The National Assembly of France today voted against a confidence measure in the cabinet of Premier François Bayrou. As a result, per Art. 50 of the constitution, the premier must resign and the government is ousted. President Emmanuel Macron had appointed Bayrou last December after the previous premier, Michel Barnier, had been ousted in a […]
French cabinet loses confidence vote
French cabinet loses confidence vote
09 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, politics, Public Choice Tags: France
A Positive Account of Rights with David Friedman
09 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, constitutional political economy, David Friedman, economic history, economics of crime, Gordon Tullock, history of economic thought, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, property rights, Public Choice
How well did Katrina reconstruction go?
05 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of natural disasters, income redistribution, politics - USA, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking
…the federal government did something extraordinary: It committed more than $140 billion toward the region’s recovery. Adjusted for inflation, that’s more than was spent on the post-World War II Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe or for the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11 attacks. It remains the largest post-disaster domestic recovery effort in […]
How well did Katrina reconstruction go?
The by-election without much choice
03 Sep 2025 1 Comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, discrimination, economics of bureaucracy, income redistribution, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking
It’s hard to get too much enthusiasm for the Tamaki Makaurau by-election. The Maori roll and seats have become more politicised than ever before, as they are no longer an exercise in ensuring a core level of Maori representation in Parliament, but rather an expression of Maori nationalism. It used to be that the Maori…
The by-election without much choice
Do rising house prices damage economic growth?
01 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, regulation, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability
Don Brash writes – In recent years, when addressing Rotary and other audiences, I often talk about the five big challenges facing New Zealand – persistently slow growth in productivity, and therefore in income levels; ridiculously unaffordable house prices; the increasing division of our society into those with a Maori ancestor and those without; the […]
Do rising house prices damage economic growth?
Single-Member Electoral Districts Cannot Be Unconstitutional Because They Form Part of the Constitution of Canada
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, Public Choice Tags: Canada, constitutional law
Introduction The Ontario Court of Appeal issued a ruling in August 2025 which upheld the constitutionality of single-member electoral districts and lambasted so-called “Fair Vote British Columbia” (which for some reason litigated single-member plurality in Ontario) for having “repackage[ed] failed political arguments as constitutional rights violations.”[1] Justice Huscroft declared unambiguously: “The electoral system is not […]
Single-Member Electoral Districts Cannot Be Unconstitutional Because They Form Part of the Constitution of Canada
David Splinter on how much tax billionaires pay
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, entrepreneurship, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment
Here is his comment on the paper presented here: Summary: The U.S. tax system is highly progressive. Effective tax rates increase from 2% for the bottom quintile of income to 45% for the top hundredth of one percent. But rates may be lower among those with the highest wealth. This comment starts with the “top 400” […]
David Splinter on how much tax billionaires pay
The Ongoing Tragedy of Cuban Socialism
30 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, econometerics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, growth disasters, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, Marxist economics, property rights, Public Choice Tags: Cuba
I’ve written several articles about the failure of Cuban socialism (2024, 2022, 2021, 2019, and 2016). My leftist friends almost always respond by claiming that U.S.-imposed trade restrictions are the primary reason for Cuba’s terrible economy. Since I like free trade, I certainly agree that trade restrictions are bad for growth (a lesson I wish […]
The Ongoing Tragedy of Cuban Socialism
The Most Important Election(s) of 2025
28 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, development economics, economic growth, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, growth disasters, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, monetary economics, Public Choice, unemployment Tags: Argentina
Javier Milei has generated amazingly good results in just 20 months. But more reform is needed to undo the damage of 80 years of Peronism, which is why I explain that Argentina’s mid-term elections will be very important. Milei wants to turn Argentina into the world’s freest economy. That won’t be possible so long as […]
The Most Important Election(s) of 2025
The greyhound racing ban
27 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: animal rights, Animal welfare
Winston Peters announced: Cabinet has formally agreed this week to the closure of the greyhound racing industry in New Zealand. A bill will be drafted to bring this decision into law. The move follows last December’s announcement of the Government’s in-principle decision to end greyhound racing as of 31 July 2026. The decision was made […]
The greyhound racing ban
If the election was scheduled for next week, Hipkins could win – but (luckily for Luxon) it’s next year
26 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economic growth, inflation targeting, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: 2026 general election
Chris Trotter writes – “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune”. Those words, taken from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, are often quoted in the context of politicians facing the hard choice between doing it now, or not doing it at all.
If the election was scheduled for next week, Hipkins could win – but (luckily for Luxon) it’s next year
Ten Reasons Why Choosing Organic Food is Immoral and Unsustainable
26 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in environmental economics, Marxist economics, Public Choice, rentseeking, resource economics Tags: agricultural economics
Next time someone expresses how righteous their food choices are, share this with them
Ten Reasons Why Choosing Organic Food is Immoral and Unsustainable
Ten questions we would have asked of Ardern, Hipkins, Robertson and Verrall
25 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, health economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: economics of pandemics
Ananish Chaudhuri and John Gibson write – It is a pity that the Ministers who were central to formulating our Covid response have refused to show up to public hearings. We understand that in the past, private interviews of Ministers may have been the norm. But according to this same group, Covid was a once […]
Ten questions we would have asked of Ardern, Hipkins, Robertson and Verrall
Reading Grant Robertson
25 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, economic growth, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, fiscal policy, inflation targeting, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: economics of pandemics, monetary policy
I got home from Papua New Guinea at 1:30 on Saturday morning and by 3:30 yesterday afternoon I’d finished Grant Robertson’s new book, Anything Could Happen, and in between I’d been to two film festival movies, a 60th birthday party, and church. It is that sort of book, a pretty easy read. In some respects, […]
Reading Grant Robertson
The very dodgy $12.9b figure
24 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, rentseeking
I blogged in early August on how MPs appear to have been scared into supporting a retrospective law change to protect ANZ and ASB Banks form a six year old law suit over their failure to make correct disclosures with some of their loans, on the basis that the banking system could be at risk […]
The very dodgy $12.9b figure
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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