Monthly Archives: May 2014

What I’m Reading

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Arnold Kling

It’s the book that you’re not supposed to read. A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History, by Nicholas Wade. Robert VerBruggen reviews it. An overarching theme is that while institutions matter greatly — just look at the difference between … Continue reading →

Posted in books and book reviews, Growth Causes and Consequences | 5 Comments

On Freedom of Speech

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Arnold Kling

Fredrik DeBoer writes, undermining rights works both ways. This is going to happen: sooner or later, some CEO or sports team owner or similar is going to get ousted because he or she supports a woman’s right to an abortion, … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 7 Comments

Robert Murphy, Capital, and the Cambridge Controversy

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Arnold Kling

He writes, If a firm hires a specific capital good for a unit of time, the payment is the rental price of the capital good. For example, suppose that a warehouse pays $100,000 per year to an independent company that … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic education and methods | 4 Comments

Me on Greg Clark’s Latest

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Arnold Kling

I write, his findings argue against the need to create strong incentives to succeed. If some people are genetically oriented toward success, then they do not need lower tax rates to spur them on. Such people would be expected to … Continue reading →

Posted in books and book reviews, links to my essays, statistical methods | 9 Comments

SNEP Solution: Alternatives to the FDA Process

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Arnold Kling

One of the problem areas is anachronistic regulatory models. The FDA drug approval process is onerous. The FDA acts as if the worst error that it can make is to approve a drug that it later regrets approving. Essentially, it … Continue reading →

Posted in regulation, Setting Economic Priorities | 2 Comments

Two Affirmations

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Arnold Kling

1. From Jason Potts. For conservatives, public funding of arts and culture is worthy when it supports the values of civilisation, which means a John Ruskin type view of the best of cultural heritage: museums, galleries, botanical gardens and opera … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics of Health Care, Three-Axes Model | 2 Comments

The Elite vs. The Elect

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Arnold Kling

This lecture by Joseph Bottum was three months ago. It is based on his book An Anxious Age. I do not think I can do justice to it in a blog post. In fact, the Q&A may be the best … Continue reading →

Posted in Libertarian Thought, Three-Axes Model | 32 Comments

The World is Complicated

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Arnold Kling

Tyler Cowen quotes Aaron Hedlund: The flaw with both of these models, of course, is that they are representative household models where there is no inequality. Fair point, but I do not see this as a fatal flaw in trying … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic education and methods, Tyler Cowen is my Favorite Blogger | 2 Comments

Robert Higgs asks the Huemer Question

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Arnold Kling

He writes, (1) Who do these people—that is, the state’s kingpins, Praetorian guards, bootlickers, and key private-sector supporters—think they are to treat us as they do? (2) Why do nearly all of us put up with the state’s outrageous treatment? … Continue reading →

Posted in Libertarian Thought | 5 Comments

SNEP Solution: Flexible Benefits and Extreme Catastrophic Health Insurance

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Arnold Kling

The problem is high implicit marginal tax rates on many people who are eligible for benefits from means-tested government programs. I think that a generic solution might consist of flexible benefits. One approach would be to replace all forms of … Continue reading →

Posted in behavioral economics, links to my essays, Setting Economic Priorities | 16 Comments