The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design. – F.A. Hayek
Posted in Fun Facts on Aug 22nd, 2010
Before 1820, the discipline of economics in Austria was known as “The Science of Police.” This was, of course, prior to the Enlightenment works to be permitted into the empire. Does that make me a policeman?
Posted in Fun Facts on Aug 1st, 2010
In 1921 the Supreme Council of the National Economy employed 250,000 bureaucrats in the USSR. By 1928, the bureaucracy grew to 4 million. Of course, we would never have such a bloated bureaucracy here. And of course, progressivism is about serving “the people.” Right, so long as we remember which people.
Posted in Fun Facts on Jul 10th, 2010
There is not a single country in the world that has a higher birth rate today than it had in 1960.
That is from Matt Ridley’s fantastic book, The Rational Optimist. Here is another bit … that birth rate decline has been especially pronounced in … poor countries. Very good estimates now see world population peaking [...]
Posted in Fun Facts on Jun 30th, 2010
Estimates of the size of the “informal sector” (i.e. the Black Market) in the US indicate that 9% of activity occurs in this sector.
The Western European average: 18%
Greece: 28.6%
Latin American average: 41%
Bolivia: 67.1%
Posted in Fun Facts on May 29th, 2010
142 years ago today the Great Train Robbery took place in Indiana. The 7 members of the Reno gang made off with $96,000 in loot.That’s about $1.56 million in today’s dollars.
Posted in Fun Facts on May 3rd, 2010
This one via Jeff Miron:
The U.S. government’s massive share of the nation’s mortgage market grew even larger during the first quarter.
Government-related entities backed 96.5% of all home loans during the first quarter, up from 90% in 2009, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. The increase was driven by a jump in the share of loans backed [...]
Posted in Fun Facts on Apr 30th, 2010
Spain’s unemployment rate just reached 20%. Again. The US unemployment rate at the peak of the Depression was just north of 24%. The highest since then was the 10.3% we just experienced.
I guess Spain is suffering the fallout from that unfettered capitalism that it has been practicing for years. When the government starts making the [...]
Posted in Fun Facts, Unintended Consequences, Welfare State on Apr 27th, 2010
There are NO recorded Asian undergraduates disabled by ADD, and only 0.7 percent of Asian students have a learning disability, according to government data. Read the excellent Pope Center study on student disabilities here.
I’ve been teaching since 2002 (with a two year hiatus). I have taught in aggregate probably around 2,500 students. I’ve probably been [...]
Posted in Fun Facts on Apr 20th, 2010
Which candidate, McCain or Obama, received more campaign money from Pfizer, Exxon and Goldman Sachs? Well, you know the answer. That doesn’t mean one is “better” or “worse” than the other. The point is intended to shake folks from this absurd notion that somehow the political left is not the entrenched corporatist entity that the [...]
Posted in Fun Facts on Apr 17th, 2010
Bill Easterly reminds us that around the globe … there are more cell phones than toilets. My only comment, aside from what he says is, is it not completely insane that we choose to use our water systems as sanitation systems? I mean really, in the year 2010, is there any reason our human waste [...]
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