By Paul Homewood This confirms the rumours: From the Telegraph: The European Union has abandoned plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035, bowing to pressure from Germany and Italy.
EU abandons petrol car ban
EU abandons petrol car ban
21 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, transport economics
Kathleen Stock on female genital mutilation, cultural relativism, and a recent (odious) paper in The Journal of Medical Ethics
21 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: sex discrimination
Over at UnHerd, philosopher Kathleen Stock, formerly of the University of Sussex, critiques a paper in The Journal of Medical Ethics that I discussed recently, a paper you can read by clicking below. (You may remember that Stock, an OBE, was forced to resign from Sussex after she was demonized for her views on gender…
Kathleen Stock on female genital mutilation, cultural relativism, and a recent (odious) paper in The Journal of Medical Ethics
My first AI op-ed summary
21 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, economics of education, economics of information, entrepreneurship, gender, human capital, labour economics, labour supply, politics - New Zealand Tags: gender wage gap
The Wind Energy Paradox: “Why More Wind Turbines Don’t Always Mean More Power”
20 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in energy economics Tags: Germany, wind power
The Munich-based daily Merkur is finally reporting on something that sus keptics have been pointing out some 20 years: Wind turbines always either produce too little or too much, and are thus uneconomical and unreliable. Image: Vernunftkraft.de In a recent insightful interview with Merkur.de, Prof. Dr. Sigismund Kobe, a renowned physicist from the TU Dresden,…
The Wind Energy Paradox: “Why More Wind Turbines Don’t Always Mean More Power”
Ask not what economics can do for sports; ask what sports can do for economics
20 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, history of economic thought, sports economics
Regular readers of this blog will know that I enjoy blogging about research that uses a sports setting to illustrate economic concepts (except when the research is terrible). Sport makes for an interesting setting for testing economic theories. The rules are known. The incentives are usually clear. The outcomes are usually unambiguous. Other real-world settings…
Ask not what economics can do for sports; ask what sports can do for economics
Stop Slaying the Strawman Case Against Tariffs
19 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, international economics, politics - USA Tags: free trade, tariffs
TweetHere’s a letter to a new correspondent. Mr. W__: Because I read the Wall Street Journal avidly, I was familiar, before you sent it, with its report titled “Why Everyone Got Trump’s Tariffs Wrong.” Nevertheless, thanks for your email in which you suggest that this report should prompt me to humbly reassess what you call…
Stop Slaying the Strawman Case Against Tariffs
Lessons from Brexit
19 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, economic growth, international economic law, international economics, macroeconomics Tags: British politics, economics of customs unions, free trade, tariffs
How we connect economically with the world is critical. Brian Easton writes – The British Labour Government is struggling. Partly it is because they were badly prepared in opposition: the Conservative Government was making such a charlie of itself that Labour expected that it would do better and gave little thought as to how it […]
Lessons from Brexit
Blood in the Snow: The Malmédy Massacre
19 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in defence economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: World War II
The Malmédy Massacre: A Tragedy of War and the Story of Survival The Malmédy Massacre, which occurred during the Battle of the Bulge on December 17, 1944, stands as one of the most heinous war crimes committed by German forces during World War II. This event, marked by the ruthless execution of unarmed American prisoners […]
Blood in the Snow: The Malmédy Massacre
“Progressives” appear to whitewash female genital mutilation
18 Dec 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, gender, health economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
This is an example of how horrible cultural practices are excused—or made to seem less harmful—by “progressives” (read “the woke”) when they’re characteristic of minority groups. In this case the practice is one of the cruelest and most misogynistic forms of behavior around—female genital mutilation (FGM), especially in its most damaging form, infibulation (there are…
“Progressives” appear to whitewash female genital mutilation
Crampton on theft from greyhounds
18 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, sports economics Tags: animal rights, Animal welfare, racing, takings
Eric Crampton writes: Legislation before Parliament bans greyhound racing over animal welfare considerations. Buying out the industry, shutting it down, and rehoming the dogs would seem right if you thought animal welfare warranted it. The legislation instead proposes shuttering Greyhound Racing New Zealand and an assortment of private racing clubs. Their net assets will be handed…
Crampton on theft from greyhounds
DON BRASH – RMA Reform: A step forward. But concerns for equal citizenship
18 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of regulation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, regulation, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, racial discrimination, zoning
The following is written in Don’s capacity as trustee for Hobson’s Pledge: It is almost the end of 2025 and, as you may know, the Government has recently introduced to Parliament the two Bills it seeks to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA) with. The Bills were pushed through first reading under urgency and have…
DON BRASH – RMA Reform: A step forward. But concerns for equal citizenship
Ford takes $20bn hit to reverse course on electric cars
18 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, transport economics Tags: electric cars
Ford will take a $19.5bn (£14.5bn) hit as it tore up plans to invest significant sums into electric cars.
Ford takes $20bn hit to reverse course on electric cars
Tories to Ditch ZEV Mandate
17 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, transport economics Tags: British politics, climate activists, electric cars
By Paul Homewood https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/13/next-conservative-government-ditch-ban-petrol-cars/ I briefly mentioned the Tories’ about turn on the petrol car ban. What was not clear was whether Kemi Badenoch would also ditch the ZEV mandate. Her interview with the Telegraph makes clear it will be ditched. The Telegraph reports:
Tories to Ditch ZEV Mandate
What the Gaza protestors could have done to not stir up Jew Hatred
17 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
I’m not going to pretend that I would protest for any movement that has the support of Hamas or Fatah, but of course anyone in a liberal democracy has the right to express their views on what happens in Gaza. The consequences of some of those views are to stir up not just hatred of…
What the Gaza protestors could have done to not stir up Jew Hatred
Vertical Restraints in the EU: Economics Has Updated, Law Hasn’t Installed the Patch
17 Dec 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, industrial organisation, law and economics Tags: competition law
Online commerce has transformed how firms design their distribution systems, yet EU competition law continues to treat many online-sales restrictions as suspect by default. This tension lies at the heart of today’s vertical restraints debate. While the economic theory of vertical agreements has been largely settled for decades, the legal framework has not fully absorbed…
Vertical Restraints in the EU: Economics Has Updated, Law Hasn’t Installed the Patch
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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