Housing in Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Singapore was slightly more affordable in 2024 than it had been in 2023. Wendell Cox’s latest assessment of housing affordability, when compared with last year’s assessment, shows that housing became slightly less affordable in Ireland and the United Kingdom, while affordability remained … Continue reading →
The Latest Affordability Numbers
The Latest Affordability Numbers
26 May 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, income redistribution, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
Excusing the Government
22 May 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, income redistribution, international economics, labour economics, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, urban economics
An excerpt from Chapter 3 of *Unbeatable*
Excusing the Government
Trump Admin Sues to Block Blue States From Taking Fossil Fuel Companies To Court Over Climate Change
02 May 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: climate activists, nuisance suits
The Trump administration filed lawsuits Wednesday against Michigan and Hawaii in an attempt to block the states from seeking damages in court against fossil fuel companies for alleged environmental harm.
Trump Admin Sues to Block Blue States From Taking Fossil Fuel Companies To Court Over Climate Change
Housing affordability
01 May 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
Trump’s tariff claims are even stupider than anyone thought
04 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economic law, international economics, International law, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tariffs
The White House released a list of countries and the tariff rates they charged the US. It was clearly wrong as NZ has an average tariff of around 1.7% on US imports and the list said 20%. I thought it was because they were including our GST of 15%. That would have been very dumb, […]
Trump’s tariff claims are even stupider than anyone thought
Cultural Apartheid
03 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, health economics, human capital, income redistribution, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: affirmative action, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Muriel Newman writes – King’s Counsel Gary Judd has been at the forefront of a battle to defend New Zealand from the actions of Maori tribal leaders attempting to force their cultural apartheid onto our country. He’s defending the Rule of Law from attack by those pushing for ‘decolonisation’ by arguing that since ‘tikanga’ is an ‘amorphous […]
Cultural Apartheid
The Protectionism Edition of Economics Humor
01 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tarrifs
It appears that Trump wants to repeat the mistakes of the 1930s with a global trade war. That is going to be very bad news for workers, consumers, taxpayers, manufacturers, farmers, and exporters. But there are two bits of good news. At least for small slices of the populations First, lobbyists will get rich as […]
The Protectionism Edition of Economics Humor
People Barely Care About Equality
27 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of education, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: regressive left
Another simple proof.
People Barely Care About Equality
What does India want – and what is New Zealand willing to give?
25 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, economics of education, growth disasters, growth miracles, human capital, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economic law, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: India, preferential trade agreements
Chris Trotter writes – What does India want from New Zealand? Not our dairy products, that’s for sure, it’s got plenty of those. Indeed 45 percent of the Indian population are small-scale farmers, most of them running a few head of cattle – not to eat, you understand – but to milk. If it once […]
What does India want – and what is New Zealand willing to give?
*Progressive Myths*: The Kling Club Convo
14 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic history, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: The Great Enrichment
Long ago, I co-blogged for EconLog with Arnold Kling. Now he’s running a book club for Liberty Fund. Last month, Arnold invited me and philosopher Rachel Ferguson to discuss Mike Huemer’s new Progressive Myths. Enjoy!
*Progressive Myths*: The Kling Club Convo
Inability to understand te reo Māori does not prevent people from asking questions about race relations in New Zealand
12 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economic history, income redistribution, International law, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: Age of Enlightenment, constitutional law, free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Ananish Chaudhuri writes – Dame Anne Salmond recently wrote a column on Newsroom berating people for having views on the Treaty of Waitangi when they cannot even read the Māori version of the treaty. So, what she is saying is that even when customs, laws or treaties impinge on your daily life, you cannot hold any views […]
Inability to understand te reo Māori does not prevent people from asking questions about race relations in New Zealand
The Licensing Racket
08 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, entrepreneurship, human capital, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, occupational regulation, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking
I review a very good new book on occupational licensing, The Licensing Racket by Rebecca Haw Allensworth in the WSJ. Most people will concede that licensing for hair braiders and interior decorators is excessive while licensing for doctors, nurses and lawyers is essential. Hair braiders pose little to no threat to public safety, but subpar […]
The Licensing Racket
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
The long road to housing affordability
11 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, transport economics, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
There is much work yet to be done in New Zealand to improve housing affordability, despite recent declines in valuations. Eric Crampton writes – It wasn’t that long ago that New Zealand’s housing market made international news because of its insanity. In 2016, The Guardian tagged Auckland as the “hottest property market in the world” […]
The long road to housing affordability
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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