When interest rates go up, the price of bonds goes down. As Tyler and I discuss in Modern Principles, the inverse relationship between interest rates and prices holds for any asset that pays out over time. In particular, as Patrick McKenzie points out, when interest rates go up, the value of a loan goes down. […]
In Praise of the Danish Mortgage System
In Praise of the Danish Mortgage System
30 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, entrepreneurship, financial economics
The Silver (-Haired) Economy
30 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in labour economics, labour supply, population economics
In its most recent World Economic Outlook report, the IMF includes a chapter on “The Rise of the Silver Economy: Global Implications of Population Aging” (April 2025). Here are the big trends in a nutshell. The red line (measured on the right-hand axis) shows that the average age of the global poulation was about 27…
The Silver (-Haired) Economy
Auckland Uni students react to Treaty ‘indoctrination’
29 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economic history, economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left
Compulsory first-year courses come under fire. Graham Adams writes – This year, the University of Auckland launched mandatory courses focused on a particular view of New Zealand history, Te Tiriti, and indigenous “knowledge systems”— which is to say mātauranga Māori — for all first-year students. It doesn’t matter whether you’re studying engineering, accounting, science or arts, you […]
Auckland Uni students react to Treaty ‘indoctrination’
Global cooling is the bigger threat
29 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: global cooling
Why the housing market imploded
29 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, behavioural economics, economic history, economics of information, financial economics, global financial crisis (GFC), great recession, macroeconomics, monetary economics
In a recent paper, Christopher L. Foote, Kristopher S. Gerardi, and Paul S. Willen report (pdf): This paper presents 12 facts about the mortgage market. The authors argue that the facts refute the popular story that the crisis resulted from financial industry insiders deceiving uninformed mortgage borrowers and investors. Instead, they argue that borrowers and […]
Why the housing market imploded
Why Libertarians Should Vote for Obama (1)
29 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in liberalism, libertarianism, politics - USA Tags: 2008 presidential election
First, war. War is the antithesis of the libertarian philosophy of consent, voluntarism and trade. With every war in American history Leviathan has grown larger and our liberties have withered. War is the health of the state. And now, fulfilling the dreams of Big Brother, we are in a perpetual war. A country cannot long […]
Why Libertarians Should Vote for Obama (1)
Our Mayor dons a keffiyeh
29 Apr 2025 1 Comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: Gaza, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror
Ever since the City of Chicago dropped the charges against 26 pro-Palestinian students and two faculty arrested on our campus for trespassing, I’ve wondered whether mayor Brandon Johnson, elected in 2023, has some sympathies for Palestine contrasted with some opprobrium for Israel. (The city also refused to send Chicago cops to take down our encampment, […]
Our Mayor dons a keffiyeh
The Execution of Benito Mussolini and Clara Petacci
29 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: Italy, World War II
The final chapter of Benito Mussolini’s life, marked by betrayal, capture, and execution, symbolizes the brutal end of Fascism in Italy. Alongside him was his mistress, Clara Petacci, whose loyalty led her to a tragic end. Their deaths on April 28, 1945, not only concluded Mussolini’s two-decade rule but also sent a powerful message about […]
The Execution of Benito Mussolini and Clara Petacci
“This is Not Normal”: Democrats Miss an Obvious Problem with the Arrest of the Wisconsin Judge
28 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, economics of immigration
“This is not normal.” Those words from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., are undeniably true after the arrest of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan. However, the reason it is not normal is far more debatable. Dugan is accused of becoming a lawbreaker in seeking to obstruct an effort to arrest a man wanted by federal authorities. If […]
“This is Not Normal”: Democrats Miss an Obvious Problem with the Arrest of the Wisconsin Judge
Can Trump’s Tariff Offensive Deliver New American Jobs?
28 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tariffs
By Lauren Weber of The WSJ. Excerpts:”Most economists and other experts are skeptical that job creation will happen on a large scale because planning and building new factories is an incredibly complex and lengthy process. Businesses will be reluctant to do that unless they’re sure the investment is worth it over the long term. A fairly…
Can Trump’s Tariff Offensive Deliver New American Jobs?
Raskin: Trump Officials Can Be Arrested for “Kidnapping” Undocumented Persons
28 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, economics of immigration
For some on the far left, “The Rachel Maddow Show” is a godsend. Otherwise, you would have to go to the subway to compete against others raving about microchips and oligarchies. Just take Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who went on the show on Friday to explain that Trump officials can now be arrested for “interfering with […]
Raskin: Trump Officials Can Be Arrested for “Kidnapping” Undocumented Persons
‘Rule of Two’ medicines approval needs improving
28 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: drug lags
Eric Crampton writes – Come the next pandemic, we are going to be in the same stupid mess that we were in during the last one. Trusted pharmaceutical regulators overseas, like those in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the UK, will have given provisional approvals for vaccines that are safe. And Kiwis will have to wait, […]
‘Rule of Two’ medicines approval needs improving
The First Tank-on-Tank Battle in History – The Zeebrugge Raid I THE GREA…
27 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: World War I
Bill Maher’s latest bit: Flirting with fascism
27 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - USA, television, TV shows Tags: 2024 presidential election
A lot of people came down on Bill Maher for his report about dining with Trump at the White House and, although Maher took Trump to task several times during that visit for the administration’s policies, he had the temerity to confess being surprised that Trump actually was gracious to him in person and even […]
Bill Maher’s latest bit: Flirting with fascism
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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