Milton Friedman on the essence of the Age of the Worker
13 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic growth, economic history, health and safety, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, Milton Friedman, occupational choice, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking, unions Tags: competition and monopoly, The Great Enrichment, union power, union wage premium
Union membership varies by a lot more than do wages between countries
13 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in labour economics, politics - Australia, politics - USA, unions Tags: trade union density, union power, union wage premium
Union membership
Finland 69%
Sweden 68
Canada 27
UK 26
Japan 19
Australia 19
Germany 18
US 11
Korea 10
Turkey 5 http://t.co/03cRHnbLlH—
Conrad Hackett (@conradhackett) March 28, 2015
What does America import and export?
13 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in international economics, politics - USA Tags: globalisation, international trade
As the House votes on trade, see last month's post on what the US actually imports and exports pewrsr.ch/1Jsonh0 http://t.co/B976iVeDjg—
PewResearch FactTank (@FactTank) June 12, 2015
What are the Anglo-Saxon gender wage gaps for the bottom, median and top deciles?
12 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: Australia, British economy, Canada, gender wage gap, Ireland
If there is an inherent inequality of bargaining power between workers and employers, as we are so frequently lectured by those in the self appointed know, why is the gender wage gap so small at the bottom of the earnings distribution?
Figure 1: % Gender gap in full-time earnings at the bottom decile of earnings distribution, 2012
Source: OECD family database
Figure 2: % Gender gap in full-time earnings at the median decile of earnings distribution, 2012
Source: OECD family database
Figure 3: % Gender gap in full-time earnings at the top decile of earnings distribution, 2012
Source: OECD family database
The gender gaps are unadjusted, and are calculated as the difference between the earnings of men and women for their respective earnings percentile.
What will Labour do about the supply of land in Auckland?
12 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand, urban economics Tags: Auckland, housing affordability, land supply, RMA, zoning
New QV figures show Auckland house prices are up a massive 16.1% on last year, now estimated to reach $1m by Aug '16. http://t.co/DwAU79ozCy—
New Zealand Labour (@nzlabour) June 09, 2015
Prison incarceration rates by race and education
12 Jun 2015 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, economics of education, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, occupational choice, politics - USA Tags: compensating differentials, crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order, racial discrimination, racism
Male African American high school dropouts facing a nearly 70% cumulative risk of imprisonment by their early 30s. However, the increase in incarceration rates among high school graduates appeared to be much the same for both blacks and whites.
This hints that racism is not as good explanatory of high rates of African-American male incarceration. Police do not know whether the people they arrest have high school diplomas or not but most of the people they arrest are high school dropouts. This suggests that the opportunity cost and rewards of crime over lawful occupational pursuits is a driver of the supply of crime.
There was only 1 crime for which sentences went up a lot in the USA
12 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence
Striking that there was only 1 crime for which sentences went up a lot: Murder. A bad thing? vox.com/2015/5/7/85653… http://t.co/yTOXPJFT3O—
Kay Hymowitz (@KayHymowitz) May 07, 2015
The essence of the Left over Left
12 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in liberalism, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: expressive voting, Green Left, Leftover Left, political correctness, rational irrationality, Twitter left
@KayHymowitz i find it passing strange that counter-culturals left like Winner now are the most reactionary.. http://t.co/hj2MEc4Buu—
Old Whig (@aClassicLiberal) April 06, 2015
Supplements to wages and salaries have grown dramatically, but labour compensation inequality has not
12 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: Leftover Left, Piketty, top 1%
Gross Domestic Income (GDI) is a complete measure of all income earned in the United States. About half is wages, salaries, and benefits. A quarter goes to business-level taxes and the replacement of worn out machinery. Another quarter of gross domestic income is returned to owners of capital, including business owners and private homeowners.
The shares of income returned to workers and owners of capital remain constant over time once benefits, taxes, and depreciation are accounted for – two-thirds of net income goes to labour and one-third goes to capital.
