New Zealand did once have an upper house known as the Legislative Council. Is there are argument that it should be re-introduced? Philip Crump writes – New Zealand’s parliamentary system has long been admired for its democratic principles and progressive governance although it has increasingly come under strain and criticism over recent years. In […]
Enhancing democracy – the case for a second chamber in New Zealand’s Parliament
Enhancing democracy – the case for a second chamber in New Zealand’s Parliament
04 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics
A lot
04 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of media and culture Tags: economics of languages
Germany’s Nuclear Power Rejection Delivers Wind & Solar Driven Energy Calamity
04 Oct 2024 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: celebrity technologies, Germany, solar power, wind power

Germany’s wind and solar obsessed energy policy has delivered a perfect power pricing and supply calamity. Not only did their green tinged lunatics squander billions on chaotically intermittent wind and solar, they deliberately destroyed one of Europe’s best run nuclear power generation fleets, in the bargain. Whenever calm, cloudy weather hits – aka ‘dunkelflaute’ – […]
Germany’s Nuclear Power Rejection Delivers Wind & Solar Driven Energy Calamity
Blasphemer
03 Oct 2024 1 Comment
in law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, political change, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, Freedom of religion, political correctness, regressive left
How to Play the Old Benoni Defense: Chess Beginner Guide to Chess Openings
03 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in chess
The collapse of Maori nationalism
03 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking
As with unionism, overreach will end iwi power push Graham Adams writes – One of former Labour Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s most singular achievements during her tenure as premier was to push a majority of voters to the point of revulsion regarding race-based policy. Now the coalition government is orchestrating a swift counter-revolution, with […]
The collapse of Maori nationalism
The Great Leap Forward
03 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, energy economics, growth miracles Tags: China
Fake Electricity Rejected: Power Hungry Indians Ditch Pointless Solar Schemes
02 Oct 2024 1 Comment
in development economics, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: India. solar power, wind power

Only wealthy Westerners have the luxury of pretending to get their power from sunshine and breezes. Elsewhere, there are billions scrambling to have power delivered reliably and affordably, as if their lives and economic futures depend upon it. Which they absolutely do. For as long as cynical NGOs keep peddling ridiculously expensive solar panels – […]
Fake Electricity Rejected: Power Hungry Indians Ditch Pointless Solar Schemes
Against personal definitions
02 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of information, economics of media and culture, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA, property rights Tags: economics of languages, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
An argument against the use of personal definitions of words can be framed around the concepts of communication efficacy, shared meaning, and societal cohesion. 1. Undermines Effective Communication The primary purpose of language is to facilitate clear communication between individuals. Personal definitions of words undermine this goal by distorting the shared meaning that allows people […]
Against personal definitions
Tangled Webs: How Crony Capitalists Built The Climate Industrial Complex
02 Oct 2024 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, Public Choice, rentseeking, resource economics Tags: celebrity technologies, solar power, wind power

Crony capitalists come in all shapes and sizes, and so do their political enablers. The whole point of patronage, networking and gladhanding is obtaining benefits not available to anyone else. The only people that complain about a rort are those that aren’t in on it. The Climate Industrial Complex was built on will the back […]
Tangled Webs: How Crony Capitalists Built The Climate Industrial Complex
Peer Approval to Address Drug Shortages
02 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - USA Tags: drug lags
Reuters: Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company said…that it is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to import and distribute penicillin in the country temporarily….Cuban’s Cost Plus will import Lentocilin brand penicillin powder marketed by Portugal-based Laboratórios Atral S.A. There are two remarkable items in the above passage. First, there is a shortage…
Peer Approval to Address Drug Shortages
Inquiring into banking
02 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, financial economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: monetary policy competition law

Hard on the heels of the Commerce Commission’s inquiry into some aspects of banking competition, Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee is also holding an inquiry. Submissions weren’t open for very long and have now closed, but the full terms of reference are here. It is a select committee inquiry, so it is hard to be […]
Inquiring into banking
Canada Is Part of the Anti-Convergence Club
01 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, budget deficits, comparative institutional analysis, economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, environmental economics, fiscal policy, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, macroeconomics, property rights Tags: Canada

Economists widely agree with the theory of “convergence,” which is the (mostly true) idea that poor nations should grow faster than rich nations as they catch up (converge). But there are exceptions. Sometimes a richer country will grow faster than a poorer country over a significant period of time, and we can learn from these examples. This is […]
Canada Is Part of the Anti-Convergence Club





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