Nicole McKee announced: The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. The return is welcome in principle, but what is being proposed is actually pretty weak and even ineffective. Cover the same 40 serious violent and sexual offences as the former legislation, […]
A weak Three Strikes law
A weak Three Strikes law
24 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
Why the Global Free Market Will Save the World
23 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic growth, economic history, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, growth disasters, growth miracles, health economics, history of economic thought, income redistribution, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: anticapitalist mentality, capitalism and freedom
The Demagoguery of Emperor Hirohito
23 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, laws of war, war and peace Tags: atomic bombings, Japan, World War II
You’ve heard how Japan finally surrendered to the United States after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. You’ve heard how Emperor Hirohito went on Japanese radio and informed his people of his decision. But have you ever actually heard what Hirohito told his subjects? The Emperor’s surrender speech is one of the most egregious…
The Demagoguery of Emperor Hirohito
What does Earth Day teach us about supply?
23 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, energy economics, environmental economics
Around the time of the first Earth Day (1970), Environmentalists were making dire predictions (via Mark Perry): …world famines of unbelievable proportions. some 4 billion people, including 65 million Americans, would perish in the “Great Die-Off.” By the year 2000, … there won’t be any more crude oil. Lead, zinc, tin, gold, and silver would…
What does Earth Day teach us about supply?
Call for Support: Has the Time Come for a Wellington Ratepayer Activist Group?
23 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, economics of bureaucracy, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, transport economics, urban economics
Over the years I’ve had various Wellingtonians approach me about setting up, or getting Jordan and the Taxpayers’ Union to set up, a dedicated Wellington ratepayer pressure group to fight for more fiscal prudence and better governance in our city. Jordan and I have always turned away the efforts as nine times out of ten, they […]
Call for Support: Has the Time Come for a Wellington Ratepayer Activist Group?
Hiring discrimination sentences to ponder
23 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, econometerics, economics of education, economics of information, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, managerial economics, organisational economics, personnel economics, politics - USA, poverty and inequality Tags: gender wage gap, implicit bias, racial discrimination, sex discrimination
Several common measures — like employing a chief diversity officer, offering diversity training or having a diverse board — were not correlated with decreased discrimination in entry-level hiring, the researchers found. But one thing strongly predicted less discrimination: a centralized H.R. operation. The researchers recorded the voice mail messages that the fake applicants received. When a company’s […]
Hiring discrimination sentences to ponder
The Waitangi Tribunal Summons; or the more things stay the same
23 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: constitutional law
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than by them. Chhour is challenging a decision […]
The Waitangi Tribunal Summons; or the more things stay the same
Dumb Idea of the Month: Currency Devaluation
23 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, industrial organisation, international economics
Five years ago, I shared this video explaining why trade deficits generally don’t matter. The most important thing to understand is that a trade deficit is the same thing as a financial account surplus (formerly known as a capital surplus), which is easy to understand when reviewing this graph. And that type of surplus occurs […]
Dumb Idea of the Month: Currency Devaluation
Why Religious Beliefs Are Irrational, and Why Economists Should Care
22 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of religion
In 2005, I debated my then-colleague Larry Iannaccone on the economics of religion. The turnout — around 300 people at GMU back when it was clearly a commuter school — surprised me and totally shocked Larry. I still remember his eyes bugging out when he entered the auditorium! Though perhaps he was just astounded to…
Why Religious Beliefs Are Irrational, and Why Economists Should Care
Eco-Loons War on Productive Working Class
22 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: climate alarmism
Brendan O’Neill writes at Spiked Greta’s class war. Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images. The green ideology is the enemy of working people. It was like a case study in indifference. There was privileged Gen Zer Greta Thunberg and other Euro eco-brats smiling and flicking peace signs as they called on the […]
Eco-Loons War on Productive Working Class
“You Are Quite Openly Jewish”: London Police Under Fire for Confrontation With Man Near Anti-Israeli March
22 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: British politics, free speech, Gaza Strip, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror
The London police are under fire this week for threatening to arrest a man wearing a kippah near a pro-Palestinian march. Officers inform Gideon Falter, head of the Campaign Against Antisemitism watchdog, that he was “antagonizing” the protesters by being “openly Jewish” near such a march. He was told that, if he tried to cross […]
“You Are Quite Openly Jewish”: London Police Under Fire for Confrontation With Man Near Anti-Israeli March
“The Simple Macroeconomics of AI”
21 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, entrepreneurship, human capital, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, poverty and inequality Tags: artificial intelligence
That is the new Daron Acemoglu paper, and he is skeptical about its overall economic effects. Here is part of the abstract: Using existing estimates on exposure to AI and productivity improvements at the task level, these macroeconomic effects appear nontrivial but modest—no more than a 0.71% increase in total factor productivity over 10 years.…
“The Simple Macroeconomics of AI”
Hamas rejects cease-fires
21 Apr 2024 1 Comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
Ninth Circuit Rules Against Seattle in Using “Heckler’s Veto” in Arrest of Pro-Life Protester
21 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: abortion law reform, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
We have often discussed how cities and universities will use the threat of protests to block or shutdown free speech, particularly of conservative speakers or groups. We now have a major decision out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that could prove an important precedent in resisting the growing anti-free […]
Ninth Circuit Rules Against Seattle in Using “Heckler’s Veto” in Arrest of Pro-Life Protester
MICHAEL BASSETT: MAORI PUSH FOR PARALLEL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURES
21 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of bureaucracy, income redistribution, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics Tags: constitutional law
If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have seen calls from one or two Iwi for prior consultation with…
MICHAEL BASSETT: MAORI PUSH FOR PARALLEL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURES
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments