James Hansen just totally destroyed Hillary Clinton's climate plan. goo.gl/N8n9Cz http://t.co/ef8bElDBBn—
Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) July 29, 2015
It’s a worry when James Hansen is talking sense on energy policy
30 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: Big Solar, green rent seeking, James Hansen, renewable energy, solar energy, solar power
If bureaucrats were any good at picking winners, they would be hedge funds managers
30 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of bureaucracy, entrepreneurship, financial economics, human capital, industrial organisation, labour economics, managerial economics, occupational choice, organisational economics, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: active investing, corporate welfare, efficient markets hypothesis, entrepreneurial alertness, hedge funds, industry policy, passive investing, picking winners, The fatal conceit, The pretence to knowledge
Page 32 of "An Illustrated Guide to Income" more economic #dataviz at: bit.ly/12SEI9p http://t.co/HYm0II2UNI—
Catherine Mulbrandon (@VisualEcon) May 08, 2013
Page 33 of "An Illustrated Guide to Income" more economic #dataviz at: bit.ly/10M7lqR http://t.co/FcmaqZWB32—
Catherine Mulbrandon (@VisualEcon) May 09, 2013
The hedge fund industry held $2.9 trillion of assets in June. Exchange-traded funds did better econ.st/1DdXgWS http://t.co/CK2foqMOpw—
The Economist (@EconEconomics) August 01, 2015
The living wage as an application of Director’s Law
30 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in income redistribution, labour economics, minimum wage, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, population economics, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: British politics, Director's Law, expressive voting, living wage, rational ignorance, rational irrationality
OBR's idea of who will benefit from National Living Wage http://t.co/ztxfW906Gg—
James Bartholomew (@JGBartholomew) July 08, 2015
Deirdre McCloskey on the Samaritan’s dilemma
30 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, liberalism, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: Age of Innovation, bourgeoisie deal, capitalism and freedom, Deirdre McCloskey, The Great Enrichment, The Great Escape, The Great Fact
Jane Kelsey opposes handcuffs on the democratic choices of future governments! Does she oppose labour and environmental standards in trade agreements too?
30 Jul 2015 6 Comments
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of regulation, environmental economics, health economics, industrial organisation, international economic law, international economics, International law, law and economics, property rights, Public Choice Tags: climate treaties, copyrights, customs unions, environmental standards, free trade agreements, free trade zones, intellectual property law, ISDS, Jane Kelsey, Labour standards, Left-wing hypocrisy, neocolonialism, patents, preferential trading agreeents, regional trade agreements, regulatory harmonisation, TPA, TPPA, WTO
Jane Kelsey in a television interview said she opposes the reductions in sovereignty in trade agreements that result from investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions because they limit the democratic choices of future governments.
If so, she must oppose environmental and labour standards in trade agreements and, more importantly, binding the hands of future governments with climate treaties. All international treaties are about restrictions on sovereignty.
Environmental and labour clauses in trade agreements and climate treaties all limit the powers of governments to legislate on environmental and employment law in accordance with the will of the people as expressed in the most recent election and change of government. Power to the people.
https://twitter.com/rorymccourt/status/625540621457960960
Jane Kelsey would do better focusing on those parts of the TPPA deal that lowers the net value of the deal such as those extending the term of patents over the drugs. All international treaties are about trade-offs.
The most important reason for focusing on intellectual property law in trade agreements is Kelsey is likely to actually win people over that are not on the far left, including many on the right of politics over to her cause. Kelsey is too busy rounding up the usual suspects.
Ranting about big corporate conspiracies and the investor state dispute settlement clauses puts people off.
As copyright duration's at play in #TPPA, a reminder of the costs when copyright's too long.
offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.co.nz/2014/03/orphan… http://t.co/tOtihpDmSU—
Eric Crampton (@EricCrampton) July 29, 2015
These gusts of paranoia lose support on issues where there is common ground to be suspicious about the growing scope of trade agreements and their reach behind borders.
Regulatory harmonisation is advisable only when there are compelling reasons such as the prevention of hazards or technical compatibility of products – do the plugs fit into each other? As Sykes argues:
as a normative matter, harmonization is inferior to a legal system that tolerates regulatory differences subject to legal constraints, and that relies on mutual recognition where appropriate (the exception to this claim being matters of technical compatibility between products).
Related, as a positive manner, harmonization will often lack any political constituency and thus instances of true harmonization will be rare.
The first Paul Krugman (1997) on what trade negotiators negotiate about
29 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, international economics, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: customs unions, free trade agreements, free trade zones, game theory, Paul Krugman, preferential trading agreements, regional trade agreements, WTO
#TPPA The first Paul Krugman on trade agreements that level the playing field behind the border
29 Jul 2015 2 Comments
A map of countries Britain never invaded
29 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, rentseeking, war and peace Tags: British empire, British imperialism, colonisation
A world map according to the countries Britain never invaded i100.io/8YNMkgK http://t.co/l5BO1hehEf—
i100 (@thei100) April 28, 2015
Congress is more polarized than any time since the 1970s
29 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, economic history, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: political polarisation
And it's not just the public – Congress is more polarized than any time since the 1970s: pewrsr.ch/SCAUr3 http://t.co/ccjXByaTdY—
Drew DeSilver (@DrewDeSilver) June 12, 2014
State legislators’ salaries vary wildly across the USA
29 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: politician's pay
State legislators’ salaries vary wildly across the country. vox.com/2014/7/30/5949… (via @TheEconomist) http://t.co/i8ZsplNST6—
Vox Maps (@VoxMaps) July 10, 2015
Democracy in Africa
29 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, development economics, growth disasters, growth miracles, Public Choice Tags: Africa, capitalism and freedom
#Africa is turning democratic.
From my project: bit.ly/1DkpYjW http://t.co/WX0sTQPTv9—
Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) July 26, 2015
62 years ago North and South Korea signed a truce
28 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, growth miracles, income redistribution, liberalism, Marxist economics, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: collapse of communism, economics of central planning, failed states, North Korea, South Korea
https://twitter.com/TheEconomist/status/625658259861598209/photo/1
Truce is signed and the fighting ends in Korea on this day in 1953. nyti.ms/1D1Yswe http://t.co/O9a8iJgE99—
NYT Archives (@NYTArchives) July 27, 2015
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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