The iron law of prohibition
03 Jul 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health economics Tags: alcohol regulation, black markets, economics of prohibition, economics of smoking, marijuana decriminalisation, offsetting behaviour, The fatal conceit, The pretense the knowledge
How big are the vice industries?
01 Jun 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, financial economics, health economics Tags: alcohol regulation, economics of smoking, entrepreneurial alertness, marijuana decriminalisation
The dual concepts of Businesses Cannot Discriminate and Her Body, Her Choice have intersected
08 May 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health economics, politics - USA Tags: alcohol regulation, meddlesome preferences, nanny state
New York drinking establishments must post warnings against pregnant women drinking but still must serve them.
#MorganFoundation errors about @nzinitiative’s Health of the State – part 1
22 Apr 2016 3 Comments
in economics of information, economics of regulation, health economics, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: Aaron Director, alcohol regulation, economics of obesity, economics of prohibition, economics of smoking, meddlesome preferences, Morgan Foundation, nanny state
The Greens have joined that Morgan Foundation in playing the man rather than the ball on the recently published report of the New Zealand Initiative on sin taxes. Green Party health spokesperson Kevin Hague said:
The New Zealand Initiative cares more about junk-food barons’ bottom lines than it cares about Kiwis who are getting sick and dying because of obesity-related illnesses
The Morgan Foundation was just as keen to argue that their opponents on sin taxes are both ignorant and steeped in moral turpitude as a way of avoiding substantive argument:
The New Zealand Initiative are not interested in reducing obesity, or preventing the looming diabetes crisis where 1 in 3 Kiwis will have the disease. They make no attempt to understand the causes, and don’t propose any way to deal with these issues…
Is there no room for honest disagreement and different views on the ability of further government intervention to be a net benefit? As Aaron Director said:
Laissez-faire is no more than a slogan in defence of the proposition that every extension of state activity should be examined under the presumption of error.
One of the specific claims by the Morgan Foundation that seems to be in error is:
In fact, the report seems devoid of any research outside a narrow economic focus. The food industry has funded an enormous amount of psychological research on how to influence people to eat more junk food through packaging, advertising, product placement etc, much of which is publicly available, but which the New Zealand Institute has roundly ignored. Ironic, given that they funded by the same organisations that funded this psychological research.
The Food industry’s own research shows our choices are hugely influenced by the environment that surrounds us, but the New Zealand Institute conveniently prefers to cling to the oversimplification that we are all rational economic units – known as homo economicus.
The report of the New Zealand Initiative has a nice discussion of the limitations of rationality which did not weigh as heavily as it should in the critique by the Morgan Foundation part of which is in the snapshot below:
Source: Jenesa Jeram, The Health of the State, The New Zealand Initiative ( April 2016, p.10).
Heavy drinking is a true passion of eastern Europeans
29 Feb 2016 Leave a comment
in economics, health economics Tags: alcohol regulation
An anti-prohibition rally with attitude
01 Jan 2016 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health economics Tags: alcohol regulation, marijuana decriminalisation, medical marijuana decriminalisation, prohibition
Prohibition ended this day 1933
05 Dec 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of regulation, health economics, politics - USA Tags: alcohol prohibition, alcohol regulation, meddlesome preferences, nanny state, prohibition era
December 5th 1933 – The night they ended Prohibition http://t.co/OCxvyNfVIR—
Old Pics Archive (@oldpicsarchive) April 11, 2015
Number of beers you can buy with your monthly minimum wage in Europe
29 Sep 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, labour economics, law and economics, minimum wage Tags: alcohol regulation, EU
Number of beers you can buy with your monthly minimum wage in Europe http://t.co/uvuunx5mkF—
Amazing Maps (@Amazing_Maps) June 21, 2015
Teenage alcohol consumption across countries
06 Sep 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: alcohol regulation, economics of prohibition, meddlesome preferences, nanny state
Cannabis is pretty harmless by comparison
06 Aug 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: alcohol regulation, economics of prohibition, marijuana decriminalisation, medical marijuana decriminalisation
US deaths (2013)
Tobacco 437k
Alcohol 29k
Opoids 16k
Heroin 8k
Cocaine 5k
Marijuana 0vox.com/2014/5/19/5727… http://t.co/o8yMDf7oE0—
Conrad Hackett (@conradhackett) August 04, 2015
Harm caused by drugs
31 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, health economics Tags: alcohol regulation, economics of smoking, marijuana decriminalisation economics of prohibition, meddlesome preferences, tobacco regulation
Harm caused by drugs http://t.co/4gTLCm3hqS—
Charts and Maps (@ChartsandMaps) June 06, 2015
Alcohol consumption per adult across countries
31 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in health economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: alcohol regulation, meddlesome preferences, nanny state
Map of pubs with late closing times
27 Jul 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of regulation, health economics Tags: alcohol regulation, pub closing time, UFO sightings, UFOs
Where Aliens Attack!
Three maps tracking UFO sightings.
googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2015/07/close-… http://t.co/WK3Hv77lL7—
(@gmapsmania) July 27, 2015
Boozy baby boomers?
28 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of regulation, health economics Tags: alcohol regulation
Mad Men makes the 1960s seem like a nonstop booze-fest. This chart proves it wasn't. bit.ly/1EdM9qu http://t.co/1dE5SA5Kdc—
Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) May 06, 2015
Most UFOS spotted between 9pm and 10pm – the closing time at pubs in the old days
11 Jun 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of media and culture Tags: alcohol regulation, UFOs
via UFO sightings map in US shows fireball shaped craft seen more than disc-shaped | Daily Mail Online.
US counties where alcohol is not allowed to be sold AKA dry counties (red) http://t.co/MC6iR6G9KE—
Charts and Maps (@ChartsandMaps) June 05, 2015
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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