Rather than focus on shares of GDP, a recent preoccupation of the Left over Left, we should focus on shares of labour compensation, that is, wages, salaries and fringe benefits. Both Piketty and his critics agree on that.
via A Walkthrough of Gross Domestic Income | Tax Foundation.
The digital consumption boom continues in New Zealand
12 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture, industrial organisation, politics - New Zealand Tags: creative destruction, ICT
The Nordics use optimal tax theory to fund their welfare states
12 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, politics - USA, Public Choice, public economics Tags: Denmark, growth of government, Norway, optimal tax theory, Scandinavia, size of government, Sweden, welfare state
Efficient taxes gather more revenue and therefore are capable of funding a larger public sector with less political resistance from groups who are net taxpayers. The so-called neoliberal reforms of the 1980s and 1990s actually saved the welfare state by putting it on a revenue raising structure that provoked less political resistance.
A switch to more efficient taxes through tax reforms allows governments to raise the same amount or larger amount of revenue for the same level of political resistance from taxpayers. This is because less revenue and output is wasted by discouraging labour supply, investment, savings and investment in capital with high marginal rates of tax on narrower tax basis. Everyone gains from converging on more efficient modes redistribution.
The Nordic countries have been on to this application of optimal tax theory to expanding the size of government and the welfare state for a long time. The Nordics have high but flat taxes on labour income, low taxes on business income and a high, broad-based consumption tax be it called a VAT or GST as illustrated by a just published Tax Foundation report.
To begin with, the USA has a smaller government because it relies more income taxes than on consumption taxes.
Governments in Europe switched towards consumption taxes such as the VAT or GST because this allowed them to raise a large amount of revenue with broad-based taxes at low rates. A VAT or GST exempts exports and business to business transactions from taxes so that reduced taxpayer resistance.
Scandinavian income taxes raise much more revenue than in the USA because they are rather flat. That is, they tax most people at these high rates, not just high-income taxpayers. The top tax rate in the Scandinavian countries cuts in at about one and a half times average income or less rather than eight times average income as in the USA.
Flat high tax "How do Scandinavian countries pay for their govt spending?" bit.ly/1KZ7jOs @JimPethokoukis http://t.co/33oRg8Ozqh—
Old Whig (@aClassicLiberal) June 11, 2015
The marginal income tax rates including this top income tax rate cuts in a low level of income is also rather high in the Nordic countries relative to the USA’s top income tax rate with the exception of Norway.
Nonetheless the Nordic countries are alert to not killing the goose that laid the golden egg. Company taxes are relatively low in Scandinavian countries as compared to the USA so that businesses do not flee to other jurisdictions.
Top marginal tax rates on dividends and capital gains are not above-average in the Nordic states but their taxes on less mobile tax bases such as from labour and consumption are much higher.
A large welfare state such as those in the Nordic countries require a significant amount of revenue, so the tax base in these countries must be broad. This also means higher taxes on consumption through the VAT or GST and higher taxes on middle-income taxpayers.
Business taxes are a less reliable source of revenue because of capital flight and disincentives to invest. Thus, the Nordics do not place above-average tax burdens on capital income and focus taxation on labour and consumption.
via Sources of Government Revenue across the OECD, 2015 | Tax Foundation and How Scandinavian Countries Pay for Their Government Spending | Tax Foundation.
Irrational nonsense mapped
12 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in health economics, liberalism, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: anti-vaccination movement, antifluoridation movement, antiscience left, BlackBerry, conjecture and refutation, conspiracy theories, conspiracy theorists, expressive voting, infotopia, rational ignorance, rational irrationality
What are the Anglo-Saxon gender wage gaps?
11 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in discrimination, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: Australia, British economy, Canada, gender wage gap, Ireland
Figure 1: % gender gap in median earnings of full-time employees, 2012
Source: OECD family database
The Cook Islands became part of New Zealand today, 1901
11 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, politics - New Zealand Tags: British empire, colonialism, Cook Islands
On 11 June 1901 the boundaries of the colony of New Zealand were extended by the UK to include the Cook Islands. http://t.co/BDPElzZovz—
History Facts 247 (@historyfacts247) June 11, 2015
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