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The Deceptive Power of Maps (with Paulina Rowinska) - Econlib
How can the state of Colorado have nearly 700 sides? Why is a country’s coastline as long as you want it to be? And how is it that your UPS driver has more routes to choose from than there are stars in the universe? Listen as mathematician Paulina Rowinska talks with EconTalk’s Russ Roberts about […]
My Weekly Reading for June 29, 2025 - Econlib
ADAM SMITH AND THE NAVIGATION ACTS: A NEW INTERPRETATION by Caleb Petitt, Libertarianism.org, June 25, 2025. Excerpt: Smith’s discussion of the Navigation Acts has been a boon for protectionists and a thorn in the side of those who love Smith and support free trade and liberty. A deeper examination reveals that Smith was not the wholehearted supporter of the […]
Fascism, the Right, and the Left - Econlib
What is fascism, and what place does it occupy in political philosophy? There is more to that question than the standard identification with the extreme right, as echoed by the encyclopedia Britannica: Although fascist parties and movements differed significantly from one another, they had many characteristics in common, including extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral […]
Two housing crashes - Econlib
China recently experienced a housing crash that is comparable in size to what the US experienced during 2006-10. Before considering the impact of that housing crash, let’s review what happened in the US. Between January 2006 and April 2008, housing construction in the US plunged by more than 50%. Despite that crash the economy continued […]
Missing the Mark: When Punishment Reinforces the Wrong Behavior - Econlib
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy seems intent to repeat the mistakes of the past. While responding to an NBC Nightline interview question regarding the recent spate of aviation accidents and incidents (most recently to the interview, a private jet inadvertently entering an active runway in Chicago Midway Airport causing a Southwest flight to execute a […]
Voice, Exit, and Cheerleaders - Econlib
The newest season of the Netflix documentary America’s Sweethearts, which traces the 2024 audition, training, and performance season of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, is a lot more than just a pretty face. The philosopher Loren Lomasky has argued persuasively in Persons, Rights, and the Moral Community that one of the things that makes humans human […]
The Importance of Foreign Literature - Econlib
My winter read this year was Natsume Sōseki’s 1906 satirical novel I am a Cat (original title: Wagahai wa Neko de Aru). The novel is told from the perspective of an unnamed cat and contains vignettes of its observations of its master Mr Sneaze (Sōseki’s conception of himself), Mrs Sneaze (his wife), and several of […]
Kelo at 20 Years: How to Regulate the Regulators? - Econlib
This month marks 20 years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Kelo v. City of New London. This 5-4 ruling upheld the Court’s rational basis deference to legislatures in determining whether economic development (jobs, tax revenue, etc.) satisfies “public use”, even when the government conveys the seized property to other private parties. Although Kelo […]
Cochrane on monetary policy - Econlib
People occasionally ask me how my views on economics differ from those of John Cochrane. In a recent Cochrane post on Fed independence, I found a paragraph that nicely illustrates how our views differ: Congress also gave the Fed limited tools. The Fed can only buy and sell securities and set interest rates. The Fed […]
Highlights of Don Boudreaux Talk: Championing Free Trade in an Age of Economic Nationalism - Econlib
George Mason University economics professor Don Boudreaux gave an excellent Zoom talk last week to a group I’m part of: the Stanford Classical Liberals. One of the things I most enjoy about Don’s talks is his nailing each point with loads of relevant data. The other thing, which is rare nowadays, is the perspective […]
Law and Policy - Econlib
Whenever a legal challenge to a given policy is decided, a discussion tends to arise as if the court is making a statement on the desirability of the policy itself. For example, after the US Court of International Trade struck down Trump’s tariffs enacted under the International Economic Policy Act (IEEPA) of 1977 (VOS Selections, […]
Are Immigrants Self-Deporting? - Econlib
A recent paper from the Center for Immigration Studies suggests that the answer is yes: We preliminarily estimate that the number of illegal immigrants has fallen by one million since the start of the year, perhaps due to their leaving in response to President Trump’s election and stepped-up enforcement efforts. But it is important to […]
Military Action and Linguistic Shortcuts - Econlib
Humans have a tendency to obey political authorities even when it may not seem in each individual’s self-interest to do so. Nationalism is a modern manifestation of this phenomenon. After the US government’s strike on nuclear facilities of the Iranian government, there is little doubt that nationalism or tribalism will lead a large number of […]
