Homines libenter quod volunt credunt
Posted in Central Planning, Paternalism, Taxation, Unintended Consequences on Apr 18th, 2012
I just finished reading a new NBER paper that talks about how subsidies for “green” products can be “welfare improving” if people have systematically biased beliefs or other misperceptions about how energy efficient their purchase of durables really is. Here is the paper. Here is the abstract: We show how the traditional logic of Pigouvian […]
Posted in ethical foundations, Government Gone Wild on Apr 18th, 2012
Courtesy of my good friend John B.: Who Gets the Blame for the GSA Scandal? Jonathan Horn · 5 hours ago In The Washington Post, columnist Dana Milbank looks at the culture that inspired officials at the General Services Administration to spend taxpayer dollars on extravagant conferences. Milbank asks: Who is to blame? The answer is […]
Posted in Environment, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Apr 18th, 2012
This is circulating on campus. I’ll be giving a private Earth Day talk myself on Sunday. In preparation for it I am going to drown a few small puppies using a swimming pool paid for with Exxon money. If you’d like to see what the U of R has planned for Earth Day, check it […]
Posted in Environment on Apr 18th, 2012
When folks who study the damages expected from climate change report on things like, “cold related deaths” as compared to “heat related deaths” what are they actually comparing? I’ve read dozens of scientific papers indicating that exposure to cold is far more serious a health risk than exposure to heat. On the other hand if […]
