Peter Dunne writes – In 1994 the then Labour Opposition resolved to introduce a new top tax rate of 39 cents in the dollar. The reason for the policy was purely political, not fiscal. Labour was shedding votes to Jim Anderton’s left-wing Alliance at the time and wanted to do something symbolic to staunch the flow. […]
Capital gains tax: how Hipkins has abandoned policy soundness for a symbolic gesture
Capital gains tax: how Hipkins has abandoned policy soundness for a symbolic gesture
01 Nov 2025 Leave a comment
in fiscal policy, income redistribution, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and investment
Implications of the (Second) Libertarian Landslide in Argentina
29 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, development economics, economic growth, fiscal policy, growth disasters, growth miracles, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics Tags: Argentina
In yesterday’s column, I celebrated the huge victory for Javier Milei and his libertarian LLA party in Argentina’s mid-term elections. Today, let’s contemplate the consequences. Starting with this video. The above video is from an interview yesterday with the great Ross Kaminsky of KOA in Denver. He wanted to know the big-picture meaning of Sunday’s […]
Implications of the (Second) Libertarian Landslide in Argentina
The Out-Sized Importance of Today’s Mid-Term Elections in Argentina
27 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, development economics, economic growth, fiscal policy, growth disasters, growth miracles, macroeconomics, monetary economics Tags: Argentina
I explained two months ago that Argentina’s mid-term elections are critically important, and here’s some of what I said in an interview with Austin Peterson. I’ll be paying close attention to the results later today for three reasons. The mid-term elections will determine whether Milei has legislative support for the additional reforms that are desperately […]
The Out-Sized Importance of Today’s Mid-Term Elections in Argentina
Fall good, faster better
24 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, fiscal policy, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand
Robert MacCulloch isn’t partisan in his political views. He is scathing about Labour and its potential partners and often goes very hard on National and the coalition government. But he’s found some good news: . . The Opposition’s Coalition of Chaos hasn’t come up with one sensible idea since losing power. Now the only brain […]
Fall good, faster better
Part IV: Yes, Taxes Change Behavior
22 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, fiscal policy, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
There can be honest and constructive debates about the size of government, such as when I cross swords with someone on the left who understands Arthur Okun’s efficiency-equity tradeoff. Another legitimate debate is about the impact of tax policy, specifically whether higher or lower tax rates have big effects or small effects. But to have […]
Part IV: Yes, Taxes Change Behavior
My excellent Conversation with George Selgin
19 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, business cycles, economic history, fiscal policy, great depression, history of economic thought, macroeconomics, monetary economics Tags: monetary policy
Here is the audio, video, and transcript. Here is part of the episode summary: Tyler and George discuss the surprising lack of fiscal and monetary stimulus in the New Deal, whether revaluing gold was really the best path to economic reflation, how much Glass-Steagall and other individual parts of the New Deal mattered, Keynes’ “very […]
My excellent Conversation with George Selgin
Taxes and Growth, Part II
15 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, fiscal policy, macroeconomics, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
I wrote a column about taxes and growth in 2020. Let’s augment that analysis by digging into some details. I decided to address the issue today after seeing a tweet with this helpful summary of how different taxes cause different levels of economic damage (the Tax Foundation also has a table that ranks different taxes, […]
Taxes and Growth, Part II
French facts of the day
14 Oct 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, fiscal policy, law and economics, macroeconomics, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: France
Macron’s government consistently spent more as a share of total output than any other OECD member, with the public sector accounting for over 57% of GDP in 2024. The telling trend is France’s divergence from its neighbors. When Macron took office, France’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 11 percentage points above the Eurozone average; by 2024, that gap […]
French facts of the day
Ninth Karl Brunner Distinguished Lecture by John H. Cochrane, 02.10.2025
14 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, economic growth, fiscal policy, history of economic thought, macroeconomics, monetarism, monetary economics
The terrible US fiscals
03 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, fiscal policy, macroeconomics, politics - USA, Public Choice
Bryce Wilkinson writes: Imagine that your family spent twice as much as it earned last month. Around the kitchen table, the mood would be grim and the bank’s patience likely wearing thin. In August 2025, the United States federal Government spent over twice its income, US$689 billion ($1.152 trillion) versus receipts of US$344b. Even doubling […]
The terrible US fiscals
Understanding Financial Instability in Argentina
01 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in business cycles, economic growth, fiscal policy, international economics, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - USA Tags: Argentina
Earlier this month, shortly after some depressing results in a regional election in Argentina, I was interviewed by Patrick Young. In this clip, I express concern Argentine voters will backslide to Peronism. As one might expect, some people are concerned the Peronist victory in the Buenos Aires regional election could be a harbinger of bad […]
Understanding Financial Instability in Argentina
Monetary policy needs mates
29 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, economic growth, fiscal policy, inflation targeting, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: monetary policy
The NZ Initiative has a research note out on how fiscal policy needs to work with monetary policy. They comment: This analysis does not dispute that the RBNZ’s high interest rates were the proximate cause of the downturn. However, it argues the Bank had little choice. It was confronted with the insidious threat of inflation […]
Monetary policy needs mates
Revisiting Empirical Macroeconomics with Robert Barro (Harvard Economics…
28 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, economic growth, fiscal policy, history of economic thought, macroeconomics, monetary economics
Part I: Yes, Taxes Change Behavior
26 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, entrepreneurship, fiscal policy, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
From a big-picture economic perspective, I worry most about the damage of high tax burdens on innovation, entrepreneurship, and investment. Those are things that generate enormous benefits for society, yet also things that are very sensitive to bad tax policy (specifically high marginal tax rates and the tax code’s bias against saving and investment). Sadly, […]
Part I: Yes, Taxes Change Behavior
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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