Yes he used to run Rhodesia, and yes it is costly to buy this book because no one wants to reprint it, for obvious reasons. Nonetheless it is a fascinating look into an era and its dissolution. Smith is a wonderful writer, and remarkably erudite, more so than virtually any politician today. He also is […]
Ian Smith’s memoir *Bitter Harvest: The Great Betrayal*
Ian Smith’s memoir *Bitter Harvest: The Great Betrayal*
25 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Rhodesia
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
The sad fate of human evolutionary biology in Australia
24 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, politics - Australia Tags: evolutionary biology, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Although the times when Homo sapiens reached Australia are under revision, the latest data suggests that they arrived between 45,000 and 60,000 years ago—about the time that our species left Africa for parts east. And although changes in water levels made it easier to get to Australia by water then now humans still had to […]
The sad fate of human evolutionary biology in Australia
The cost of turning off gas
23 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - New Zealand
Labour and Greens want us to run out of gas, having banned future exploration. They think the country can be powered by 100% renewables. One problem is that many New Zealanders have gas powered heating and cooking. So what would be the cost of doing away with gas? We now have an answer with this […]
The cost of turning off gas
The BSA power grab: Post 2
22 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, survivor principle Tags: media bias
Media and Communications Minister, Paul Goldsmith’s handling of the BSA power grab follow 80 years of abysmal leadership by National Party governments re broadcasting, which have consistently betrayed their rhetoric about supporting competition and private enterprise. The National Party Holland/Holyoake government of 1949-1957, did nothing of consequence to roll back the Savage/Fraser Labour governments nationalisation […]
The BSA power grab: Post 2
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
Sinn Fein’s Links to PLO, Hamas, ETA and of course, IRA and Other Terrorist Organisations
21 Oct 2025 1 Comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, war and peace Tags: Ireland, Israel, Middle-East politics, war against terror
I have to set this out at the start of this post. None of this has been investigated by me, it has all been done by other journalists. However all of this has been verified by me. All the relevant links are included in the post. It is also noteworthy to mention that I don’t […]
Sinn Fein’s Links to PLO, Hamas, ETA and of course, IRA and Other Terrorist Organisations
What does a Nobel Prize on ‘innovation-driven economic growth’ actually reward?
21 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic growth, economic history, history of economic thought, macroeconomics
A historian’s perspective on how to deal with the Nobel frenzy I generally try to stay away from the Economics Nobel frenzy, if only because the hyper-personalization of scientific achievements it entails it at odds with how we historians understand credit dynamics in science. Economics research has become increasingly collective, drawing on expertise in theory, […]
What does a Nobel Prize on ‘innovation-driven economic growth’ actually reward?
Some simple economics of AI and macro cycles
20 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, business cycles, economic growth, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, macroeconomics
Has AI been propping up the American economy? For instance “the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s category for investment in information processing equipment and software accounts for over 90 percent of economic growth in the first half of 2025.” The key question is what would have been done with those resources otherwise. Regardless of their specific […]
Some simple economics of AI and macro cycles
The Costs and Benefits of British Colonialism
20 Oct 2025 1 Comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles Tags: age of empires, economics of colonialism
The British Empire, which at its height ruled over a quarter of the world’s population and landmass, remains one of the most consequential forces in global history. Its legacy is deeply contested: defenders emphasize the spread of law, education, and infrastructure, while critics highlight the violence, exploitation, and cultural destruction it entailed. A balanced assessment […]
The Costs and Benefits of British Colonialism
The Battle of the Selle – Ludendorff Resigns I THE GREAT WAR Week 221
20 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: World War I
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
Two Alleged Antifa Members Charged with Terrorism-Related Crimes
18 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: crime and punishment, law and order
I recently wrote about the effort of leading politicians, pundits, and the press to deny the existence of Antifa as violence on the left rises around the country. Even Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) insisted that “nobody” knows what the left-wing terrorist organization Antifa is and that it does not exist. However, he previously […]
Two Alleged Antifa Members Charged with Terrorism-Related Crimes
Devolution and Development
18 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of regulation, labour economics, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, urban economics Tags: Canada
An interesting research note from Eric Crampton and at the NZ Initiative on the benefits of devolution on development. It details how Canadian First Nations have transformed their economic fortunes and have built thousands of new homes after gaining powers for planning, zoning, tax, and infrastructure finance. A couple of examples: The Squamish Nation’s 6,000-apartment […]
Devolution and Development
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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