When communism fell, so did mass killings. buff.ly/1PhbuYd #peace http://t.co/kZ3kKD3RI3—
HumanProgress.org (@humanprogress) August 11, 2015
Why are ex-Communists still on the Left forgiven for their past?
15 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of crime, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: autocracy, communism, ex-Communists, genocide, mass murder, reigns of terror, tinpot dictatorships, totalitarian dictatorships
How @equitablegrowth showed inequality helps growth when arguing inequality harms growth
10 Aug 2015 1 Comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, currency unions, economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, Euro crisis, fiscal policy, global financial crisis (GFC), income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: British disease, entrepreneurial alertness, Eurosclerosis, France, German unification, Germany, growth of government, sick man of Europe, social insurance, Sweden, taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply, welfare state
The Washington Centre for Equitable Growth recently tweeted that inequality harms growth in the USA as compared to Sweden, France, Germany and the UK. It was relying on some dodgy OECD research.
.@OECD sees continued rise in growth-harming inequality, reports @PaulHannon29 on.wsj.com/1EZpq1S http://t.co/xt4heZysXT—
Equitable Growth (@equitablegrowth) May 21, 2015
The Washington Centre for Equitable Growth did not check their inequality ratios they tweeted against trends in economic growth and economic policy since 1970, which I have reproduced in figure 1. Germany is not included in figure 1 because German data on growth is thrown askew by German unification.
Figure 1: Real GDP per British, French and Swede aged 15-64, 2014 US$ (converted to 2014 price level with updated 2011 PPPs), 1.9 per cent detrended, 1970-2013
Source: Computed from OECD Stat Extract and The Conference Board. 2015. The Conference Board Total Economy Database™, May 2015, http://www.conference-board.org/data/economydatabase/
Figure 1 shows that France has been in a long-term decline since the late 1970s despite the blessings of a more equal society than the USA as championed by the Washington Centre for Equitable Growth. In figure 1, a flat line is growth in real GDP per working age person, PPP, at the same rate as the USA for the 20th century, which was 1.9% per year. A falling line in figure 1 indicates growth of less than 1.9% while a rising line indicates growth in real GDP per working age person, PPP, in excess of 1.9%. In figure 1, France hardly ever grew at the trend rate of growth for the USA of 1.9% per year and was frequently well below that rate.
Sweden tells a slightly different story in figure 1 because of regime change in the early 1990s when Sweden adopted more liberal economic policies where taxes and government spending were reduced:
The rapid growth of the state in the late 1960s and 1970s led to a large decline in Sweden’s relative economic performance. In 1975, Sweden was the 4th richest industrialised country in terms of GDP per head. By 1993, it had fallen to 14th.
@alexvoronov använda smygfinansiering av Generell Välfärd är alltid av ondo. @NimaSanandaji: bit.ly/1Nar2eV http://t.co/wD0YEgncIE—
Old Whig (@aClassicLiberal) August 05, 2015
That regime change reversed a long economic decline since 1970 under the egalitarian policies of the Swedish Social Democratic Party. Under the Swedish Social Democratic Party, Sweden was almost always growing at less than the trend rate of growth of the USA, which was 1.9%. That position reversed only when there was a turn away from big government and high taxes.
Figure 1 tells a similar story for the British economy: a long economic decline in the 1970s when Britain was the sick man of Europe. Under Thatchernomics, Europe had a long economic boom for 20 years or more – see figure 1.
In the 1970s, under the high taxes of the Heath, Callaghan and Wilson administrations, as figure 1 shows, Britain was the sick man of Europe. With the election of the Thatcher Government, Britain soon grew at better than the US trend growth rate for nearly 20 years through few exceptions.
Graph of the Day: The UK has among the lowest total tax rates on businesses in the G7 http://t.co/l6mMhN9yLD—
CPS Think Tank (@CPSThinkTank) August 04, 2015
Karl Marx died today for the first time
07 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in history of economic thought, Marxist economics Tags: Karl Marx
The Progressive Mind
06 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: antiforeign bias, antimarket bias, expressive voting, Left-wing hypocrisy, Leftover Left, makework bias, meddlesome preferences, nanny state, political correctness, rational irrationality, Twitter left
@DN_Debatt_betyg @LibyAlonso Vem vaktar väktarna? Vem tillser att experter är fria från bias? Vem nudgar, nudgarna? http://t.co/T01Va6UYOV—
Old Whig (@aClassicLiberal) July 26, 2015
Labour Party misunderstands why a Tory MP tried to join to vote @jeremycorbyn
06 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, Marxist economics, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: British Labour Party, British politics, expressive voting, Leftover Left, preference formation, rational irrationality, shy Labour voters, working class Torys
Is the Left liberal?
03 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: Left-wing hypocrisy, Leftover Left, meddlesome preferences, nanny state, progressive left
North and South Korea in the 20th century
03 Aug 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, income redistribution, Marxist economics, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: central planning, North Korea, South Korea
The fates of two islands under constant threat from a neighbouring military colossus
01 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economics of media and culture, economics of regulation, growth disasters, growth miracles, income redistribution, industrial organisation, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: anticapitalist mentality, antimarket bias, capitalism and freedom, China, Cuba, expressive voting, Hong Kong, Leftover Left, public intellectuals, rational ignorance, rational irrationality, Twitter left
Shanghai Sky
28 Jul 2015 1 Comment
in development economics, growth disasters, growth miracles, Marxist economics, Music Tags: capitalism and freedom, China, collapse of communism, Joe Jackson, Shanghai
Shanghai in 1990 vs 2010. http://t.co/a6JPeHzsBX—
History In Pictures (@HistoryInPics) July 20, 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
When I worked at Marxism Today, my desire to earn a living proved to be somewhat déclassé.
26 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, labour economics, law and economics, Marxist economics, minimum wage, poverty and inequality Tags: far left, Labour standards, Left-wing hypocrisy, Leftover Left, living wage, progressive left
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