Gary Becker’s famous model of rational crime suggests that criminals weigh up the costs and benefits of crime (and engage in a criminal act if the benefits outweigh the costs). Time preferences matter in this model, because the benefits of a criminal act are usually realised immediately, whereas the greatest costs (including the penalties of…
More impatient people are more likely to commit crime
More impatient people are more likely to commit crime
09 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economics of crime, economics of education, labour economics, law and economics, occupational choice Tags: cognitive psychology, crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
The rich will soon pay a heavy price for net zero
08 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: British politics
By Paul Homewood . Will net zero upend our lifestyles? Will we fly less, turn down our thermostats, become vegans? The British public are already feeling the effects – from the push to buy EVs and install heat pumps, to Ulez, low-traffic neighbourhoods and the endless restrictions on plastics. Although the UK became the first […]
The rich will soon pay a heavy price for net zero
Laptop Deniers in Delaware: The Media Shrugs as the Biden Laptop is Authenticated in Federal Court
08 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2020 presidential election, 2024 presidential election
Below is my column in Fox.com on the authentication of Hunter Biden laptop in the Delaware trial. The government has denounced the Russian disinformation claims as a “conspiracy theory” and put on evidence that there is no evidence of tampering with the laptop. The FBI declared the laptop to be “real” and “authentic” and the […]
Laptop Deniers in Delaware: The Media Shrugs as the Biden Laptop is Authenticated in Federal Court
The WEF Denies Demanding the Arrest of Climate Deniers
08 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: climate alarmism, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
An AAP Factcheck, a few wild claims, and an Andrew Doyle interview with British environmentalist Jim Dale which appears to have taken on a life of its own.
The WEF Denies Demanding the Arrest of Climate Deniers
The 5 beaches on D-Day and how far they advanced by the end of the first day.
07 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, war and peace Tags: D-Day, World War II
Divisive rhetoric chips away at communities
07 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, discrimination, economics of education, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
The following letter to the Gisborne Herald appears under the title above and the name of Eddie Tuhaka: Rawiri Waititi’s divisive comments and behaviour against the present Government, calling them a white/Pākehā Government, is racist and unacceptable. He and the rest of them did not complain when they all got their pay increase from the…
Divisive rhetoric chips away at communities
D-day’s secret weapon: How wetland science stopped Normandy landings from getting bogged down
06 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, war and peace Tags: D-Day, Roman empire, World War II
Beneath the roar of gunfire and the chaos of D-day, an unlikely hero played a vital role—wetland science, says Christian Dunn (via Phys.org). Often overlooked amid military strategies and troop movements, the study of mud proved critical to the success of the largest amphibious invasion in history. Much has been written about the events of […]
D-day’s secret weapon: How wetland science stopped Normandy landings from getting bogged down
Just Ask Mookie: Hunter Biden Has No Defense Other Than Nullification
06 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Below is my column in the New York Post on the first day of testimony in the trial of Hunter Biden. Every claim of the defense seemed to collapse in the first two days of the trial. The defense argued that Hunter did not check the box on the gun form, so the prosecutors called […]
Just Ask Mookie: Hunter Biden Has No Defense Other Than Nullification
Comparing Treasury and Reserve Bank forecasts
06 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, economic growth, fiscal policy, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: monetary policy
I put a range of charts on Twitter late last week illustrating why, from a macroeconomic perspective, I found the government’s Budget deeply underwhelming. I won’t repeat them but will just show two here. The first is the Treasury’s estimate of how the bit of the operating deficit not explained just by swings in the […]
Comparing Treasury and Reserve Bank forecasts
Drug Shortages in America Reach a Record High
06 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, health economics, industrial organisation
Among the hundreds of medicines now in short supply are popular drugs used for weight loss such as OzempicBy Liz Essley Whyte and Peter Loftus of The WSJ. I liked that this article mentions that price increases are part of the solution, something that usually does get mentioned. A shortage means that current price is below…
Drug Shortages in America Reach a Record High
The UK government’s climate intransigence–Ben Pile
06 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: British politics
By Paul Homewood h/t Russell Hicks Ben Pile’s rebuttal of the government’s response to the petition to repeal the Climate Change Act: Earlier this year, a petition on the UK government’s website called for the repeal of the 2008 Climate Change Act and Net Zero targets. It argued that allowing only “one […]
The UK government’s climate intransigence–Ben Pile
Electric car discounts now ‘unsustainable’ amid record price cuts
06 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, transport economics Tags: electric cars
By Paul Homewood h/t Philip Bratby Manufacturers have warned that high levels of discounting for electric cars cannot continue “indefinitely” amid a downturn in household sales. Electric vehicle sales rose overall by around 6pc in May, compared to a year earlier, taking their share of the market from 16.9pc to 17.6pc. That represented […]
Electric car discounts now ‘unsustainable’ amid record price cuts
How we know that the sun changes climate (II). The present
06 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in econometerics, economics of natural disasters, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: climate alarmism
by Javier Vinós Part 2 of a 3-part series. Part I is here. The effect of the Sun on climate has been debated for 200 years. The basic problem is that when we study the past, we observe strong climatic changes associated with prolonged periods of low solar activity, but when we observe the present, […]
How we know that the sun changes climate (II). The present
Another weak free speech university policy
06 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Auckland University has a draft free speech policy. There are some good parts to it, but also parts that will allow significant censorship. We take our role of critic and conscience seriously and welcome and encourage dialogue and debate including on topics which may be contentious and controversial. It is inevitable that different perspectives will […]
Another weak free speech university policy
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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