Celebrating humanity's flourishing through the spread of capitalism and the rule of law
09 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, law and economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, property rights Tags: British economy, doing business, France, Germany, Italy, World Bank
Figure 1: Starting a business rankings – World Bank Doing Business rankings, OECD countries, 2014
Source: Doing Business – Measuring Business Regulations – World Bank Group.
There is surprising wide range in the World Bank Doing Business ranking of the difficulty and delays in starting a business across the OECD.
Germany is ranked 114 from the world for starting a business. New Zealand is ranked first with the USA, Italy and the UK ranked in the mid 40s in the Doing Business database.
07 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, development economics, economic growth, economic history, energy economics, environmental economics, growth disasters, growth miracles, health and safety, industrial organisation, international economics, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, property rights, public economics Tags: healthier is wealthier, Japan, Kuznets environmental curve, richer is greener, richer is safer
The Kuznets environmental curve describes an empirical regularity between environmental quality and economic growth. Outdoor water, air and other pollution first worse and then improves as a country first experiences economic growth and development.
While many pollutants exhibit this pattern in the Kuznets environmental curve, peak pollution levels occur at different income levels for different pollutants, countries and time periods. John Tierney explains:
In dozens of studies, researchers identified Kuznets curves for a variety of environmental problems.
There are exceptions to the trend, especially in countries with inept governments and poor systems of property rights, but in general, richer is eventually greener.
As incomes go up, people often focus first on cleaning up their drinking water, and then later on air pollutants like sulphur dioxide.
As their wealth grows, people consume more energy, but they move to more efficient and cleaner sources — from wood to coal and oil, and then to natural gas and nuclear power, progressively emitting less carbon per unit of energy.
When I was living in Japan in the mid 1990s, they just completed a period of rapid operation of the Kuznets environmental curve. I was told by my professors at Graduate School that in the 1960s, cities and prefectures welcomed polluting industries because of the better paid jobs they offered. At that time, shipping companies used like to go to Tokyo because the pollution in Tokyo Bay was so bad that it would clean all the barnacles off their ships. That made them sail faster.
Japanese incomes and wages doubled over the course of the 1960s. The Japanese voter was now prepared to support stricter pollution standards and environmental controls.
Life expectancy is at an all time high: buff.ly/1ICraAi http://t.co/jgRqKy8LfQ—
HumanProgress.org (@humanprogress) June 28, 2015
In the early 1970s, the ruling LDP stole the long-standing environmental policies of their opponents in a big crack down on pollution because the country could now afforded them.
Poverty has plummeted in East Asia and the world. buff.ly/1NtIDyY http://t.co/SsY3sf3kyH—
HumanProgress.org (@humanprogress) July 01, 2015
Plenty of developing countries are democracies now. Their people could demand through the ballot box higher environmental standards and clean tap water but they don’t because of its cost to economic development.
These 4 nations are 50% of mankind. That's 3.5 billion people who are living longer. buff.ly/1Kle6mU #health http://t.co/949oqisMsL—
HumanProgress.org (@humanprogress) June 30, 2015
The environmental movement lives in a state of denial regarding the relationship between economic growth and environmental quality.
OECD Better Life Index correlates with GDP
But US lower than poorer countries
& NZL higher than richer countries http://t.co/yrTCnO1B0l—
Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) June 26, 2015
07 Jul 2015 1 Comment
in economics of love and marriage, law and economics Tags: family demographics, marriage and divorce
Most People Marry Someone Their Own Age: dadaviz.com/i/3343 #dataviz http://t.co/bZ90LtK508—
Randy Olson (@randal_olson) February 24, 2015
07 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of love and marriage, gender, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics Tags: economics of fertility, female labour force participation, household division of labour, marriage and divorce, maternal labour force participation
Figure 1: average weekly working hours for Current or Last Job(s) Held aged 20-54 by gender, 2004
05 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, international economics, law and economics, property rights, survivor principle Tags: doing business, Eurosclerosis, Italy, rule of law, Russia, transitional economies
Figure 1: Doing Business rankings, Russia and Italy, 2014
Source: World Bank Doing Business 2015.
It is rather disturbing that it is a lot easier to register property and enforce contracts in Russia than in Italy and far harder to pay your taxes in Italy. Once again, Italy’s saving grace is the ability to trade across borders Because of its membership of the European Union.
05 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of love and marriage, economics of media and culture, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of families, family demographics, marriage and divorce
Mawwiage. Mawwiage is wut bwings togetha… men who are about 2.5yrs older than their female counterparts. http://t.co/KQqKmNJn7P—
Tyler Vigen (@TylerVigen) May 25, 2015
05 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economics of crime, economics of regulation, growth disasters, industrial organisation, law and economics, property rights Tags: capitalism and freedom, Greece, rule of law, Russia
Figure 1: Index of Economic Freedom rankings for legal systems and property rights, Greece, Russia and USA, 2012
Source: Economic Freedom of the World – Annual Report 2014 | www.freetheworld.com.
Overall, there are not that many differences between Greece and Russia in the quality of their legal systems and property rights. Don’t go to the police in Russia and good luck trying to enforce contracts in Greece.
05 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of love and marriage, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, poverty and inequality Tags: asymmetric marriage premium, dual income couples, economics of families, reversing gender gap
03 Jul 2015 1 Comment
in economics of crime, economics of regulation, health economics, law and economics, liberalism, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: marijuana decriminalisation, meddlesome preferences, medical marijuana decriminalisation, nanny state
Map of where Cannabis is legal (2014)
From: bit.ly/1uZ2uvq http://t.co/e0W7fJ8FZC—
Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) June 30, 2015
03 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, currency unions, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, Euro crisis, health and safety, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, law and economics, minimum wage, occupational regulation, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle, unions, welfare reform Tags: cost of doing business, Eurosclerosis, Greece, Italy, PIGS, Portugal, Spain
Figure 1: Doing Business rankings, PIGS, 2014
Source: World Bank Doing Business 2015.
All in all, Italy and Greece are a dog of a place to enforce a contract. The long-suffering taxpayer is better off paying taxes in Greece than in Italy! Not surprisingly, trading across borders is the greatest strength in doing business in the PIGS. The European Union does have some benefits.
Figure 2: Doing Business rankings, Greece and Italy, 2014
Source: World Bank Doing Business 2015.
All in all, Italy and Greece are equally bad places to do business and Italy is much worse when it comes to taxes. About the only saving graces of Italy is the registration of property and the protection of minority interests in companies.
Figure 3: Doing Business rankings, Spain and Portugal, 2014
Source: World Bank Doing Business 2015.
Spain and in particular Portugal are much better places to do business than Italy and Greece.
03 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of love and marriage, law and economics Tags: household division of labour, household production, marriage and divorce
02 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: hate crimes, mass shootings
Updated: What we know about the shooting at a Charleston church that left nine dead wapo.st/church-shootin… http://t.co/88gPuzGYcC—
Post Graphics (@PostGraphics) June 19, 2015
01 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, development economics, economics of media and culture, law and economics, politics Tags: citizenship
Countries where you become a citizen just by being born there.
Interesting difference between old and new world! http://t.co/DzsH64SAqa—
Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) May 31, 2015
30 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of love and marriage, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of marriage, gave marriage, marriage and divorce
Arnie had the perfect response to a man criticising his pro-gay marriage photo i100.io/sGqSNTQ http://t.co/kfweyy8xAW—
i100 (@thei100) June 30, 2015
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