Welfare Economics
TweetWelfare economics, which was developed from the 1930s on (by Hicks, Kaldor, Samuelson…), was once a major field of economic theory, but now seems absent from academic curricula – except perhaps in...
View ArticleThe Progress of Statistical Justice
TweetIn Steven Spielberg’s movie “Minority Report” (with Tom Cruise) and in the original 1956 science-fiction novel by Philip K. Dick, mutants called “precogs” can predict future crimes – “precrimes” –...
View ArticleTrump: The Role of the Establishment
TweetThere is something funny about the establishment’s dismay at Donald Trump’s election victory. It is not so much the disruption of their suspicious comfort and contentment. We still don’t know how...
View ArticleThe Wealth of Nations and Free Trade
TweetAdam Smith’s famous book The Wealth of Nations (1776) developed economic and moral arguments against “the mercantile system” or protectionism. The relevant chapters are among the best of the book...
View ArticleJames Mill’s 1808 Commerce Defended and Today’s Protectionism
TweetJames Mill (1773–1836) was a Scottish economist, philosopher, and journalist. He was the father of an even more famous figure of the 19th century, economist and philosopher John Stuart Mill. Like...
View ArticleReminder on Adam Smith and Businessmen
Tweet“The interest of the dealers, however, in any particular branch of trade or manufactures, is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public. To widen the market...
View ArticleThe Will of the People
TweetPerhaps one can define “the will of the people” as 51% or 48% of a vote, or 35% of the electors, but it is only a definition. Or else it is the conclusion of a demanding contractarian theory.
View ArticleOn the Security Obsession
TweetAs the number of checkpoints and searches between point A and point B approaches infinity, the probability that a terrorist or common criminal will pass through the net approaches zero. But, at...
View ArticleWhy the Opposition to Free Trade?
TweetThe opposition to free trade comes from the same two sources as the opposition to economic freedom in general: ignorance of economics; or the belief that individuals in some group should grab more...
View ArticleWhat’s New, What to Read
TweetAs you can see, I seldom write on this site anymore. However, I blog at Econlog, where you can find a list of all my posts. I also maintain a list of my other articles and book reviews on the …...
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