Suppose that apples sell for more than oranges and Parliament in it’s wisdom decides that, at last, apples and oranges must be compared. Not by shoppers — shoppers are biased, they merely reveal what they are willing to pay — but by a tribunal, which will determine whether apples and oranges are of truly equal…
The Apples and Oranges Tribunal
The Apples and Oranges Tribunal
28 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, discrimination, economics of education, economics of regulation, gender, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, poverty and inequality, property rights Tags: gender wage gap, sex discrimination
Italy is changing its electoral system (again)
28 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, politics, Public Choice Tags: Italy
Nicknamed the “Stabilicum” by the right-wing coalition government that introduced it, this would be the fifth major electoral reform in Italy since 1993.
Italy is changing its electoral system (again)
The law school at the U of C bans devices in the classroom
28 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
Speaking of AI, I wish the rest of the University of Chicago would adhere to our Law School’s new dictum, reported in the article below from WGN9 (click to read): An excerpt: Some students at the University of Chicago will have to learn how to do their work the old fashioned way, without their phones…
The law school at the U of C bans devices in the classroom
Entryism: The Subversion of Political Parties from Within
28 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - Australia, politics - USA Tags: British politics
Entryism is objectionable not because it advances left-wing or right-wing ideas, but because it seeks political power under a partially false identity. Instead of openly forming a party, presenting a programme and asking voters to support it, entryists join a larger established party and attempt to redirect or capture it from within. Political parties must, […]
Entryism: The Subversion of Political Parties from Within
The common sense of Fareed Zakaria
28 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in development economics, economic growth, economic history, fiscal policy, labour economics, macroeconomics, unemployment
This is one of the best Op-Eds you will read this year, though it deliberately deemphasizes the personal (no one is attacked) in a manner that will result in less attention. Better to write the truth! Excerpt: Why has this [voter discontent} happened? Some of it is economic. Expensive housing, stagnant incomes and widening inequality have fueled public…
The common sense of Fareed Zakaria
A populist ACT
27 Jul 2026 1 Comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: 2026 general election
There is insufficient support for neoliberal economic policies so political parties of the hard right are adopting populist causes. To succeed the neoliberal revolution of Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson had to change the culture of New Zealanders from their belief that the government was usually the solution to a problem to a society which […]
A populist ACT
Is Britain’s New Energy Secretary Even Crazier than Mad Ed?
27 Jul 2026 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, Marxist economics Tags: British politics
Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh wants full Net Zero by 2030. The post Is Britain’s New Energy Secretary Even Crazier than Mad Ed? appeared first on Watts Up With That?.
Is Britain’s New Energy Secretary Even Crazier than Mad Ed?
The DSA and the Myth of Scandinavian Socialism
27 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Norway, Sweden
This week, Darializa Avila Chevalier was asked if there has ever been a “successful model of socialism anywhere in the…
The DSA and the Myth of Scandinavian Socialism
Goldman’s Demand for “One Case” of Immigration Obstruction Fails Spectacularly When DHS Offers 7,000 in New York Alone
27 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: economics of immigration
An over-30-point primary loss would ordinarily produce a degree of introspection and self-reflection in a politician. Indeed, even such a…
Goldman’s Demand for “One Case” of Immigration Obstruction Fails Spectacularly When DHS Offers 7,000 in New York Alone
The failure of the League of Nations.
26 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, laws of war, war and peace Tags: World War I
The failure of the League of Nations is one of the most significant geopolitical collapses of the 20th century. Established after World War I to prevent another global conflict, it ultimately proved powerless against the rise of aggressive militarism in the 1930s. Historians generally attribute its collapse to four interconnected fatal flaws: Furthermore, other crucial […]
The failure of the League of Nations.
NZ First and the oil and gas ban
26 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, energy economics, politics - New Zealand
Audrey Young writes: The ban was not in the NZF coalition agreement with Labour. They could have simply refused to back it, and there would not have been the votes for it. But they decided to back it. That is a fact. The post NZ First and the oil and gas ban first appeared on…
NZ First and the oil and gas ban
Hipkins hypocrisy
25 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in politics - New Zealand Tags: 2026 general election
Stuff reports: Labour leader Chris Hipkins wasn’t happy when new ACT Party candidate Paul Henry said he’d need to “shoot” Hipkins, during a game of “shoot, shag, marry”. His other options were Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and NZ First leader Winston Peters, who, given the options, he’d “shag”. Hipkins said Henry wasn’t a serious candidate. “New…
Hipkins hypocrisy
Occupational Licensing: US and International
25 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of information, economics of regulation, human capital, income redistribution, labour economics, labour supply, occupational choice, occupational regulation, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking
The potential benefit of having the government require that certain jobs require an official license is quality control and protection. Personally, I rather like knowing that my nurse or doctor or dentist has gone through courses and training. The potential cost is that requirement to have a government license can become a way for those…
Occupational Licensing: US and International
Just fix industrial allocations
25 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - New Zealand Tags: carbon tax, carbon trading
New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme includes industrial allocations of carbon credits aimed at avoiding inefficient carbon leakage.But the formula is wrong. Imagine that you’re a domestic firm producing stuff that generates CO2 emissions. You correctly have to surrender NZU – one for each tonne of emissions. But if competitors in foreign markets do not face a…
Just fix industrial allocations
Cataloging Growth: A Re-Evaluation of 1900–1990
25 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic growth, economic history, entrepreneurship, macroeconomics
From Verónica Bäcker-Peral and Benjamin Wittenbrink of MIT: Measuring real GDP growth requires distinguishing changes in prices from changes in product quality and composition, yet systematic quality adjustment of price indexes is unavailable for much of the twentieth century. We construct a new quality-adjusted price index for U.S. consumer goods using 5.1 million product listings…
Cataloging Growth: A Re-Evaluation of 1900–1990
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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