, but the escalation is likely to continue on both sides. While the Guard’s motto is “Always Ready, Always There!,” California Democrats do not want them between rioters and federal law enforcement. Here is […]
Always Ready, Always There: Democrats Mobilize Against the National Guard Deployment
The Maori Party thumbs its nose at democracy
10 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: constitutional law, racial discrimination
Michael Bassett writes – Have you noticed how contemptuous the Maori Party’s MPs are of democracy? After all, people who self-designate themselves as Maori are only 17% of the population. And amongst them, only a small proportion vote for the Maori Party. The brutal reality is that much higher numbers of Maori support Labour, while […]
The Maori Party thumbs its nose at democracy
Very Expensive Affordable Housing
10 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, offsetting behavior, The fatal conceit, unintended consequences
In my post Affordable Housing is Almost Pointless, I highlighted how point systems for awarding tax credits prioritize DEI, environmental features, energy efficiency, and other secondary goals far more than low cost. A near-comic example comes from D.C., where so-called affordable housing units now cost between $800,000 and $1.3 million dollars each! One such unit […]
Very Expensive Affordable Housing
Hard Landing: The Return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
09 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration

Below is my column at Fox.com on the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and what lies ahead in the case. Regardless of the outcome of the criminal prosecution, one thing seems virtually certain: Abrego Garcia will eventually go home . . . to El Salvador. Here is the column:
Hard Landing: The Return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
A CALCULATED RESTRAINT: WHAT ALLIED LEADERS SAID ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST by Richard Breitman
08 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, war and peace Tags: Nazi Germany, The Holocaust, World War II

(Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin at Yalta 2/1945) The most frequent question concerning the Holocaust centers on what allied leaders knew about the genocide against the Jews and what they spoke about it in public and private. In previous monographs, FDR AND THE JEWS and OFFICIAL SECRETS: WHAT THE NAZIS PLANNED AND […]
A CALCULATED RESTRAINT: WHAT ALLIED LEADERS SAID ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST by Richard Breitman
British Blasphemy Prosecution: London Man Convicted After Burning Qur’an
05 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics Tags: Blasphemy, British constitutional law, British politics, free speech, political correctness, regressive left

We recently discussed how the United Kingdom has continued its erosion of free speech by pushing an effective blasphemy law. Now, a London man has been convicted of a “religiously aggravated public order offence.” Hamit Coskun, 50, a Turkish-born Armenian-Kurdish atheist was arrested after burning a Qur’an.
British Blasphemy Prosecution: London Man Convicted After Burning Qur’an
No Exit, No Entry
05 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, growth disasters, growth miracles, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, survivor principle Tags: employment law, India
In our textbook, Modern Principles, Tyler and I contrast basic U.S. labor law, at-will employment—where employers may terminate workers for any reason not explicitly illegal (e.g., racial or sexual discrimination), without notice or severance—with Portugal’s “just cause” regime, which requires employers to prove a valid reason, give advance notice, pay severance, and endure extensive regulatory […]
No Exit, No Entry
The Ultra Vires Reach of the Resource Management Act: Te Tiriti Obligations, Private Citizens, and the Erosion of Legal Boundaries
05 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: constitutional law
Zoran Rakovic writes – This essay argues that the New Zealand government has acted ultra vires by interpreting and applying the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) in ways that impose Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations upon private citizens and resource consent applicants without express statutory authority or due compensation. The practice violates foundational principles of […]
The Ultra Vires Reach of the Resource Management Act: Te Tiriti Obligations, Private Citizens, and the Erosion of Legal Boundaries
The Execution of Anne Boleyn: A Turning Point in Tudor History
04 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of love and marriage Tags: British history

Anne Boleyn, the second of Henry VIII’s six wives, is arguably the most famous. In 1523, she was betrothed to Henry Percy, the son of the Earl of Northumberland, but the engagement was abruptly called off. At the time, Anne was serving as a maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s first wife. […]
The Execution of Anne Boleyn: A Turning Point in Tudor History
Again, There is No Right to a Stable Climate
04 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in constitutional political economy, economics of bureaucracy, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, resource economics Tags: climate activists, climate alarmism, nuisance suits

Announced this week was this from Inside Climate News: Trump Executive Orders Violate Young People’s Rights to a Stable Climate, a Lawsuit Alleges. Excerpts in italics with my bolds. Twenty-two young people from across the country sued the Trump administration over the executive orders, which prioritize the expansion of fossil fuels. The complaint, filed Thursday […]
Again, There is No Right to a Stable Climate
SCOTUS Slaps Down Green Overreach: 8-0 Ruling Frees Infrastructure from NEPA Shackles
03 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, environmental economics, environmentalism, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice
he fact that the project might foreseeably lead to the construction or increased use of a separate project does not mean the agency must consider that separate project’s environmental effects
SCOTUS Slaps Down Green Overreach: 8-0 Ruling Frees Infrastructure from NEPA Shackles
Bill Maher’s latest rule
01 Jun 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA, television, TV shows
Here’s the latest comedy/news stint from Bill Maher’s “Real Time” show, a “New Rule” segment called “Freak-end update”, referring of course to Diddy’s “Freak offs,” his drug-fueled sex orgies often involving prostitutes. Diddy is very likely to be convicted (you’ve seen the tape, right?), and it will be a huge come-down from his status as […]
Bill Maher’s latest rule

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