Another great piece by Samir Varma on Indian marriages—where deep traditions endure, even as subtle revolutions unfold around the edges.. It starts with this kicker: When I told my mother I was marrying my girlfriend, an Italian Jew, she called all my friends in the US asking them to break us up. When that failed, […]
The Indian Wedding
The Indian Wedding
08 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in economics of love and marriage, law and economics Tags: India, marriage and divorce
Did the Minnesota housing reform lower housing costs?
07 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
Yes: In December 2018, Minneapolis became the first U.S. city to eliminate single-family zoning through the Minneapolis 2040 Plan, a landmark reform with a central focus on improving housing affordability. This paper estimates the effect of the Minneapolis 2040 Plan on home values and rental prices. Using a synthetic control approach we find that the […]
Did the Minnesota housing reform lower housing costs?
GUEST POST: On the long-term costs of New Zealand Superannuation: more affordable now?
07 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in income redistribution, labour economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics Tags: ageing society
A guest post by Michael Littlewood: As New Zealand’s population ages and, in particular, as the proportion of over-65s increases, the cost of New Zealand Superannuation (NZS) is rising. We know that and it doesn’t help us understand the issues to create headlines that catastrophise the expected costs. The pensions payable in the future, public […]
GUEST POST: On the long-term costs of New Zealand Superannuation: more affordable now?
Peters and Seymour tussle over ‘Maorification’
07 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: constitutional law
Graham Adams writes – After NZ First leapfrogged Act last month in a Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll — which led to much media excitement about the party’s rising fortunes — it seemed odd for Winston Peters to be quite so tetchy with journalists seeking his opinion on David Seymour’s views on karakia, traditional Māori prayers or incantations […]
Peters and Seymour tussle over ‘Maorification’
A Great Enrichment
06 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, transport economics, urban economics Tags: India
Why the tariffs are bad
05 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, international economics, politics - USA Tags: tarrifs
I am delighted to see this excellent analysis in the NYT: Mr. Tedeschi said that future leaders in Washington, whether Republican or Democrat, may be hesitant to roll back the tariffs if that would mean a further addition to the federal debt load, which is already raising alarms on Wall Street. And replacing the tariff […]
Why the tariffs are bad
A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the U.S. Climate
05 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA
By Paul Homewood Climate sceptics have long called for a genuinely independent review of climate science – a Blue v Red Team, as it were. Thanks to the US Energy Secretary, here it is: https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/DOE_Critical_Review_of_Impacts_of_GHG_Emissions_on_the_US_Climate_July_2025.pdf The authors make it clear they only undertook the task on the guarantee there would be no editorial oversight […]
A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the U.S. Climate
A Small But Important Victory for Taxpayers
05 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in economics of bureaucracy, fiscal policy, politics - USA, Public Choice
Regular readers know I’m not a Trumpie. Some of his policies are terrible (protectionism), while others are irresponsible (punting on entitlements) or misguided (new tax loopholes). But I have to give credit where credit is due. Unlike every other Republican president over the past six decades – including the great Ronald Reagan – Donald Trump […]
A Small But Important Victory for Taxpayers
Why the accommodation supplement does little to help low-income tenants
04 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, income redistribution, labour economics, Public Choice, welfare reform
In an article in The Conversation earlier this year, Edward Yiu and William Cheung (both University of Auckland) discuss New Zealand’s accommodation supplement for low-income renters:New Zealand’s unaffordable housing market has left many low and middle-income families reliant on the accommodation supplement to cover rent and mortgage payments.But our new research has found the scheme,…
Why the accommodation supplement does little to help low-income tenants
Trump Admin Moves To Curb ‘Environmentally Damaging’ Green Energy Projects
04 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA Tags: solar power, wind power
The Department of the Interior (DOI) moved to deal another blow to the green energy industry Friday, announcing that it will consider energy projects’ capacity density and the environmental impacts before permitting them, singling out wind and solar.
Trump Admin Moves To Curb ‘Environmentally Damaging’ Green Energy Projects
The Tragedy of India’s Government-Job Prep Towns
04 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, growth disasters, growth miracles, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, Public Choice Tags: India
In Massive Rent-Seeking in India’s Government Job Examination System I argued that the high value of government jobs has distorted India’s entire labor market and educational system. India’s most educated young people—precisely those it needs in the workforce—are devoting years of their life cramming for government exams instead of working productively. These exams cultivate no […]
The Tragedy of India’s Government-Job Prep Towns
Four Years of War I THE GREAT WAR Week 210
03 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: World War I
The economics of the U.S. auto industry, a brief history
03 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, survivor principle
From Adam Ozimek: The economic value of the cars being made has climbed substantially through the years. As a result, real value added and industrial production — two different ways of measuring actual output — are now at all-time highs. And this: What about jobs? The auto industry today employs 1 million workers. Between 1950 and […]
The economics of the U.S. auto industry, a brief history
Quotation of the Day…
03 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in labour economics, Milton Friedman
Tweet… is from page 246 of Milton & Rose Friedman’s great 1980 book, Free To Choose: A worker is protected from his employer by the existence of other employers for whom he can go to work. An employer is protected from exploitation by his employees by the existence of other workers whom he can hire.…
Quotation of the Day…
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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