There is media fuss today around the resistance of schools in terms of excluding students excluded from other schools. The NZ Herald highlights statistics that 100s of schools appear to be reluctant and three remain outright resistant. The article highlights the legal obligation for schools to accept students in their zone. This can be ordered […]
The Genuine Legal Conflict for School Boards
The Genuine Legal Conflict for School Boards
18 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of crime, economics of education, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: crime and punishment, law and order
The House of Commons Chamber and the Politics of Seating
18 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economic history Tags: British politics

Parliament will be officially opened this week and debates will begin once again in the House of Commons. But with the Labour party winning such a large majority in the 2024 General Election, some of their Members may be left wondering- where should I sit? Emeritus Director of the History of Parliament, Dr Paul Seaward, […]
The House of Commons Chamber and the Politics of Seating
#climateemergency
18 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: climate alarmism, conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
Natasha Hausdorff on the legality of everything about the war
17 Jul 2024 1 Comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: free speech, Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror
One of the biggest lacunae on Wikipedia is its lack of an entry on Natasha Hausdorff, a London barrister and expert on international law who happens to work with the UK Lawyers for Israel. She has a sterling background: She holds law degrees from Oxford and Tel Aviv Universities and was a Fellow in the […]
Natasha Hausdorff on the legality of everything about the war
Chinese Economic Policy, Part I: The Demographic Challenge
17 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, labour economics, labour supply, population economics Tags: China, economics of fertility

I’m in China this week, teaching about fiscal policy, convergence theory, and inequality at Northeastern University in Shenyang. So it’s a good opportunity to write about some pluses and minuses of Chinese economic policy. We’ll start this series by looking at demographics, which almost surely is the biggest long-run challenge for Chinese policymakers. How big […]
Chinese Economic Policy, Part I: The Demographic Challenge
National Grid: Britain will remain dependent on gas for years
17 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: British politics, climate alarmism

By Paul Homewood As I revealed yesterday, we will still need gas for years to come: Britain will be forced to rely on natural gas for years to come, National Grid has said, in a blow to Sir Keir Starmer’s green energy ambitions. Demand for gas is now expected to be at […]
National Grid: Britain will remain dependent on gas for years
Ignore the polls, prediction markets have Trump at 66% chance of winning the election
16 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in econometerics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election

CNN Interview of Rutgers Statistics professor, Harry Crane. Below are graphs of the prices of a Trump, Biden, and Harris futures contracts that pays out $1 if they become President. In the last day, the Trump contract has increased by 6¢, indicating a 6% increase in President Trump’s election chances. The blue bars indicate the…
Ignore the polls, prediction markets have Trump at 66% chance of winning the election
Good list
16 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education Tags: conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
Health New Zealand “encourages” its employees to say Māori prayers daily
16 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of religion, liberalism, politics - New Zealand Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, Freedom of religion, political correctness, regressive left

This item, from the Breaking Views website in New Zealand, is one of the rare cases of a Kiwi speaking up against forcible adherence to Māori customs on the job—in this case, saying Māori prayers. First, “Health New Zealand,” the organization in question, is a government agency that, according to its own description: . . […]
Health New Zealand “encourages” its employees to say Māori prayers daily
China’s renewable energy surge strains power grid – a warning to ‘net zero’ advocates
16 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in development economics, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, growth miracles Tags: China, wind power

The UK equivalent of China’s restrictions on renewable power generation would mean even larger constraint payments than the current £billions, and even bigger increases in costly transmission lines than already happening or planned. But that’s the implication of pushing ever harder for mythical net zero targets, resulting in greater fluctuations between excessive electricity and shortage […]
China’s renewable energy surge strains power grid – a warning to ‘net zero’ advocates
The (ignored) war crimes of Hamas
15 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics
We hear a lot about the “war crimes of Israel and the IDF”; in fact, that’s about all we hear on campus regarding the war. And it is these “war crimes” that have brought the world’s opprobrium down on Israel, even though they are not war crimes. Yes, an odd IDF soldier might commit a […]
The (ignored) war crimes of Hamas
Universities and the Treaty
15 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left
Grant Duncan writes: University management should take note of that, as there have been unrealistic efforts to force poorly defined “Treaty obligations” into teaching and research. For example, one university is now telling its academic staff that all curricula should, as a high priority, be “designed, developed and delivered in authentic partnerships with Māori [and] […]
Universities and the Treaty
Discovery of 2-million-year-old DNA in Greenland reveals new details about ancient life
15 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education, environmental economics, global warming Tags: Greenland
.PBS NewsHour Here is the transcript JUDY WOODRUFF: Scientists working in Greenland have identified the oldest samples of DNA ever found on Earth. By analyzing this two-million-year-old genetic material, they have revealed how Northern Greenland was once a wildly different environment than the cold polar region it is today, one teeming with ancient wildlife and […]
Discovery of 2-million-year-old DNA in Greenland reveals new details about ancient life
BBB in the NYT
15 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, income redistribution, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning

I pitch Build, Baby, Build in today’s New York Times. No illustrations, but a bunch of cool graphs cooked up by Sara Chodosh of the NYT data analytics team. The original title was “The Panacea Policy,” but now it’s “Yes in My Backyard: The Case For Housing Deregulation.” And for you, dear readers, it’s ungated!…
BBB in the NYT


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