By Paul Homewood Well worth a watch, as Tony Blair destroys Mad Miliband’s obsession with Net Zero: https://x.com/NetZeroWatch/status/2059927624537743869
Blair Destroys Net Zero Policy
Blair Destroys Net Zero Policy
07 Jun 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, growth miracles Tags: British politics, China, climate activists
China Shock 2.0 vs. China Shock 1.0
04 May 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, econometerics, economic history, growth miracles, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics, survivor principle Tags: China, free trade
TweetThis post by Oxford economist J. Zachary Mazlish is very good; I encourage you to read it. (HT David Levey) Nevertheless, there are two points that I think to be worth making in response to Mazlish’s post. I will here make one of these points. I’ll make the other of these points in a follow-up…
China Shock 2.0 vs. China Shock 1.0
The Chinese Current Account Imbalances
21 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, econometerics, economic history, economics of love and marriage, financial economics, growth miracles, labour economics, labour supply, population economics Tags: China
The subtitle of the paper is Puzzles, Patterns, and Possible Causes. Here is the abstract: China’s large current account surplus has been an irritant to its trading partners. While industrial and trade policies often lead to sector-level imbalances, they play a relatively limited role in the economy-wide surplus. Structural factors such as an unbalanced sex…
The Chinese Current Account Imbalances
Two Great Escapes
14 Mar 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth disasters, growth miracles Tags: China, Indonesia
Asian Americans: Two Alternate Histories
10 Feb 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, human capital, labour economics, labour supply Tags: China, Japan, economics of immigration, The Philippines
In editing two papers on Asian American immigration for the Winter 2026 issue of the Journal of Economic Perspectives (where I work as Managing Editor), I found myself musing over two alternative histories: one about more such immigration, one about less. Hannah Postel describes “Asian Immigration to the United States in Historical Perspective” (Journal of Economic…
Asian Americans: Two Alternate Histories
The economic impacts of the 2008 NZ-China Free Trade Agreement
06 Feb 2026 1 Comment
in applied price theory, econometerics, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: China, free trade, free trade agreements, tariffs
New Zealand was the first Western developed country to sign a free trade agreement with China, and it came into force in 2008. At the time, the New Zealand government estimated an increase in exports to China of between NZ$225 million and NZ$350 million (between US$180 million and US$280 million), and Ministry of Foreign Affairs…
The economic impacts of the 2008 NZ-China Free Trade Agreement
The world’s three best cuisines
03 Jan 2026 1 Comment
in economics of media and culture Tags: China, India
In light of the absence of news as well as my recurring insomnia, which has made me unable to brain, I’m posting a list of what I consider the three best cuisines in the world. What I mean by this is that if I were constrained to eat only one nation’s cuisine for the rest…
The world’s three best cuisines
The population bust
02 Oct 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, growth miracles, labour economics, labour supply, population economics Tags: ageing society, China, population bust
Could China Have Gone Christian?
12 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of religion Tags: China
The Taiping Rebellion is arguably the most important event in modern history that even educated Westerners know very little about. It’s also known as the Taiping Civil War and it was one of the largest conflicts in human history (1850–1864), with death toll estimates ranging from 20 to 30 million, far exceeding deaths in the […]
Could China Have Gone Christian?
The CCP did not defeat Japan
07 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economic history, war and peace Tags: China, World War II
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has claimed credit in defeating Japan during World War II. However, this claim is a subject of historical debate. Their contribution was significant but also very different in scale and character from that of the Nationalist government under Chiang Kai-shek. Here’s a breakdown: 1. Context: China’s Resistance Against Japan 2. United Front […]
The CCP did not defeat Japan
Power supply
07 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic history, energy economics, growth miracles Tags: China
Some Links
07 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, entrepreneurship, financial economics, macroeconomics Tags: China, Japan
TweetThe folks at Unleash Prosperity share a chart that shows that Japanese industrial policy – which we Americans a few decades ago were warned by oh so very many pundits, professors, and politicians left, right, and center would propel Japan’s economy to great heights and leave America’s in the dust – was a curse to…
Some Links
China Still Building Coal Power Plants
04 Sep 2025 Leave a comment
in development economics, economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, growth miracles Tags: China, coal power
By Paul Homewood China continues to burn more and more coal, according to dw.com: China burned more coal at power plants between January and July of 2025 than at any time since 2016, despite massive renewable capacity, according to new environmental research report. The report, published by the Center for Research on Energy and […]
China Still Building Coal Power Plants
Captain John Morrison Birch: Missionary, Soldier, and Cold War Symbol
28 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: China, Cold War, World War II
Introduction John Morrison Birch (1918–1945) occupies an unusual place in American history. A Baptist missionary turned U.S. Army intelligence officer in China during World War II, his life bridged the spheres of religion, geopolitics, and war. Though he died at just 27 years old, Birch became a symbolic figure in early Cold War discourse when […]
Captain John Morrison Birch: Missionary, Soldier, and Cold War Symbol
The Profit Motive Will Ensure Adequate Supplies of Rare Earths
21 Jun 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, international economics, politics - USA, resource economics Tags: China
TweetHere’s a letter to the Wall Street Journal: Editor: You’re correct that “Trump has no China trade strategy” (June 12). Nearly all trade talk coming from this administration is economically incoherent bluster from which we Americans can expect only diminished prosperity. You err, however, in describing China as having a “stranglehold on rare-earth minerals.” China…
The Profit Motive Will Ensure Adequate Supplies of Rare Earths
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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