Companies Don’t Need Regulation to Cut Back on “Excessive Packaging” - Econlib
Former Obama staffer Rahm Emanuel famously said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not before.” There is a corollary here: never overlook an opportunity to invent a crisis. Perhaps it would be better said, […]
Error in Crushing Capitalism - Econlib
I posted last week about my review of Norbert J. Michel’s new book, Crushing Capitalism: How Populist Policies Are Threatening the American Dream. In my review, I stated: Although even low-income people are doing better, one way not to help them is to impose high tariffs. Even before President Donald Trump’s first term in […]
How to Be a Super Ager (with Eric Topol) - Econlib
What if we could delay–or even prevent–Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart disease? What if much of what you know about aging is wrong? Listen as cardiologist and author Eric Topol of the Scripps Research Institute talks about his new book Super Agers with EconTalk’s Russ Roberts. They discuss why your genes matter less than you think, […]
My Weekly Reading for June 22, 2025 - Econlib
Foreign Students Help Make America Great by Michael Crow, Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2025 (electronic version) Excerpts: The administration’s actions this spring to terminate visas of international students for minor legal infractions such as traffic violations and its scrutiny of students’ social-media accounts have sent a message that foreign students aren’t wanted here. […]
Small Government in Somalia - Econlib
I’ve seen progressives derisively refer to a “libertarian paradise” in Somalia, where the government is largely absent. While it’s true that Somalia is a good example of the importance of having enough “state capacity” to protect property rights, even Somali anarchy has some unexpected benefits. Here is The Economist: Thirty years ago, making a phone […]
Thoughts from Crushing Capitalism - Econlib
In my review of Norbert J. Michel’s Crushing Capitalism, which I quoted from yesterday, I didn’t have room to highlight 2 other striking parts. First, in a section on why technological improvements in productivity have not caused net job loss, he has a discussion of ATMs. He writes: ATMs automated some of the basic tasks […]
Adam Smith, George Orwell, and Rules for Writing - Econlib
In The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith used rules about writing as a metaphor for rules of conduct. He examines conduct by two different measures. In one measure, he considers what rules one would need to follow to, in my inelegant paraphrase, avoid being an actively scummy person. On the other hand, he also considers […]
You cannot have it both ways - Econlib
You can be a realist or an idealist, but you cannot have it both ways. A few weeks back, I heard Kevin Hassett being interviewed on NPR. At one point, he claimed that economics textbooks explain that tariffs do not raise prices. I’m pretty sure that Hassett knows that this is not the case, that […]
The Resilient American Dream - Econlib
We often hear that the American dream is no longer achievable for a large fraction of Americans. Some of the people who make that claim go on to advocate more government regulation and spending to help restore the dream. But what if the American dream is alive and well, and what if current government […]
Getting "Screwed" on Trade? - Econlib
Back in February, Donald Trump claimed that the European Union was formed to “screw the US” on trade. With the reimposition and then the repausing of tariffs on the European Union, the Trump Administration has repeated that claim, sometimes including that a value-added tax (VAT) also exists to screw Americans. Of course, these are silly […]
Political Violence in Minnesota and Elsewhere - Econlib
Political violence is violence for political reasons. More precisely and to avoid circularity, the difference between political violence and ordinary violence is that the former is motivated by resistance to, or promotion of, the imposition of some collective choices on others. For example, “the left” wants to impose redistribution (of money and other advantages of […]
June is Liberty Month - Econlib
Celebrate the liberty trifecta on a site funded by, appropriately enough, the Liberty Fund. Five years ago, I didn’t even know why Apple put Juneteenth on my Mac calendar. I just assumed that it was a play on words. And then I checked. Juneteenth really is rightly celebrated as the end of slavery in […]
Basic Public-Choice Analysis of Attacking Iran - Econlib
Public choice theory and its methodological-individualist foundations can be illustrated with a currently hot question: Will President Trump order an attack on Iranian military assets? It is, of course, not “the American people” who will decide; nobody has had lunch with him or her. (On this point, see my Independent Review article “The Impossibility of […]
Gates, Giving, and Government - Econlib
