Smoking in 20th century Australia
27 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, health economics, politics - Australia
Malcolm Turnbull sure is popular
27 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: Australia, expressive voting, opinion polls, rational ignorance, rational irrationality, voter demographics
https://twitter.com/Mark_Graph/status/658769666748346368/photo/1
All the bookies I follow now giving the Coalition >80% #auspol bit.ly/1GwJgc4 https://t.co/2y3iPBnnnn—
Mark the Graph (@Mark_Graph) October 23, 2015
@BernieSanders is dumbing down the Democratic Party
27 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, politics - USA, Public Choice
There is a conceited rant by a former White House chief of staff in the Washington Post today about the dumbing down of the Republican Party.
This is at a time when a Democratic Socialist is winning considerable support in the Democratic Party presidential primaries despite his refusing all his life including to today to join the Democratic party.
Bernie Sanders is the best that the Democratic Party can do as the anyone but Hillary candidate. Sanders is not a member of the Democratic party. The notion that a democratic socialist could win the Democratic party nomination and win the presidency shows beyond doubt that you do not know anything about American politics.
Heard that conservatives are disappearing? Don't believe it: 53eig.ht/1Qp1Vej http://t.co/MPIFSAFeOs—
(@FiveThirtyEight) June 10, 2015
More importantly, the notion that democratic socialism is an answer to anything simply doesn’t understand the basis of The Great Enrichment.
Everybody was writing off the Republican Party after the 2006, 2008 and 2010 US elections. The Republican Party now controls both houses of Congress by a wide margin.
It doesn’t say much for the Democratic Party if a party which you consider to be so dumb is beating you hands down.
Right now, the supposedly intellectually superior Democratic Party cannot find a credible alternative to Hillary Clinton as candidate for president.
Moreover, you really have to be a serious American political junkie to have any idea who might be the Democratic Party candidates in 2020 if Hillary Clinton does not win this year such as the covered so bear of quality politician on the Democratic party side of American politics.
@BernieSanders @HillaryClinton the middle class is shrinking because more people are becoming rich
27 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in applied welfare economics, economic history, politics - USA
In 1967, only 1 in 12 US households made $100k or more per year (in 2014 dollars). Now 1 in 4 household make $100k+ https://t.co/OPnZcRsR3y—
Mark J. Perry (@Mark_J_Perry) October 26, 2015
No gender equality down under – Australian gender pay gap at 10th, 50th and 90th percentile since 1975
27 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economic history, gender, human capital, labour economics, occupational choice, politics - Australia Tags: Australia, gender wage gap
@PeterDunneMP The dangerous political opportunism of the marijuana decriminalisation lobby
26 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice
Preview of @NZQandA tomorrow https://t.co/svYBRTpUeR—
Peter Dunne (@PeterDunneMP) October 23, 2015
Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne was onto something when he pointed out that a number of those supporting the legalisation of medicinal cannabis oils are using it as a stalking horse to legalise the marijuana leaf.
After reading the wonderful investigation in Saturday’s Dominion Post, it’s quite clear that cannabis oil has nothing to do with marijuana liberalisation.
The Associate Health Minister pointed out on television yesterday that there is already one cannabis oil derivative product approved by Medisafe and available on prescription. It is open to any pharmaceutical company to submit any other cannabis oil and marijuana derivative medicine for approval. There will be a fair hearing.
Medical marijuana is already legal in New Zealand. Few cannabis oil and marijuana leaf derivatives have been approved under the Medicines Act because few have shown to be an effective medication.
Those campaigned for a marijuana law reform would do a lot of sick people a service by saying that the campaign from better access and government funding of cannabis oil and other marijuana derivatives is a separate issue from which they stand apart. They should be not trying to follow in medicinal cannabis deregulation to liberalise recreational use of marijuana.
The issues have nothing to do with each other. Those who want marijuana liberalisation should stand on their own political feet.
US deaths (2013)
Tobacco 437k
Alcohol 29k
Opoids 16k
Heroin 8k
Cocaine 5k
Marijuana 0vox.com/2014/5/19/5727… http://t.co/o8yMDf7oE0—
Conrad Hackett (@conradhackett) August 04, 2015
By infiltrating the medical marijuana lobby, their entryism slows any deregulation of the medicinal uses of cannabis oil and marijuana leaf because of slippery slope arguments.
