Hyman Roth’s birthday cake cutting and the deal at Havana | Godfather 2
26 Nov 2021 Leave a comment
in movies
The Incredible Story of British Airways Flight 9
26 Nov 2021 Leave a comment
in economics of natural disasters, transport economics
Why you don’t hear about the ozone layer anymore
26 Nov 2021 Leave a comment
in environmental economics Tags: ozone layer
Not really up to the job
25 Nov 2021 Leave a comment
I was tempted to head-up this belated MPS post “Je ne regrette rien”, as that – I regret nothing (about last year’s monetary policy) – was what Orr told yesterday’s press conference as he was getting rattled towards the end. He should regret quite a bit – notably the $5.7 billion of taxpayer losses on the LSAP, and the ongoing huge risks (neither were points he was willing to engage on, whether in the MPS, in the press conference, or at FEC this morning – indeed he actively played distraction). But that isn’t really where I want to focus my thoughts on the Monetary Policy Statement.
I thought the MPC should have raised the OCR by 50 points. The MPC disagreed, and moved by only 25 points. That is their choice of course, but – once again – I was struck by just how lacking and inadequate the supporting…
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Re-Absorbing East Germany After the Fall of the Berlin Wall
25 Nov 2021 Leave a comment
in comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, defence economics, development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles, history of economic thought, human capital, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economic law, international economics, International law, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, occupational choice, poverty and inequality, property rights, Public Choice, survivor principle, war and peace Tags: Berlin wall, East Germany, fall of communism, Nazi Germany, World War II
The Religious Discrimination Bill arrives
25 Nov 2021 Leave a comment
After a long wait, the Federal government has released the text of the Religious Discrimination Bill 2021 which is about to be introduced into the Parliament. There has been no general Federal law dealing with detrimental treatment of Australians on the basis of their religious faith and activities, and this is a welcome development, implementing a recommendation of the Ruddock Review which reported in 2018.
The government previously released two “Exposure Drafts” of the Bill (see some comments on those in previous posts, here, and here.) Having promised prior to the last election that he would advance this law, Prime Minister Morrison will now introduce it into the House of Representatives. If passed by the House, the Bill will then need to approved by the Senate, where it seems likely to be referred to (yet another) committee before being voted on there, probably sometime in the New Year.
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The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence by Martin Meredith (2005)
25 Nov 2021 Leave a comment
Meredith’s big book (770 pages) does what it says on the tin and tells the history of every African country from the run-up to independence, i.e. starting in the mid-1950s, to the time of writing, i.e. about 2004, covering half a century of tumultuous history. It’s a vast subject but Meredith’s book is an easy and pleasurable read. He writes a wonderfully clear, expressive prose which effortlessly conveys a huge amount of information and profiles countries, leaders and events with deceptive ease.
The narrative is chock-a-block with facts and dates, central figures and key events, but a handful of general principles emerge all too clearly.
Imperialism’s mistakenly long-term view
The colonial powers thought they were in it for the very long haul. As the Second World War ended, most thought the colonies they ruled wouldn’t be ready for independence for centuries, certainly not till the end of the twentieth century…
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