Economic Theory
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Why Politicians Focus on Trivia in the Midst of Disaster
Why would a city, short of tax money in a crisis, pay an enormous sum to disable a public space from being used by the citizens who paid for it? Because the city can do nothing about the virus.
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Pandemics and the Great Mind Fallacy
A lot of people stop listening to economists when struggle to precisely articulate and explain the “solution” in minute detail. Yet it is precisely because we cannot specify in advance precisely how ‘the market’ will address the problem that makes markets indispensable.
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Prices Should Change in a Pandemic Shutdown
After all, it’s not the sellers of oranges, toilet paper or water bottles that put the “exploited” buyers in their current predicaments. In contrast, they’re the saviors that offer them a way out.
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Tripartite Governance: A Guidepost for Proper Policymaking
Public governance may be the most prominent or dominant type of governance in our lives, but we mustn’t ignore or deny that there are three main types of governance: public governance, private governance, and personal governance.
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Imagine a Horse Race Between Smith, Schumpeter, and Stupidity
What we are witnessing right now is macroeconomic volatility caused by an exogenous shock due to a public health crisis combined with a policy response that has shut down the economy.
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Why the Political Class Freaked Out
Politicians, including the President, try to adjust expectations about what a “good” or “bad” outcome would look like. If the outcome is bad and lots of people die they can always come out with the “good thing we did something or this would have been much worse” excuse.
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Do Economists Believe in “Magic”? No, We Believe in Markets
The entire dismal science rests on this very, very simple insight: specialization makes our labor more productive. We could complicate this in all sorts of different ways, and that’s exactly what we do when we move from specialization to supply and demand.
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It’s the Poor Who Are Suffering Most
Let’s be very clear about what’s happening: Coronavirus is a rich man’s disease, and the economy-crushing shutdown something created by the relatively rich. The poor? They’ll be the victims of this freakout born of mass affluence.
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The Top Economic Takeaway of the Coronavirus Panic
Ultimately, our wealth consists chiefly in the ongoing willingness and ability of millions of strangers to work for us daily. Any obstacle to large numbers of people performing their daily jobs means hardship for us all.
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Without Individual Autonomy, There’s No Equality
Economists usually say, “SINCE exchange is voluntary….” but the rest of the world says, “IF exchange is voluntary….” It makes a difference. To explain why, I have developed a concept of “truly voluntary” exchange in a number of writings, including one overview here at AIER. If an exchange is truly voluntary, we know for certain…
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•
Why Politicians Focus on Trivia in the Midst of Disaster
Why would a city, short of tax money in a crisis, pay an enormous sum to disable a public space from being used by the citizens who paid for it? Because the city can do nothing about the virus.
-
•
Pandemics and the Great Mind Fallacy
A lot of people stop listening to economists when struggle to precisely articulate and explain the “solution” in minute detail. Yet it is precisely because we cannot specify in advance precisely how ‘the market’ will address the problem that makes markets indispensable.
-
•
Prices Should Change in a Pandemic Shutdown
After all, it’s not the sellers of oranges, toilet paper or water bottles that put the “exploited” buyers in their current predicaments. In contrast, they’re the saviors that offer them a way out.
-
•
Tripartite Governance: A Guidepost for Proper Policymaking
Public governance may be the most prominent or dominant type of governance in our lives, but we mustn’t ignore or deny that there are three main types of governance: public governance, private governance, and personal governance.
-
•
Imagine a Horse Race Between Smith, Schumpeter, and Stupidity
What we are witnessing right now is macroeconomic volatility caused by an exogenous shock due to a public health crisis combined with a policy response that has shut down the economy.
-
•
Why the Political Class Freaked Out
Politicians, including the President, try to adjust expectations about what a “good” or “bad” outcome would look like. If the outcome is bad and lots of people die they can always come out with the “good thing we did something or this would have been much worse” excuse.
-
•
Do Economists Believe in “Magic”? No, We Believe in Markets
The entire dismal science rests on this very, very simple insight: specialization makes our labor more productive. We could complicate this in all sorts of different ways, and that’s exactly what we do when we move from specialization to supply and demand.
-
•
It’s the Poor Who Are Suffering Most
Let’s be very clear about what’s happening: Coronavirus is a rich man’s disease, and the economy-crushing shutdown something created by the relatively rich. The poor? They’ll be the victims of this freakout born of mass affluence.
-
•
The Top Economic Takeaway of the Coronavirus Panic
Ultimately, our wealth consists chiefly in the ongoing willingness and ability of millions of strangers to work for us daily. Any obstacle to large numbers of people performing their daily jobs means hardship for us all.
-
•
Without Individual Autonomy, There’s No Equality
Economists usually say, “SINCE exchange is voluntary….” but the rest of the world says, “IF exchange is voluntary….” It makes a difference. To explain why, I have developed a concept of “truly voluntary” exchange in a number of writings, including one overview here at AIER. If an exchange is truly voluntary, we know for certain…