A group of men and women gleefully demonstrate against Prohibition in 1932. http://t.co/686SwVHyC0—
Old Pics Archive (@oldpicsarchive) January 29, 2015
The marijuana decriminalisation lobby should be honest and say that it happens to be a coincidence that marijuana has other constituents that have medicinal uses. They want to decriminalise marijuana because they just want to get high.
@arindube Vernon Smith on the cruelty of the minimum wage
25 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, minimum wage, occupational choice, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: living wage, minimum wage, on-the-job training
Great quote on the cruelty of the minimum wage from Nobel economist Vernon Smith, illustrated by Henry Payne https://t.co/Lwch51acEY—
Mark J. Perry (@Mark_J_Perry) October 24, 2015
@thecounted @radleybalko police shootings of blacks by threat level @PostGraphics
25 Oct 2015 1 Comment
in economics of crime, politics - USA
The Washington Post wrote a wonderful investigative journalism article today on police shootings in the USA. The Washington Post started with a Wisconsin state trooper murdered in a shoot-out with an escaping bank robber.
The young state trooper was on his first solo patrol. State Trooper Trevor Casper was tailing a bank robber who suddenly turned his car back on him and shot repeatedly at the state trooper. Both died in the gun battle. The bank robber used armour piercing ammunition to pierce the body armour of the state trooper.
Source: Investigation: Police shootings – Washington Post.
I have augmented the graphics of the Washington Post by breaking it down for shooting of blacks, which is the main political controversy in the USA at the moment. In the chart above I broke down those with signs of mental illness only when they were attacking with a deadly weapon to avoid clutter in what is already a busy pie chart.
With your help, we've counted 928 people killed in the US by police this year. Send us tips @thecounted. https://t.co/s8ahmm6ZdK—
The Counted (@thecounted) October 23, 2015
The big secret again from the Washington Post database is don’t confront armed police with a weapon. Most people who are shot by police are either attacking police or brandishing a weapon.
Of 800 fatal shootings by police in 2015, 595 occurred after a range of violent crimes wapo.st/on-duty-under-… https://t.co/cYtbY2ohwP—
Post Graphics (@PostGraphics) October 24, 2015
Police officers who shoot an unarmed suspect at a safe distance are highly likely to be charged as I have previously argued. The Washington Post found that only 5% of the police shootings it reviewed for 2015 were suspicious in terms of police misconduct.
The Economics of Red State vs. Blue State Carbon Politics
25 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, climate change, constitutional political economy, economics of climate change, economics of media and culture, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice, transport economics, urban economics
1. My JPAM 2000 paper documents that suburbanites drive more and consume more electricity than urban residents.
2. My 2011 JUE paper documents that center city liberal resident NIMBY zoning regulation has deflected more development to the suburbs where people live a high carbon life (see paper #1 above) and then oppose carbon pricing.
3. My co-authored 2013 JPUBE paper documents that energy intensive manufacturing industries seek out cheap electricity price areas. Whether U.S carbon pricing and the resulting higher electricity prices would nudge them to move oversees remains an open question.
4. My co-authored 2012 EER paper documents that more educated people are more likely to have installed solar panels and to go off the grid and thus not pay higher electricity prices.
5. My 2013 EI paper documents that Congress Representatives oppose carbon mitigation regulation when they are conservative, their district is poorer and their district is high carbon. Nancy Pelosi and Tom Steyer are in liberal, rich, low carbon San Francisco. There, it is easy to comply with carbon regulation. They will pay few new costs for such low carbon regulation.
6. My co-authored 2015 JAERE paper documents that even in California and within counties that suburbanites vote against low carbon regulation relative to center city residents. Since we control for the fact that liberals live in center cities, this 3rd variable does not explain the urban form/voting correlation.
7. In my co-authored 2015 JUE paper we document that U.S protectionism through the Buy America Act has hindered the improvement of our bus fleet as a green technology.
Source: Environmental and Urban Economics: The Economics of Red State vs. Blue State Carbon Politics
Tertiary educational attainment by age and gender, USA, UK, Canada and Australia, 2013
25 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, human capital, labour economics, occupational choice, politics - Australia, politics - USA Tags: Australia, British economy, Canada, reversing gender gap
There are marked differences in progress in tertiary educational attainment between countries and across the generations. For example, while a few more American women have tertiary degrees as compared to their mothers, there’s been no change for American men for a generation.