Bill Gates has for many years been focusing on philanthropic projects through the Gates Foundation. He recently announced an end date for this endeavor. As Bill Gates put it in his recent announcement: I will give away virtually all my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving […]
Lessons from Chinese history - Econlib
The Economist has an interesting review of a new book entitled Peak Human, by Johan Norberg. This caught my eye: Song emperors were much keener on the rule of law than their predecessors, who tended to rule by whim. To enforce predictable rules, they hired lots of officials via meritocratic exams. The first Song emperor […]
Teaching College Students About Money & Cryptocurrency - Econlib
Introduction: This teaching note provides college instructors with guidance on teaching students about money, including what it is, what it is not, and distinctions between different forms like fiat money and cryptocurrency. Teaching college students about money is one of the easiest tasks. They arrive in class with a strong interest in money, motivated by […]
The "Big Beautiful Bill" and the Wisdom of Friedman - Econlib
President Trump has fended off Republican criticisms of his “big, beautiful [budget] bill” by declaring that a vote against it is a vote for “the biggest tax increase” in American history, an estimated $4 trillion over a decade. The hidden irony is that, as the late Milton Friedman warned a half century ago, even if […]
Leon Kass on the Wisdom of Rousseau - Econlib
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Does technology liberate us or enslave us? How do our social interactions affect our sense of self and our emotional health? Listen as author and master teacher Leon Kass and EconTalk’s Russ Roberts do a close reading of a few paragraphs of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and explore some of the deepest aspects of our relationships […]
Mission accomplished? - Econlib
A recent Bloomberg article suggested that the Fed should declare victory over inflation: Granted, it may feel premature, if not foolhardy, to declare “mission accomplished” on inflation. It’s not just the rise in tariffs and the fall in immigration; there are a lot of structural factors in the economy pointing to more inflation: more debt, […]
RFK Jr. Conducted a Pointless Vaccine Purge - Econlib
The Wall Street Journal ran a letter co-authored by Charley Hooper and me today (print version tomorrow.) I have hesitated to quote more than 2 paragraphs but I think my contract that allows full quotation only after 30 days applies to my paid work, not my free work. So I’ll take the chance and quote the […]
Back to the Seventeenth Century - Econlib
The conflict between the American and Chinese governments about the restriction of exports—rare earths in one direction and other goods in the other direction—has been branded a new “supply chain” trade war. The Wall Street Journal wrote (“Supply Chains Become New Battleground in the Global Trade War,” June 11, 2025): A key lesson from the […]
My Weekly Reading for June 15, 2025 - Econlib
First, to all the fathers out there, Happy Fathers’ Day. Walmart and Amazon Are Exploring Issuing Their Own Stablecoins by Gina Heeb, AnnaMaria Andriotis, and Josh Dawsey, Wall Street Journal, June 13, 2025 (electronic edition) Excerpt: A move to launch crypto-based payments by Walmart or Amazon that bypasses the traditional payments system would send […]
Seigniorage - Econlib
In my June 10 post on the penny, I wrote: The U.S. government makes a pretty penny (pun intended) on seigniorage. It’s not as much as it used to be because more and more people use credit cards and even cryptocurrency to buy goods and services. Still, it’s a good amount. The biggest gain […]
The Marvels of a Flight - Econlib
As I write this piece, I’m about to board an airplane. I’m in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but in just over 13 hours I’ll be in Zurich, Switzerland. In the 19th century, not even the wealthiest imaginable person would have been able to travel this quickly. Indeed, the entire wealth of the world could not have […]
Lines, Legalism, Limits, and Likeness - Econlib
For today’s post, further thoughts inspired by Barry Lam’s book Fewer Rules, Better People. When Lam puts forth arguments in favor of legalism in his book, one of the main values he argued legalism seeks to preserve is the idea that justice requires we treat like cases alike. If you and I engage in the same […]
The Math Ain't Mathing: Why High Tariff Schemes Will Always Lower GDP - Econlib
A great deal of blame for declining GDP has been placed on the impact of imports by the national conservative and protectionist crowds. Pierre Lemieux does an excellent job explaining why imports have no direct impact on GDP here, so there’s really no reason to cover that ground again. It is sufficient to revisit the […]
The Me Decade - Econlib
Tom Wolfe once designated the 1970s as “The Me Decade”. It seems to me that this label better applies to the 2020s. Consider this action by the New York state Senate: ALBANY — Under cloak of darkness, the state Senate moved to help more than 130,000 reckless drivers avoid accountability in a middle-of-the-night watering down […]