As I discussed in yesterday’s coverage of the oral arguments in Trump v. Slaughter, the argument went poorly for those…
Humphrey’s Estate and Jackson’s Experts: Supreme Court Justice Offers Surprising View of the Separation of Powers
Humphrey’s Estate and Jackson’s Experts: Supreme Court Justice Offers Surprising View of the Separation of Powers
10 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, law and economics, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: constitutional law
Antitrust at the Agencies: Meta Analysis Edition
09 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: competition law
The memorandum and order in FTC v. Meta Platforms Inc. that U.S. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg filed Nov. 18, ruling in favor of Meta, has now been followed by a Dec. 2 revised order that contained fewer redactions. The memorandum doesn’t exactly provide the law & economics analysis I would have produced, had…
Antitrust at the Agencies: Meta Analysis Edition
Three Royal Societies abandon their mission to promote global and universalist science
09 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
A Kiwi who wishes to remain anonymous (of course) sent me this link to an announcement of a meeting of three Royal (Scientific) Societies: those of New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. The screenshot below also links to two other short documents, a communiqué and a statement by the Presidents of all three Societies. The object…
Three Royal Societies abandon their mission to promote global and universalist science
A good poll for the Government
08 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
The latest 1 News – Verian poll is very good for the Government. The party vote is: So a whopping 12% lead on the party vote. This would give the Government 67 seats – the same as it got at the last election. Also of importance is net economic optimism or confidence. The last poll…
A good poll for the Government
Supreme Court should not let climate lawfare set US energy policy
08 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: nuisance suits
Let’s hope the Supreme Court agrees that Boulder’s lawsuit is an excellent opportunity to terminate frivolous climate lawfare, expand on the guidance it provided in these two previous cases – and end attempts by climate activists to impose destructive national policies through local and state courts.
Supreme Court should not let climate lawfare set US energy policy
Media bias in New Zealand yet again
08 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of information, economics of media and culture, industrial organisation, politics - New Zealand, survivor principle Tags: media bias
Chris McVeigh writes – If you took a double at the TAB, with the Pope getting married as one leg and Radio New Zealand admitting to a smidgen of left wing partiality as the other, you could be forgiven for thinking that the smart money would be on the Vatican gig bringing home the bacon […]
Media bias in New Zealand yet again
A good list of achievements
07 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
ACT have listed the achievements of the Coalition Government over the last two years that they played an important role in. It is a long list, reproduced below. Law & Order Economy & the Cost of Living Backing Rural New Zealand Defending Equal Rights & Democracy Health Building & Infrastructure Education A change of government…
A good list of achievements
Climate Doomsday Prophecy Peddled By Academia Retracted In Disgrace
07 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, climate change, econometerics, economics of climate change, economics of education, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA Tags: academic bias, climate activists
A widely-referenced 2024 study that predicted massive global economic damages due to climate change has now been retracted, The New York Times (NYT) reported on Wednesday.
Climate Doomsday Prophecy Peddled By Academia Retracted In Disgrace
Metrics, Markets, and Merger Scrutiny: A Netflix-WBD Combination
06 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, politics - USA Tags: competition law, creative destruction
This morning’s announced merger between Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) would create a global media company of unprecedented scale. The transaction will also almost certainly attract scrutiny from antitrust regulators—most likely the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) Antitrust Division, rather than the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The deal would offer a direct test of the…
Metrics, Markets, and Merger Scrutiny: A Netflix-WBD Combination
Medicaid: What It Has Become
06 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in health economics, politics - USA Tags: health insurance
As Craig Garthwaite and Timothy Layton point out: “Originally a small, inexpensive safety-net program, Medicaid has grown into a major national health-insurance provider, covering nearly one in four Americans and more people than the public health insurance programs of the United Kingdom, Germany, or France.” They review the program and offer some recommendations in “Coverage Isn’t…
Medicaid: What It Has Become
Political pressure on the Fed
05 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in business cycles, econometerics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: monetary policy
From a forthcoming paper by Thomas Drechsel: This paper combines new data and a narrative approach to identify variation in political pressure on the Federal Reserve. From archival records, I build a data set of personal interactions between U.S. Presidents and Fed officials between 1933 and 2016. Since personal interactions do not necessarily reflect political…
Political pressure on the Fed
Labour and Greens want unlimited rates increases
04 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics, urban economics
Very pleased to see the Government commit to a law that will tie rates increases to a mixture of inflation and GDP. The era of local government being able to fund every pet project Councillors like is coming to an end. In future they will need to prioritise spending on core infrastructure and facilities. But…
Labour and Greens want unlimited rates increases
The taxing problem of zombie and phoenix companies
04 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of crime, fiscal policy, law and economics, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: Germany
Eric Crampton writes – Damien Grant isn’t normally the one making the case that the government needs to take more in tax. The liquidator and libertarian-minded columnist at the Sunday Star Times more typically wants what libertarians generally want – a government that spends less and that can let each of us keep more of […]
The taxing problem of zombie and phoenix companies
My Econoboi Poverty Debate vs. Matt Bruenig
04 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, welfare reform Tags: child poverty, family poverty, social insurance
Tomorrow at 2 PM ET, I’ll be debating “What is the best policy response to poverty?” versus Matt Bruenig. Venue: Econoboi channel P.S. You might recall that… 9 more words
My Econoboi Poverty Debate vs. Matt Bruenig
It is Time to End Our Sedition Addiction
03 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: free speech
Below is my column in USA Today on the revival of sedition as a speech crime in the United States.…
It is Time to End Our Sedition Addiction
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments