Russia had of course already invaded Ukraine back in 2014, but in February 2022 it dramatically escalated the earlier invasion. The U.S. and Ukraine’s allies met Russia’s invasion two years ago with an unprecedented set of sanctions. They put a price cap on Russian oil exports, froze $300 billion worth of Russian foreign exchange reserves,…
Economic Sanctions on Russia: Ineffective or Insufficient?
Economic Sanctions on Russia: Ineffective or Insufficient?
19 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, defence economics, international economic law, international economics, International law, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: Russia, sanctions, Ukraine
Biden-Subsidized Offshore Wind Developer Reports Massive Losses In Latest Blow To Industry
19 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, politics - USA Tags: wind power
The U.S. offshore wind industry has had a wave of project delays, missed production targets and public backlash in the past year.
Biden-Subsidized Offshore Wind Developer Reports Massive Losses In Latest Blow To Industry
Kamala Harris, Price Controls, and the Contest for the Dumbest Policy Proposal of 2024
17 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, health economics, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: 2024 presidential election, price controls, tariffs
As a Senator, Kamala Harris embraced all sorts of terrible ideas, such as the Green New Deal and Medicare for All. But she’s now disavowed those proposals in an attempt to make herself seem more reasonable. Trump, by contrast, is consistent. For better or worse, he’s pushing in 2024 the same agenda that he ran […]
Kamala Harris, Price Controls, and the Contest for the Dumbest Policy Proposal of 2024
Math Confirms Foolishness of Climate Alarmism
17 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, politics - USA Tags: climate alarmism
Whatever the motivations, spending trillions of dollars to replace fossil fuels with expensive and unreliable wind and solar sources is foolish, futile and dangerous.
Math Confirms Foolishness of Climate Alarmism
Rampell On Harris’s Economic Policy
17 Aug 2024 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Here is the Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell on Harris’s price control policy: It’s hard to exaggerate how bad this policy is. It is, in all but name, a sweeping set of government-enforced price controls across every industry, not only food. Supply and demand would no longer determine prices or profit levels. Some far-off Washington bureaucrats […]
Rampell On Harris’s Economic Policy
Friedman vs Stiglitz, Chile vs Venezuela
16 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, income redistribution, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, Milton Friedman, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: Chile, free speech, political correctness, regressive left, The Great Enrichment, Venezuela
I’ve repeatedly praised Chile’s pro-market reforms (see here, here, and here) and I’ve repeatedly condemned Venezuela’s shift to socialism (see here, here, and here). But if you don’t have time to read all those columns, this chart from the Maddison database tells you everything you need to know. Simply stated, Chile’s reforms have delivered huge […]
Friedman vs Stiglitz, Chile vs Venezuela
“An America Issue”: Washington Post Reporter Calls on White House to Censor Trump for America
14 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: 2024 presidential election, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
In my new book on free speech, I discuss at length how the mainstream media has joined an alliance with the government and corporations in favor of censorship and blacklisting. The Washington Post, however, appears to taking its anti-free speech campaign to a new level with open calls for a crackdown. The newspaper offered no objection […]
“An America Issue”: Washington Post Reporter Calls on White House to Censor Trump for America
Finally, exchange rate models seem to work pretty well
14 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, econometerics, economic history, financial economics, history of economic thought, inflation targeting, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - USA Tags: exchange rates, monetary policy
Exchange-rate models fit very well for the U.S. dollar in the 21st century. A “standard” model that includes real interest rates and a measure of expected inflation for the U.S. and the foreign country, the U.S. comprehensive trade balance, and measures of global risk and liquidity demand is well-supported in the data for the U.S. […]
Finally, exchange rate models seem to work pretty well
“We are Monitoring”: EU Censor Threatens Musk Ahead of the Trump Interview
14 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, free speech, media bias, political correctness, regressive left
In my new book on free speech and various columns, I write about the European Digital Services Act (DSA) as one of the greatest assaults on free speech in history. One of the most notorious anti-free speech figures in the world is European Commissioner for Internal Markets and Services Thierry Breton. Where some censors express […]
“We are Monitoring”: EU Censor Threatens Musk Ahead of the Trump Interview
A Most Insignificant Office: A History of the US Vice Presidency
14 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history, politics - USA Tags: constitutional law
Energy should play key role in 2024 Pennsylvania (and US) elections
13 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
The threat of recurrent blackouts is rising, and we are getting closer than ever to having electricity when it happens to be available, instead of when we need it.
Energy should play key role in 2024 Pennsylvania (and US) elections
A Harris-Walz Administration Would Be A Nightmare for Free Speech
12 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
Below is my column in The Hill on why a Harris-Walz Administration would be a nightmare for free speech. A long-standing advocate for censorship and other speech controls, Vice President Kamala Harris just added an equally menacing candidate to her ticket for 2024. Here is the column: The selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as the…
A Harris-Walz Administration Would Be A Nightmare for Free Speech
Don’t Invest in a Light-Rail Boondoggle
12 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, politics - USA, Public Choice, transport economics, urban economics
Last week, I observed that “Transit’s failure to recover from the pandemic is due largely to its downtown-centric orientation in most urban areas.” An op-ed in yesterday’s Baltimore Sun makes a similar point about the planned Red Line light-rail project for that city. “The problem with Baltimore transit is not … Continue reading →
Don’t Invest in a Light-Rail Boondoggle
Smith is No Longer in a Hurry: Special Counsel Moves To Slow Down District Court Judge
10 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election
For over a year, Special Counsel Jack Smith has made one element the overriding priority in his prosecution of former president Donald Trump: speed. Smith repeatedly moved to curtail Trump’s appellate rights and demand expedited appeals to try to secure a conviction before the election. In that effort, he found an equally motivated judge in […]
Smith is No Longer in a Hurry: Special Counsel Moves To Slow Down District Court Judge
Recent Comments