10 Charities That Made Things Worse
11 Mar 2018 Leave a comment
in defence economics, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, Public Choice Tags: ODA
.@nzfamilies commission estimate of cost of zoning
11 Mar 2018 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
The conservative advantage
10 Mar 2018 Leave a comment
in politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: political psychology
Why libertarianism is a marginal idea and not a universal value | Steven Pinker
10 Mar 2018 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economic history, fiscal policy, growth disasters, growth miracles, income redistribution, Public Choice, public economics Tags: Director's Law, growth of government, Steven Pinker, Wagner's Law
The GFC did not bring down the Celtic Tiger; the Irish government did by overreacting in a crisis
07 Mar 2018 2 Comments
in global financial crisis (GFC), macroeconomics, monetary economics, Public Choice
Timothy J. Kehoe and Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba wrote this for the Annual Report Essay of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in 2008 on the eve of the financial crisis in Ireland:
Different sorts of shocks can start financial crises. Some shocks are external to the economy. In the cases of Chile and Mexico, the shock was the increase in world interest rates and the decrease in international commodity prices, and in the case of Finland, it was collapse in trade with the former Soviet Union. Some shocks are internal. In the case of Japan, the shock was the fall in the prices of commercial real estate, and, currently in North America and Western Europe, it is the fall in the prices of residential real estate. The analysis of great depressions shows that the type of shock that starts the depression is less important than reaction to the shock by the economy and, in particular, the government.
The screen snapshot below shows that the Irish government did not bail out the depositors of a bank, they bailed out the bondholders. It is only when there is a bank run by depositors of a large bank is a financial system under threat. Bondholders are on their own.
FROM https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/03/michael-lewis-ireland-201103
31% of economists are still confused about the merits of tariffs
05 Mar 2018 3 Comments
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, international economics, Public Choice Tags: protection, tariffs, trade policy
George B. N. Ayittey: The Failure of African Socialism
03 Mar 2018 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, Marxist economics, Public Choice Tags: Africa
BE BOTH THE MAN & THE BEAST | The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
26 Feb 2018 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, defence economics, economics of bureaucracy, law and economics, managerial economics, organisational economics, Public Choice, war and peace Tags: Machiavelli
Machiavelli’s Advice For Nice Guys
25 Feb 2018 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, defence economics, economics of bureaucracy, law and economics, managerial economics, organisational economics, Public Choice, war and peace Tags: Machiavelli
BE PRESENT | The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
24 Feb 2018 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, defence economics, economics of bureaucracy, law and economics, managerial economics, organisational economics, Public Choice, war and peace Tags: Machiavelli
DO NOT BE NEUTRAL | The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
23 Feb 2018 1 Comment
in defence economics, economics of bureaucracy, Public Choice, war and peace
.@linda_polman on aid in war zones @OxfamNZ @TaxpayersUnion
21 Feb 2018 Leave a comment
in development economics, economics of bureaucracy, Public Choice, war and peace Tags: ODA
Polman observed the ‘crisis caravan’ of aid organizations in post-war situations. In the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide millions of people fled to neighbouring DR Congo. “The entire extremist Hutu government and army settled in those refugee camps … A lot of money went into the Hutu extremist movement who used it to gain strength and continue their genocidal struggle”.
Does @OxfamNZ know of this shakedown? Any in the Pacific? @TaxpayersUnion #oxfamscandal
19 Feb 2018 Leave a comment
in development economics, economics of bureaucracy, economics of crime, growth disasters, politics - New Zealand
Japanese ODA agencies budget 10% for donations. Their main interest is making sure that these donations go to the politicians who can actually deliver on removing roadblocks to their aid delivery rather than chancers who try it on and never deliver. Benazir Bhutto’s husband was Mr. 10% when she was first prime minister. He was a net plus to the country according to The Economist Magazine article of say 20 years ago because investors only had to pay him rather than dozens of petty bureaucrats, each wanting a taste. These payments are lawful under the laws of Western countries because they are facilitation payments. They are not bribes because the foreign company is only paying the politician or bureaucrat to do what is his duty to do in the first place rather than stall the process in the hope of a bribe.
From The Dictator’s Handbook.
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