One in five support a military coup to stop Boris Johnson becoming prime minister
16 Nov 2015 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, Public Choice Tags: British politics, expressive voting, military coups, rational ignorance, rational rationality, voter demographics
@BernieSanders @HillaryClinton an average American works 11% less than in 1950, but earns 246% more
05 Nov 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, politics - USA Tags: 2016 presidential elections, antimarket bias, good old days, Leftover Left, living standards, pessimism bias, rational ignorance, rational rationality, The Great Enrichment, Twitter left
The truth about gun free zones
25 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of crime, economics of regulation, law and economics Tags: expressive voting, gun control, gun free zones, meddlesome preferences, nanny state, offsetting behaviour, rational rationality, unintended consequences
@RusselNorman tried to outthink, outsmart @JohnKey unlike @nzlabour who just tried to smear him
22 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in environmental economics, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: Leftover Left, New Zealand Greens, New Zealand Labour Party, rational ignorance, rational rationality, Russel Norman, Twitter left
Imagine if @HillaryClinton had a serious opponent, not @BernieSanders
19 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: 2016 presidential election, expressive voting, Leftover Left, rational ignorance, rational rationality, Twitter left
Hillary Clinton's drop in the polls is precipitous, but it may not be fatal. Here's why: bloom.bg/1L1ahTD http://t.co/WpCL0JT2Kj—
Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) October 18, 2015
What Upshot would have said if Joe Biden had decided to run. nyti.ms/1ZYvTbk https://t.co/Bd2VS4wb50—
The Upshot (@UpshotNYT) October 22, 2015
The only person who is safe in a gun-free zone is the man with a gun
04 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of crime, economics of regulation Tags: expressive voting, game theory, gun control, gun free zones, offsetting behaviour, rational ignorance, rational rationality, unintended consequences
@World_Wildlife on the cost of moving to a low carbon economy @jamespeshaw @GreenpeaceNZ @NZGreens
01 Oct 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, environmental economics, global warming, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: climate alarmism, evidence-based policy, expressive voting, global warming, green rent seeking, low carbon economy, rational ignorance, rational rationality
Has the Democratic Party lost the white working class
29 Sep 2015 Leave a comment
in economic history, income redistribution, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: American politics, Democratic Party, rational ignorance, rational rationality, suppressive voting, Withering away of the proletariat
Again, the decline in white working class support for Democrats is vastly overstated. I bid you a good night. http://t.co/bUNpME5o3B—
The Monkey Cage (@monkeycageblog) September 13, 2015
A handy guide to irrational nonsense
28 Sep 2015 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, liberalism Tags: cognitive psychology, logical fallacies, philosophy of science, quackery, rational rationality
@nzlabour @NZGreens New Zealand state-owned enterprises dividends paid and capital injections since 2007
25 Sep 2015 Leave a comment
in financial economics, industrial organisation, politics - New Zealand, public economics, rentseeking, survivor principle, transport economics Tags: government ownership, KiwiRail, privatisation, rational ignorance, rational rationality, state owned enterprises, suppressive voting
The New Zealand Labour Party and New Zealand Greens both make much of the fact that when you privatise a state-owned enterprise the taxpayer is no longer entitled to dividends from the privatised business. The fact that the sale price is the net present value of those future dividends is a rating fallacy that is not the subject of this post.
Source: New Zealand Treasury – data released under the Official Information Act.
What is the subject of this post is whether there are indeed any dividends paid to taxpayers after capital injections. 2007 was the last year in which dividends to the taxpayer exceeded capital injections. The reason was that dog called KiwiRail.
Trigger warning for American political junkies: latest US presidential polling
25 Sep 2015 Leave a comment
in politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: 2016 presidential election, expressive voting, opinion polls, rational ignorance, rational rationality, voter demographics
Here's @pollsterpolls avg since 6/1, w/ less smoothing. 2-pt drop for Trump. Not yet clear whether there's a trend. http://t.co/vrwXNC6hlo—
The Monkey Cage (@monkeycageblog) September 24, 2015
Here's some actual evidence on whether voter anger is helping "outsider" candidates. washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-c… http://t.co/RaragjjStV—
The Monkey Cage (@monkeycageblog) September 16, 2015
Ben Carson's decline and then surge in the polls tracks media attention. washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-c… http://t.co/mrddJMMAc0—
The Monkey Cage (@monkeycageblog) September 03, 2015
Another key graph: news coverage of Trump hasn't really become more negative. For more: washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-c… http://t.co/p8KpVcUlGd—
The Monkey Cage (@monkeycageblog) August 28, 2015
Here's a new graph of Trump's poll numbers and share of news coverage. For more see: washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-c… http://t.co/sdJCQCs5O5—
The Monkey Cage (@monkeycageblog) August 28, 2015
Let @jeremycorbyn be Corbyn #toriesforcorbyn @LabourList @UKLabour
22 Sep 2015 1 Comment
in Marxist economics, Public Choice Tags: British politics, economics of ideology, expressive voting, ideology, Leftover Left, political psychology, rational ignorance, rational rationality, Twitter left
The last thing Tories for Corbyn want is for Jeremy Corbyn to start compromising on his principles. Do not be corrupted by the baubles of office. Stay staunch to those ‘renegade Liberal’ principles that kept you in the wilderness for 30 years within the Labour Party. That will guarantee permanent Tory rule. We and the Trots want our £3 worth.
Source: What’s going to happen to a Corbyn-led Labour party | LabourList
WATCH: @afneil exposes Lord Falconer's policy splits with Corbyn and McDonnell order-order.com/2015/09/20/11-… http://t.co/y2pxdu9YKl—
Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) September 20, 2015
@ChristchurchCC Deputy Mayor is clueless about the criminal justice system
21 Sep 2015 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, television, transport economics, urban economics Tags: crime and punishment, evidence-based policy, law and order, local government, rational ignorance, rational rationality, road safety, Yes Minister
In responding to demands for police to crack down on windscreen washers, some of whom intimidate motorists to pay, the deputy mayor of Christchurch showed a cultured ignorance of youth courts. She has never read newspaper reports that show that youth court defendants are never named and their convictions are not held against them as adults. Furthermore, she is unaware of the spent convictions law in New Zealand that expunges most convictions after seven years, especially petty convictions.
Stigler on economics as a big tent @RusselNorman @NZGreens @GreenpeaceNZ @Mark_J_Perry
21 Sep 2015 1 Comment
What is Little England
18 Sep 2015 Leave a comment
in liberalism Tags: British culture, British economy, British history, British politics, growth of government, meddlesome preferences, nanny state, rational ignorance, rational rationality, size of government
Some confusion about what I mean by "liberal social democracy" and why it applies to Britain. An explanation: http://t.co/VqzAnVJyOB—
Jeremy Cliffe (@JeremyCliffe) August 17, 2015
Quick recap on why Corbyn not signing the anthem is in fact an important issue @OwenJones84 @mehdirhasan @JohnRentoul http://t.co/xQAPGAG2Of—
Paco Killr (@PacoKillr) September 17, 2015
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments