The extent to which the government should be involved in the provision of goods and services generates a lot of debate. Most of that debate is unhelpful, since it involves small-government, market-fundamentalist types arguing against anti-market socialist types. It’s all ideological, and there’s a pretty good chance that neither of the sides in that argument…
Should the government operate petrol stations?
Should the government operate petrol stations?
17 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, law and economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, privatisation, property rights
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
Why doesn’t Switzerland have more air conditioners?
16 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: nanny state, Switzerland
Installing air conditioning in Switzerland is often subject to rules set at the cantonal level. Geneva is the strictest canton. To qualify, a home owner must prove they have a legitimate need, for example, by producing a medical certificate, and install systems that capture some of the heat emissions and condensation produced. Other cantons require […]
Why doesn’t Switzerland have more air conditioners?
DON BRASH: WHO IS MISLEADING THE PUBLIC?
16 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in income redistribution, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, resource economics Tags: constitutional law, native title
A letter signed by more than 170 legal “experts” has been circulated around the media in the last few days and quoted extensively. Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate the letter in its entirety but have gathered some quotes. The letter claims to fact check Hobson’s Pledge’s ad which was published on…
DON BRASH: WHO IS MISLEADING THE PUBLIC?
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
Globe-Trotting Climate Activist Fined 100,000 Euros After Blocking Frankfurt Airport
15 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of crime, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics Tags: climate activists
If NGOs or collection campaigns don’t help out, the climate-blocking criminal could end up in prison as a substitute. How many years would that amount to?
Globe-Trotting Climate Activist Fined 100,000 Euros After Blocking Frankfurt Airport
Ed Miliband’s Hard Left Policy Team
15 Aug 2024 1 Comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: British politics, climate activists, Internet
By Paul Homewood Guido has news on the batch of SpAds advising the clueless Ed Miliband. Their extreme backgrounds are s concerning as Miliband’s own. The fact that he has picked these says it all.
Ed Miliband’s Hard Left Policy Team
Daddy Cool – Come Back Again – Live TV (1971)
15 Aug 2024 Leave a comment
in Music, television, TV shows


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