TweetOn page 13 of their 2017 brief in support of “green industrial policy,” Tilman Altenburg and Dani Rodrik write: However, it should be noted that consumers do not respond perfectly to price signals. Even when new products exist that are better in many ways and cheaper, many consumers stick to the bad old alternatives because…
What Does Dani Rodrik Think of Consumers?
What Does Dani Rodrik Think of Consumers?
27 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, international economics
Why do Americans No Longer Work So Much More Than Non-Americans?
27 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, economic history, labour economics, labour supply
In the 1990s, Americans used to work much more than non-Americans. Nowadays, about half of the gap in hours worked has reversed. To evaluate the convergence of working hours, we develop a tractable model of labor supply enriched with multiple sources of heterogeneity across individuals, an extensive margin of participation, multi-member households, and an elaborate…
Why do Americans No Longer Work So Much More Than Non-Americans?
Why Religious Beliefs Are Irrational, and Why Economists Should Care
27 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of religion
My opening statement for my 2005 debate versus Larry Iannaccone
Why Religious Beliefs Are Irrational, and Why Economists Should Care
Elbe Day: A Symbolic Meeting at the End of War
26 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
Elbe Day, observed on April 25, commemorates a pivotal moment near the close of World War II in Europe when American and Soviet forces met along the Elbe River in Germany in 1945. This encounter represented far more than a tactical milestone; it symbolized the collapse of Nazi Germany and the temporary unity of two […]
Elbe Day: A Symbolic Meeting at the End of War
Elbe Day: A Symbolic Meeting at the End of War
26 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, war and peace Tags: World War II
Elbe Day, observed on April 25, commemorates a pivotal moment near the close of World War II in Europe when American and Soviet forces met along the Elbe River in Germany in 1945. This encounter represented far more than a tactical milestone; it symbolized the collapse of Nazi Germany and the temporary unity of two […]
Elbe Day: A Symbolic Meeting at the End of War
The Australian government has ‘subscription traps’ in its sights
26 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of information, industrial organisation
As I noted in a post last week, firms are increasingly selling subscriptions rather than products because consumer inertia can make them substantially more profitable. Once a customer starts a subscription, they tend not to cancel the subscription as soon as they should, simply because it requires some thought and attention (as well as a…
The Australian government has ‘subscription traps’ in its sights
The History of Music Piracy: Did It Really Hurt the Music Industry?
26 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, economics of media and culture, law and economics, Music, property rights Tags: copyrights and patents
For as long as there has been recorded music, there have been attempts to copy, share, and distribute it without paying for it. Music piracy is often painted as a villain in the story of the modern music industry—accused of draining billions in revenue, shuttering record stores, and crippling artist careers. But is that the […]
The History of Music Piracy: Did It Really Hurt the Music Industry?
Cargo Cult Climate Economics
26 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, econometerics, economic history, economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: climate alarmism
Part 2 of 2 on a damning new paper that takes on the top-down climate-economics literature — “The empirically inscrutable climate-economy relationship”
Cargo Cult Climate Economics
The Pernicious Trade Account
26 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, financial economics, history of economic thought, international economics Tags: balance of trade
The trade accounts are among the most pernicious statistics ever collected. It’s long been remarked, for example, that merely by calling something a “deficit” it seems bad even though a current account deficit is matched by a financial account surplus. Put that issue aside, however, because the real problems are much deeper. The international accounts…
The Pernicious Trade Account
Quotation of the Day…
25 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics, labour economics, labour supply Tags: India
Tweet… is from page 150 of Columbia University economics professor Arvind Panagariya’s brilliant 2019 book, Free Trade and Prosperity: In India, Bihar is the poorest state and Kerala one of the richest. Going by the Gini coefficient, Bihar is among the states with the least inequality and Kerala among those with the highest inequality. If…
Quotation of the Day…
Winston Peters and the art of keeping National on the defensive
25 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
Labour’s decision to support the free trade agreement with India should have surprised nobody. It was always going to be the outcome, with the outstanding question being just when Labour would announce its support for the deal. As this column noted in early February, from the outset Labour has been effectively over a barrel on […]
Winston Peters and the art of keeping National on the defensive
The Washington Post vs Elizabeth Warren
25 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of media and culture, fiscal policy, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, politics - USA, Public Choice, public economics Tags: taxation and entrepreneurship, taxation and investment, taxation and labour supply
People sometimes will get excited about big-picture tax fights – whether politicians should raise taxes, whether they should add a VAT, or whether they should scrap the IRS for a flat tax. On the other had, there are a handful of tax issues that induce drowsiness but are nonetheless very important for purposes of tax […]
The Washington Post vs Elizabeth Warren
Cape Town estimate of the day
24 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, growth disasters, Public Choice, urban economics Tags: South Africa
From young professionals to the working poor, many Cape Town residents complain that out-of-control housing prices have forced them to live far from the jobs, affluent schools and healthy supermarkets available in the city center. They blame deep-pocketed tourists for occupying housing in prime locations and developers for pricing them out. Some 70 percent of…
Cape Town estimate of the day
Misuse of HDCA
24 Apr 2026 1 Comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, free speech
Shayne Currie reports: One of New Zealand’s biggest news organisations is appealing a precedent-setting court decision, in which a man convicted of assaulting his partner convinced a judge that an online news article about him and the attack should be removed. The district court judge agreed the man, who did not receive name suppression at…
Misuse of HDCA
Resourceful Earth Day: Fred Smith on Julian Simon
23 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism Tags: pessimism bias, The Great Enrichment
“The problems of famine, overpopulation, poverty, and disease are resolvable. In fact, they have been resolved in the United States and other places where human ingenuity is free to solve them.” The post Resourceful Earth Day: Fred Smith on Julian Simon appeared first on Watts Up With That?.
Resourceful Earth Day: Fred Smith on Julian Simon
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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