Yellen vs. Congress: The Fed's independence is under attack despite economic rebound http://t.co/MP1gCV8zHq pic.twitter.com/NQ6548yGJK
— Bloomberg Graphics (@BBGVisualData) August 10, 2015
The Taylor rule and the Fed’s interest rate policies compared
17 Dec 2015 2 Comments
in economics of bureaucracy, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - USA
Public and private sector union membership in the USA since 1973
14 Dec 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of bureaucracy, labour economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking, unions Tags: union membership, union power, union wage premium
Public and private sector union membership took completely different paths in the USA over the last 40 years. Public sector union memberships held its own. There is been a steady decline in union membership in the private sector. The exception is construction unions which held their own in membership for the last 10 years.
Source: unionstats.com.
@WorldBank is telling porky pies about #EndPoverty and fighting #ClimateChange
13 Dec 2015 Leave a comment
in development economics, economics of bureaucracy, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, growth disasters, growth miracles Tags: climate aid, climate alarmists, extreme poverty, global poverty, green rent seeking, overseas aid, overseas development assistance, World Bank
HL Mencken on the @realDonaldTrump & @BernieSanders
13 Dec 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of media and culture, economics of regulation, income redistribution, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: 2016 presidential election, expressive voting, left-wing populists, Leftover Left, rational ignorance, rational irrationality, right-wing populists
Milton Friedman explains the public choice error
12 Dec 2015 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of bureaucracy, Milton Friedman, Public Choice Tags: grass is greener fallacy, public choice error, The fatal conceit, The pretense to knowledge, unintended consequences
The obvious reason for the popularity of behavioural economics
10 Dec 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, behavioural economics, comparative institutional analysis, economics of bureaucracy, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: expressive voting, rational ignorance, rational irrationality, special interests
Corruption vs. Human Development
09 Dec 2015 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of crime, economics of regulation, growth disasters, growth miracles, income redistribution, industrial organisation, law and economics, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: bribery and corruption, capitalism and freedom, rent seeking, rule of law, The Great Fact
Corruption vs. Human Development (HDI) http://t.co/WNlSMYzdWD—
Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) August 08, 2015
Time spent paying taxes in USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Australia and New Zealand
08 Dec 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, public economics
Source: Download: Paying Taxes 2016: PwC.
If poverty could be solved by experts, we’d have solved it in 30s @HelenClarkUNDP
03 Dec 2015 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, growth miracles
@BillEnglishMP why no SOEs portfolio report for 2 years @TaxpayersUnion @JordNZ
01 Dec 2015 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, industrial organisation, politics - New Zealand
For some months now I’ve been trying to ascertain the latest performance of the state owned enterprises (SOE) portfolio. The last Crown Portfolio Report was issued in December 2013. That was two long years ago. I therefore asked for access to the quarterly report on the Crown commercial portfolio to the Minister of Finance by the Treasury.
My Official Information Act request to the Treasury was declined on commercial in confidence grounds. Not only was my request to the Minister of Finance similarly refused, he told me to do the analysis myself by working my way through the 49 annual reports of the state owned enterprises in New Zealand.
Source: Bill English, Minister of Finance, Response to Official Information Act request, 30 November 2015.
Look it up yourself is not a good approach to public accountability to busy taxpayers who have lives to lead. There is a very well-paid Treasury that can do that analysis and has been doing that analysis every year until two years ago.
There is been no explanation for the non-publication of the Crown Portfolio report for two years. That is unacceptable in terms of tax payer accountability.
What is weird about this blow to taxpayer accountability is I have been refused access to Treasury analysis of public information. I’m not actually asking for the analysis. I am asking for a tabulation of 49 annual reports of state owned enterprises. Somehow a tabulation of public information is commercial in confidence despite the fact I can do it myself. This makes no sense.
It appears that for two years now the Minister of Finance has not been advised on the annual rates of return of the state owned enterprise portfolio as a whole. If he had, the Treasury and the Minister of Finance would have supplied that data to me in the course of my Official Information Act requests because it was obvious that I was after that information and they have a duty to be helpful when processing Official Information Act requests.
The Minister of Finance should be more curious about tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer’s assets that currently struggle to offer a positive return.
Source: The New Zealand Treasury, Crown Portfolio Report 2013, p. 41.
No publicly listed company could fail to publish its annual report. The fact that this has not been picked up as an example of why public ownership is inferior. No one profits from highlighting these governance shortcomings.
If the state owned enterprises were listed on the stock exchange, investors would sell off a company that missed its reporting date. Missing a reporting date is a sure sign of both poor governance and poor performance. Entrepreneurs would see a poorly governed company as a takeover opportunity. There are no similar disciplines for state owned enterprises whose governance and transparency falls short.
By the way, the original objective of my research was to compare state-owned enterprise performance under the current and previous governments. The Treasury was unable to supply data further back than 2007. Everything before then is on paper. The individual company reports have to be looked up by hand.
Nothing is at the fingertips of the Treasury if the Minister of Finance was interested in knowing whether his stewardship of state owned enterprises was superior to that of his predecessors.
@UNEP lethal advice to switch to renewables in poor countries
30 Nov 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, energy economics, environmental economics
Deirdre McCloskey on Piketty, the Bourgeoisie Deal, the Bolshevik Deal, and the Bridal Deal
17 Nov 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, growth miracles, Public Choice Tags: bourgeoisie deal, capitalism and freedom, Deirdre McCloskey, industrial revolution, The Great Enrichment, The Great Escape, The Great Fact, Thomas Piketty
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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