Like many who do business in California, I often complain about the regulatory burden (free at last!) People will ask, “So what one regulation would you get rid of?” The problem is that this is a really hard question to answer because in most cases it is not any one regulation in particular, but the…
The Accumulation of Regulation
The Accumulation of Regulation
21 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, regulation Tags: employment law
@NZGreens @Greens
20 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in environmental economics, environmentalism Tags: recycling
The Spectacular Economic Ignorance of Peter Navarro
20 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, survivor principle, unemployment Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tarrifs
TweetHere’s a letter to the New York Times. Editor: Encountering, in David Leonhardt’s report, a summary of Peter Navarro’s attempted justifications of Trump’s tariffs makes the head spin (“A Disagreement on Tariffs,” February 18). Navarro’s arguments are so illogical, self-contradictory, and economically ignorant that they’d be merely laughable were he not an advisor to the…
The Spectacular Economic Ignorance of Peter Navarro
Selfishly Speaking, Who Should Skip College?
20 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of education, economics of information, human capital, James Buchanan, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice Tags: adverse selection, asymmetric information, College premium, signaling
The central thesis of my The Case Against Education is that actually-existing education is a terrible waste of taxpayer money. Since signaling, not building human capital, is the main function of education, the main effect of government subsidies is credential inflation. In economic jargon, my claim is that education has a low (indeed, negative) social…
Selfishly Speaking, Who Should Skip College?
Our letter to the three societies on the definition of sex—with signers
20 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, gender gap, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Six days ago I posted a group letter to the Presidents of three ecology/evolution/systematics societies who had issued a joint statement that many of us found deeply misguided. As I wrote at the time: The Presidents of three organismal-biology societies, the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE), the American Society of Naturalists (ASN) and […]
Our letter to the three societies on the definition of sex—with signers
Effects of the minimum wage on the nonprofit sector
19 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economic history, labour economics, labour supply, minimum wage
After a few days of ‘rest’ (by which I really mean some intensely long work days), I’m going to pick up again on my recent series of posts about the minimum wage (see here for the most recent post), but returning to more familiar ground – the disemployment effects of the minimum wage. The story…
Effects of the minimum wage on the nonprofit sector
Terrorism vs Guerrilla Warfare or ‘Freedom Fighting’
19 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, war against terror, West Bank
Understanding the Differences Between Terrorism and Guerrilla Warfare or ‘Freedom Fighting’ The terms terrorism, guerrilla warfare, and freedom fighting are often used interchangeably in popular discourse, yet they embody distinct concepts with unique characteristics and implications. This essay explores the differences between these three terms, focusing on their methodologies, objectives, and the ethical considerations that […]
Terrorism vs Guerrilla Warfare or ‘Freedom Fighting’
“The Threat From Within”: J.D. Vance Delivers a Historic Defense of Free Speech
18 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, political change, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Below is my column in the Hill on the historic defense of free speech by Vice President J.D. Vance in Munich last week. Where John F. Kennedy went to Berlin to declare “Ich bin ein Berliner,” Vance in Munich to declare a type of “Ich bin ein Amerikanisch.” He spoke of free speech as an […]
“The Threat From Within”: J.D. Vance Delivers a Historic Defense of Free Speech
A poll of UK scientists shows most agree that sex is binary
17 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in economics of education, health economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: free speech, gender gap, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
Take this for what you will, since my first view came from the New York Post. However, the Post reported a piece by the science editor of the Telegraph, a more respectable paper. Both sites are below; click on the headlines to go to the articles. NY Post: Telegraph: An excerpt from the Telegraph: The difference […]
A poll of UK scientists shows most agree that sex is binary
Trump Officially Ends Biden-Era War On American Appliances
17 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, liberalism, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, climate activists, climate alarmism
“In recent years, burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations have impeded the development of these resources, limited the generation of reliable and affordable electricity, reduced job creation, and inflicted high energy costs upon our citizens,” Trump stated in the executive order. “These high energy costs devastate American consumers by driving up the cost of transportation, heating, utilities, farming, and manufacturing, while weakening our national security.”
Trump Officially Ends Biden-Era War On American Appliances
Must watch – Gigi Foster on lockdowns at PAEC
17 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, econometerics, economics of natural disasters, health economics, politics - Australia Tags: economics of pandemics
Europe’s Suicidal Green New Deal
17 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: British politics, climate activists, European Union, solar power, wind power
The American version of the Green New Deal included some subsidies for inefficient wind and solar, but it was largely just a marketing gimmick for a big expansion in the burden of government (everything from Medicare for All to student loan bailouts). The European version, by contrast, has been more focused on making energy more […]
Europe’s Suicidal Green New Deal
Minimum Wages, Efficiency, and Welfare
17 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, econometerics, labour economics, labour supply, minimum wage
Recently Alex raised some doubts, to say the least, about the Card-Krueger view of minimum wage hikes. Well, it turns out there is more, and a new consensus is on the verge of forming. Here are David Berger, Kyle Herkenhoff, and Simon Mongey, from a new Econometrica piece: Many argue that minimum wages can prevent efficiency […]
Minimum Wages, Efficiency, and Welfare
Guest Post: NEW ZEALAND’s RETIREMENT PENSION
17 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, fiscal policy, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics, welfare reform Tags: ageing society
A guest post by Sir Roger Douglas: Michael Littlewood’s ‘Guest Post’ for David Farrar on pensions, and his belief that our social welfare system is fit for purpose and doesn’t need change, reminded me of why New Zealand is currently well on the way to bankruptcy, and why our brightest young people are leaving the […]
Guest Post: NEW ZEALAND’s RETIREMENT PENSION
“Break Some Sh*t”: Democrats Find Relief from Sanity and Reality in Profanity and Hyperbole
16 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Teddy Roosevelt once said, “profanity is the parlance of the fool.” Democrats appear to be increasingly finding relief from both reality and sanity in profanity. Democratic members have been complaining that left-wing groups have been targeting them to be more aggressive and “fight harder” in the face of the fast-paced actions of President Donald Trump. […]
“Break Some Sh*t”: Democrats Find Relief from Sanity and Reality in Profanity and Hyperbole
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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