Eric Crampton writes – New medicines are slow to be authorised for the New Zealand market. Even if a medicine has already been approved by many other trustworthy overseas regulators like those in Canada, the UK, Australia, and the EU, Medsafe can take a very long time to evaluate a medicine.
New medicine approvals plan an exercise in not solving the problem
New medicine approvals plan an exercise in not solving the problem
28 May 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: drug lags
Spain Boosts Natural Gas Capacity After Renewable Energy’s Failure Led to Historic Blackout
28 May 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: solar power, Spain, wind power
Now, in the aftermath of this blackout that could have been much worse, Spain has significantly increased its reliance on natural gas-fired power plants to stabilize its electricity grid. This strategic shift is the direct result of concerns about the grid’s ability to handle high levels of renewable energy, particularly solar and wind, which accounted for a substantial share of generation during the outage.
Spain Boosts Natural Gas Capacity After Renewable Energy’s Failure Led to Historic Blackout
One last post on Investment Boost
27 May 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, fiscal policy, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, public economics Tags: taxation and investment
After the discussion in my post yesterday on the Investment Boost subsidy scheme announced in the Budget I thought a bit more about who was likely to benefit the most from it. The general answer of course is the purchasers of the longest-lived assets. Why? Because if you have an asset which IRD estimates to […]
One last post on Investment Boost
Some more post-Budget thoughts
27 May 2025 Leave a comment
in budget deficits, business cycles, economic growth, fiscal policy, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and investment
On two separate themes; aggregate fiscal policy, and the Investment Boost initiative. Aggregate fiscal policy Over the weekend for some reason I was prompted to look up the Budget Responsibility Rules that Labour and the Greens committed to in early 2017 (my commentary on them here). At the time, the intention seemed to be to […]
Some more post-Budget thoughts
The Justices Must At Long Last Deal with Chronic Injunctivitis
27 May 2025 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: constitutional law
Below is my column on the continuing confusion over national or universal injunctions. The last week has shown that this chronic injunctivitis must end. Here is the column:
The Justices Must At Long Last Deal with Chronic Injunctivitis
THE TRUTH ABOUT WHY DEMOCRATS EMBRACE SOCIALISM – Here’s Why | Thomas S…
26 May 2025 Leave a comment
in history of economic thought, Thomas Sowell
The Latest Affordability Numbers
26 May 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, income redistribution, Public Choice, rentseeking, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, zoning
Housing in Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Singapore was slightly more affordable in 2024 than it had been in 2023. Wendell Cox’s latest assessment of housing affordability, when compared with last year’s assessment, shows that housing became slightly less affordable in Ireland and the United Kingdom, while affordability remained … Continue reading →
The Latest Affordability Numbers
Updates on the Reform Act and Fixed-Date Elections
26 May 2025 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, politics, Public Choice Tags: Canada, constitutional law
Nova Scotia Shows a Better Way In February, I outlined a government bill tabled by Tim Houston, Premier of Nova Scotia, which contained a line to repeal the province’s fixed-date elections law, amongst other things. The omnibus Government Organization and Administration Act received Royal Assent on 26 March 2025, and thus makes Nova Scotia both […]
Updates on the Reform Act and Fixed-Date Elections
Dutch Cancel Offshore Wind Auction Due To Lack Of Interest
26 May 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: Netherlands, wind power
By Paul Homewood Now the Dutch are having trouble finding anyone willing to build offshore wind farms without massive subsidies, as Reuters report: The Netherlands will postpone tenders for two offshore wind farms with a total capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW) due to a lack of interest from potential bidders, the Dutch government […]
Dutch Cancel Offshore Wind Auction Due To Lack Of Interest
Japan’s population crisis reaches tipping point | FT Film
26 May 2025 1 Comment
in labour economics, labour supply, population economics Tags: ageing society, Japan
Quotation of the Day…
25 May 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply
Tweet… is from my late, great colleague Walter Williams’s January 6th, 2011, column, “Settled ‘facts’ that just ain’t so“: U.S. manufacturing is going through the same kind of labor-saving technological innovation as agriculture. In 1790, farmers were 90 percent of the U.S. labor force. By 1900, only about 41 percent of our labor force was…
Quotation of the Day…
The 3.5 percent remittance tax
25 May 2025 1 Comment
in development economics, financial economics, Public Choice, public economics Tags: remittances
Trump has been talking about this. I am not sure what version of the idea we might end up with, but let’s consider the idea in its abstract form. Let’s also put aside money laundering issues, and talk about “simple remittances.” The United States has a partial monopsony power over Latino (and often other) migrants, […]
The 3.5 percent remittance tax
Amon Göth—Pure Evil
25 May 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Nazi Germany, The Holocaust, World War II
Amon Göeth was sentenced to death and was hanged on 13 September 1946 at the Montelupich Prison in Kraków, not far from the site of the Płaszów camp, the camp he had been in charge of until two years, to the date, prior to his execution. On 13 September 1944, he was relieved of his […]
Amon Göth—Pure Evil
National Grid Boss Admits Electricity Prices Will Rise To Pay For Net Zero
25 May 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: British politics, wind power
By Paul Homewood The Telegraph is reporting that the National Grid boss, John Pettigrew, is advising Miliband to reject zonal pricing, because it is a unneeded distraction.
National Grid Boss Admits Electricity Prices Will Rise To Pay For Net Zero
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments