On 7 May, there will be elections in Scotland, Wales and much of England. Up will be: The latest poll projections have Labour losing around 1,700 of their 2,200 councillors with the gains being Reform +1,450, Greens +900, Lib Dems +330. Losing 80% of your seats is terrible. In the Welsh Senedd, Labour have 30…
The UK elections – how bad will Labour do
The UK elections – how bad will Labour do
03 May 2026 Leave a comment
in politics, Public Choice Tags: British politics
Economics is Counter-Emotional, Not Counter-Intuitive
30 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of education, economics of information, history of economic thought, Public Choice
A few months ago, a high school econ student asked me to zoom with his class. I’m working against a tight deadline for Blockade, so I was inclined to decline. But the student’s list of questions was so ambitious that I decided to make the time. See for yourself:Here is the plan:- 5 minutes -WELCOME…
Economics is Counter-Emotional, Not Counter-Intuitive
How Reform Happens
30 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, econometerics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, Public Choice
What determines whether and how regulations are reformed? We use a newly constructed data set of 3,590 successful and failed regulatory reforms in 189 countries, between 2005 and 2022, to address this question. We document that regulations have become more business friendly in some regulatory domains but not others. We also show that regulations are…
How Reform Happens
The Washington Post vs Elizabeth Warren
25 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of media and culture, fiscal policy, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, politics - USA, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
People sometimes will get excited about big-picture tax fights – whether politicians should raise taxes, whether they should add a VAT, or whether they should scrap the IRS for a flat tax. On the other had, there are a handful of tax issues that induce drowsiness but are nonetheless very important for purposes of tax […]
The Washington Post vs Elizabeth Warren
Cape Town estimate of the day
24 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, growth disasters, Public Choice, urban economics Tags: South Africa
From young professionals to the working poor, many Cape Town residents complain that out-of-control housing prices have forced them to live far from the jobs, affluent schools and healthy supermarkets available in the city center. They blame deep-pocketed tourists for occupying housing in prime locations and developers for pricing them out. Some 70 percent of…
Cape Town estimate of the day
The Laffer Curve and Limits to Class Warfare Tax Policy, Part II
19 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, entrepreneurship, fiscal policy, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
In Part I of this series back in 2014, we looked at some academic research from Canada showing that the revenue-maximizing tax rate on the richest taxpayers was 27.5 percent. A key insight from that research is that high-income taxpayers have considerable control over the timing, level, and composition of their income (just like in […]
The Laffer Curve and Limits to Class Warfare Tax Policy, Part II
The President(s) Fought the Law and the Law Won
18 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: creative destruction, free trade, tarrifs
In our textbook, Modern Principles, Tyler and I emphasize that Congress and the President are subject to a higher law, the law of supply and demand. In an excellent column, Jason Furman gives a clear example of how difficult it is to fight the law of inelastic demand: …Today a given number of autoworkers can…
The President(s) Fought the Law and the Law Won
La Marxista: Mamdani Pledges to Open First City-Run Store with Projected $30 Million Initial Cost
15 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, survivor principle, urban economics Tags: state ownership, New York City
Mayor Zohran Mamdani used his “First 100 Days” speech this week to announce that he has kept his promise to…
La Marxista: Mamdani Pledges to Open First City-Run Store with Projected $30 Million Initial Cost
“Evictions are an Act of Policy Violence”: Pressley and Democrats Introduce Eviction Reform Legislation
15 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, income redistribution, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: regressive left, rent control
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D., Mass.) joined fellow Democrats last week in calling for the passage of the Housing Emergencies Lifeline Program…
“Evictions are an Act of Policy Violence”: Pressley and Democrats Introduce Eviction Reform Legislation
A good corporate welfare expose
11 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in income redistribution, Music, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice
The Spinoff becomes an unlikely fiscal conservative: Tourism minister Louise Upston was excited when she announced that Robbie Williams will play two shows in Auckland and Christchurch later this year. “It’s fantastic to welcome a showstopper act like Robbie, giving fans the chance to see him entertaining us,” she said in a press release. The…
A good corporate welfare expose
Oil and monetary policy
10 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, defence economics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, energy economics, financial economics, history of economic thought, labour economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, unemployment, war and peace Tags: 1973 oil crisis, monetary policy, oil shocks
I didn’t have too much problem with either the Reserve Bank Governor’s speech a couple of weeks ago on a framework for how monetary policy might deal with the oil shock, or with this week’s OCR review release from the Monetary Policy Committee. It was really all very orthodox stuff, much as any of the […]
Oil and monetary policy
The CA Minimum Wage Increase: Summing Up
06 Apr 2026 1 Comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economics of regulation, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, Public Choice, unemployment
Two recent joint-papers Did California’s Fast Food Minimum Wage Reduce Employment? by Clemens, Edwards and Meer and The Effects of California’s $20 Fast Food Minimum Wage on Prices by Clemens, Edwards, Meer and Nguyen give what I think is a plausible and consistent account of California’s $20 fast food minimum wage. California’s $20 fast food…
The CA Minimum Wage Increase: Summing Up
Bet On It Book Club: For a New Liberty, Chapter 7
28 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of education, human capital, labour economics, libertarianism, Murray Rothbard, Public Choice Tags: signaling
SummaryIn this chapter, Rothbard makes the case for the abolition of public schooling. While he somewhat surprisingly views Friedman’s voucher system as “a great improvement over the present system in permitting a wider range of parental choice and enabling the abolition of the public school system,” Rothbard will settle for nothing less than the separation…
Bet On It Book Club: For a New Liberty, Chapter 7
Javier Milei Week, Part III: Good Economic Policies, Good Economic Results
25 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, development economics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, growth disasters, Public Choice Tags: Argentina
Part I of this series reviewed the horrible economic conditions that plagued Argentina when Javier Milei took office. Part II looked at Milei’s spending restraint and some of the subsequent improvements in fiscal outcomes. For today’s column, let’s focus on what Milei has achieved in areas other than fiscal policy, and it will be based […]
Javier Milei Week, Part III: Good Economic Policies, Good Economic Results
Prime Ministers in the House of Lords
20 Mar 2026 1 Comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, Public Choice Tags: British constitutional law, British history, British politics
The retirement of Lord Salisbury in 1902 marked the end of the last premiership undertaken from the House of Lords, but in the nineteenth century, more prime ministers led governments from the Lords than the Commons. In this article, Dr Kathryn Rix, of our House of Commons, 1832-1945 project, explores the history and significance of…
Prime Ministers in the House of Lords
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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