Homines libenter quod volunt credunt
Posted in Property Rights on Nov 28th, 2012
Or perhaps call this an idea that makes the damages harder to think about … Wouldn’t a surefire way to stop global warming from destroying future generations be stopping future generations from existing? We don’t even have to be brutal about it – just ban human procreation. Without humans around, there can be no damage, […]
Posted in Property Rights, Voluntary Society, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Nov 27th, 2012
There is an element of the left which disdains property in any and all forms. I don’t mean this to characterize many people, though there are antI-property tendencies in most people. And I don’t mean this to imply that we need to or ought to live under so rigid a property rights absolutism that I […]
Posted in Institutions, Property Rights, Voluntary Society on Nov 12th, 2012
It is probably a given that people are averse to the idea that bargaining power between two parties be very far from equal. Think about how people feel about big box employers in their relationships with their “lowly” employees. But would there be much, if any, widespread aversion if the bargaining power tables were turned? […]
Posted in Environment, Institutions, Price System, Property Rights, Regulation, Uncategorized on Oct 31st, 2012
A logical first topic to connect the new Reasonable People series to my earlier posts on carbon taxes: what might a reasonable person advocate? At minimum the “no regrets” price for carbon is appropriate but probably the ideal is likely the median damage estimate among studies published in reputable journals. Deep uncertainty about the extent, effects, […]
Posted in ethical foundations, Property Rights, Voluntary Society, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Oct 28th, 2012
What, you thought I was talking about abortion? I find it incredibly “funny” that a disproportionate share of the people who would call themselves “pro-choice” in terms of a “woman’s right to choose” are basically opposed to allowing people to make their own choices anywhere else. Go check out some belief correlations. I am sure […]
Posted in Government Thuggery, If I Really Hated the Poor ..., Property Rights on Aug 2nd, 2012
I’m allowed to brag about my students. One of my terrific economics students and AHI-Rochester fellow Dan Wang just published his first piece. He is currently an intern for Radley Balko (someone we should spend more time talking about here at the UnbrokenWindow). In any case, please do read Dan’s story of Eminent Domain abuse […]
Posted in Environment, Property Rights, Voluntary Society on Jul 18th, 2012
What, you really thought I'd simply have you go to Wikipedia and answer "Washington?" That would be too easy. But you know my interests. According to the most recent National Land Trust Census from 2010 there 1,700 land trusts in operation in the US. How much land do these trusts collectively protect? How about 47 […]
Posted in Economics 238W, Environment, Extended Order, Institutions, Price System, Property Rights, Resources, You Can't Have it Both Ways on Jun 28th, 2012
George Stigler, I think, once quipped, "If you never missed a flight in your life, you've spent too much time in an airport." While there is much wisdom in this observation, I would recommend not taking it too seriously. We like to get to airports early so that we do not miss our flights. There […]
Posted in Property Rights, Uncategorized on Jun 13th, 2012
There are times when the efficiency criteria breaks down as a useful guide to economic policymaking. These times occur most frequently in situations when property ownership conveys major differences in wealth – which leads to disparities in willingness-to-pay versus willingness-to-accept measures of value. An illustration will help. If you asked me how much I would […]
Posted in Environment, ethical foundations, Property Rights on Jun 6th, 2012
What follows is the environmental equivalent of invoking Hitler's name in an argument. I wanted to talk about clubbing seals today. The term "seal clubbing" was, I thought for the longest time, merely a figure of speech used to describe folks who did not hold environmental values in the highest regard. Wow was I wrong. […]
