Homines libenter quod volunt credunt
Posted in incentives, Institutions, Market Failures on Dec 27th, 2012
How often do you encounter organizations that seem to have “no agenda” or claim to be “non-partisan.” If ever there was a time to do some mental substitution, this would be it. I worked for a “non-partisan economic research foundation” once. They were gold bugs and some strange blend of Marxist sympathising libertarians. I had […]
Posted in Economics Problems, labor markets, Market Failures, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Dec 16th, 2012
I am sure you folks are familiar with the claim that “markets are prone to monopolies.” Let’s just take that as given and accept the conclusion that this requires considerable government interference in the course of voluntary transactions. The data are not very clear that this is, indeed, what happens. Take a look at the […]
Posted in Education, Entrepreneurs, Fun Facts, Market Failures on Oct 29th, 2012
A canard of the uninformed left is that capitalism leads to monopoly – which of course requires either the elimination of capitalism or the heavily regulation of it by … a … monopoly with guns. And never mind the actual history of anti-trust, which originates in the “Progressive” movement and is now manifest in the […]
Posted in Environment, Market Failures, Politics on Jun 27th, 2012
Here is a new paper from Geophysical Research Letters: The resulting enhancement of atmospheric solar absorption (only the direct effect of aerosols is included) over Asia induces tropospheric heating anomalies that force large-scale circulation changes which, averaged over the twenty-year period, add as much as an additional 0.4°C warming over the eastern US during winter […]
Posted in Market Failures on Jun 5th, 2012
Last week I rambled on about Michael Sandel's argument that markets were too prevalent today. I disagree. Take this example. I live in a small, sleepy suburban development – about 200 houses were built on old farmland here about 50 years ago, most homes are on 1/4 acre plots, most homes are mid-sized split-level ranch-ish […]
Posted in Fun Facts, Market Failures on Apr 24th, 2012
According to one survey, over half of college students surveyed believed they can detect someone with an STD … just by looking at them. In other news: calls for RE-regulating the airline industry are rearing their ugly head. Might I offer the possibility that further de-regulation may be helpful? Or perhaps that maybe there should […]
Posted in Health Care, Market Failures, Price System, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Apr 24th, 2012
The query in the title suggests an epic post, but we’ll keep it simple today. Let me ask folks what they think of a policy proposal that does the following: Examines the entrepreneurial ability, dynamism, job creating tendencies, etc. of companies and puts companies into two groups: dynamic/productive and stagnant/destructive. Takes the dynamic companies and […]
Posted in Market Failures, Politics on Mar 28th, 2012
I promised you yesterday that I would repeat this point. A public good is NOT a good that is provided by government. Find a new name for it. I have offered up in the past calling those things “government goods.” Public schooling is far more accurately called government schooling than public. The word “public” has […]
Posted in Economic Illiteracy, Economics Problems, Market Failures, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Feb 2nd, 2012
I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I am told, “yeah, supply and demand and prices work and all that, but if we allow them to run wild, the environment will inevitably be destroyed.” These arguments are often levied far more vehemently in the presence of classical liberals than in more mainstream […]
Posted in Market Failures on Nov 21st, 2011
Would you characterize my inability to get from NY to London via airplane in 1886 a market failure? You might. After all, we had markets at that time, and the market did not “deliver” the goods. But that is no reason to call it a market failure. Why? Well, we had governments at that time, […]