Source: Indicators of Gender Equality in Education – OECD.
Canada is firing ahead in both tertiary educational attainment and reversing the gender gap in education for good. Two thirds of prime age Canadian women have a tertiary degree as compared to half of their mothers.
The number of British women with tertiary degrees is also much higher than their mothers. British men are trying their best to keep up.
The bye-bye Biden effect on the Democratic presidential hopefuls
23 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
The bye-bye Biden effect on the Democratic presidential hopefuls econ.st/1ZZW958 https://t.co/1y7c3rjWAo—
The Economist (@ECONdailycharts) October 22, 2015
Why does Housing New Zealand pay dividends? @chrishipkins @metiria
23 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, financial economics, industrial organisation, managerial economics, organisational economics, politics - New Zealand
The current controversy over payment of dividends by Housing New Zealand is misplaced because of the subtle connections between payment of dividends and greater value for money.
By paying dividends, the investment priorities of Housing New Zealand are subject to additional ministerial scrutiny. Its capital program is scrutinised in greater detail by the Cabinet because ministers must fund it against competing bids across the entire budget and parliamentary scrutiny process.
Each budget bid is championed by a minister, each of whom must make their case every year against all-comers. This annual competition for a central pool of capital filters out lower value investment bids.
If dividends were not paid but were instead retained as free cash flows in the agency, there would be less ministerial scrutiny of Housing New Zealand because it would have a smaller role in annual budget rounds. Ministers and the Parliament sit up and pay attention when money is to be spent, as they should, and the larger is the sum in the budget, the more attention is paid to value for the money sought. Funding projects with retained dividends may reduce ministerial and parliamentary scrutiny.
Payment of dividends does not reduce the ability of Housing New Zealand to engage in new capital spending. If the dividends were not paid, the amount of new capital spending from budget appropriations would be reduced dollar for dollar.
Keep calm and carry on – the British gender pay gaps at the 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles
23 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, human capital, labour economics, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, population economics Tags: gender wage gap
Unlike New Zealand or the USA, there is been steady progress up and down the entire British labour market in closing the gender pay gap.
Source: OECD Employment Database.
The ups and downs of the Afghan war
23 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Afghanistan, unintended consequences, war against terror
https://twitter.com/ianbremmer/status/653888723034222592/photo/1
Rethinking Afghanistan (and then rethinking some more) http://t.co/uY7T6mUIUV—
ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) October 17, 2015
@EricCrampton @KhyaatiA should New Zealand divide into Cantons?
22 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economics of bureaucracy, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: economics of federalism, Switzerland
Suggestions by the New Zealand Initiative for regions to be able to ask to be exempt from some national policies was against a background that New Zealand is too small to be a federal state. The New Zealand provinces were abolished in 1876. Switzerland seems to still put bread in the shops despite having many tiny Cantons and half-Cantons.
Source: Swiss Statistics – Cantons, communes.
So many American states have smaller populations are New Zealand, half in all, that is difficult to present them on a chart. All managed to be richer the New Zealand despite the horrors of federalism or because of it. These small state populations are before considering how much local government legislative power there is, including taxing and spending powers, city income taxes and city sales taxes, and county and local police forces.
Source: List of U.S. states and territories by population – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The median national population size of countries is not much more than New Zealand’s current population.
- Controlling for location, Easterly and Kraay (2002) found that smaller states were richer than other states in per capita real GDP.
- Rose (2006) reviewed the impact of size on the level of income, inflation, material well-being, health, education, and the quality of a country’s institutions and found that small countries are more open to trade than large countries, but are not systematically different otherwise.
As I argued in my previous post on distance, New Zealand were prosperous from the time of European settlement despite a small population and their great distance from the main markets of the world on each side of the Atlantic.
Half the world's population lives inside this circle. http://t.co/XlTeEsTZkn—
Weird Science (@weird_sci) October 17, 2015
Of the ten richest countries in terms of GDP per capita, only four have populations above one million people (Alesina 2003). These countries are the USA (290 million people), Switzerland (7 million people), Norway (4 million people) and Singapore (3 million people). Of these four nations, two are below the global national population median of six million (Alesina 2003).
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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