Today is the Ides of March, the anniversary of Julius Caesar’s assassination. Economist David Henderson asks a question that people have been debating for over 2000 years: Should Caesar have been killed? Obviously, this issue divided Romans at the time, and later generations haven’t agreed on it either. If the issue comes down to whether […]
Archive | Public Choice
Reflections on the Potential Revolution in Egypt
By Ilya Somin on January 29, 2011 11:18 pm in Democracy, Political Ignorance, Public Choice, Public Opinion
I don’t have any brilliant suggestions for how President Obama should handle the situation in Egypt. But history and economic theory do give us some insight on why the revolt against the government started so suddenly and unexpectedly. They also highlight the danger that any regime that replaces incumbent dictator Hosni Mubarak might turn out […]
E.J. McMahon Argues for Alternatives to State Bankruptcy, and Fred Siegel on Public Employee Unions
The Manhattan Institute’s EJ McMahon argues for alternatives to state bankruptcy in the Wall Street Journal today. The article is not framed as an argument for the sustainability of the state debt obligations – i.e., raise taxes to the level necessary to cover the promises made – but instead argues that governors and state legislatures […]
Bankruptcy for States
Bankruptcy law professor David Skeel, whose new book The New Financial Deal is one I admire a great deal, has a new op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today urging a bankruptcy regime for the states. Among his most important points is that bankruptcy for states offers the most likely means that states can address […]
What Would Public Choice Theory Say About Rating Agencies and Sovereign Debt?
Particularly since the European sovereign debt crisis put the question of sovereign debt ratings squarely on the table, and even more in the last few days since the rating agencies have downgraded Greek debt to junk status, I have to wonder what insulates Moody’s, Standard & Poors, and Fitch against pressures direct and indirect, subtle […]
Who Won the Tax Deal?
I’ll leave it to the professional pundits to determine whether House Republicans, President Obama, or someone else got the better deal with last week’s announced compromise. One winner in the deal, however, is the ethanol lobby. Although conservative Republicans, environmental groups and even Al Gore had come out against extending ethanol’s tax breaks, Iowa lawmakers […]
“Guerrilla Polling” in Repressive Societies
I have several times criticized Western observers who naively assume that pro-government statements by people who live under repressive regimes necessarily reflect their true opinions (see here and here). Even if they actually hate the government, such people have obvious incentives to pretend otherwise in order to avoid punishment. At the same time, it is […]
The Political Economy of the Roman Republic
One of my longstanding interests is the political economy of ancient Greece and Rome. Former VC-er Eric Posner has an excellent new article on the political economy of the Roman Republic: The constitution of the Roman Republic featured a system of checks and balances that would eventually influence the American founders, yet it had very […]
A Recession-Driven Speed Trap in Falls Church?
Economic studies show that local governments often step up enforcement of minor traffic offenses during recessions in order to increase revenue. I seem to have been the victim of this kind of recession-driven revenue-mongering by the authorities in Falls Church, Virginia. Twice during the past year, I have been ticketed for driving over the 25 […]
Wasteful Weatherization Projects
The stimulus bill included $5 billion for weatherization projects. The idea was not just to create jobs, but also invest in energy efficiency. The money didn’t get spent quite as quickly as some had hoped, but it was still worthwhile , right? Maybe not. The stimulus funds ramped up weatherization programs so much that quality […]
Lessons from an Unlicensed Barber
Center for American Progress house blogger Matthew Yglesias confesses that he has an unlicensed barber, and has no regrets. Regulation of this sort seems totally unnecessary. People don’t die of bad haircuts, and since hairstyle is a quintessential matter of taste there’s absolutely no reason to think consumers can’t figure out for themselves who has […]
Excellent Review of Todd Zywicki’s and Max Stearns New Book on Public Choice and the Law
By Ilya Somin on June 16, 2010 2:37 pm in Growth of Government, International Human Rights Law, International Law, Public Choice
University of Florida lawprof D. Daniel Sokol has published a very good (and extremely favorable) review of co-conspirator Todd Zywicki’s important recent book Public Choice Concepts and Applications in Law (coauthored with Maxwell Stearns), in the Michigan Law Review. Danny writes that the book is “likely to be recognized as the leading work on the […]
Does the Supposedly Superior Expertise of Regulators Justify Libertarian Paternalism?
By Ilya Somin on April 19, 2010 9:56 pm in Libertarian Paternalism, Paternalism, Political Ignorance, Public Choice, Uncategorized
Some of the commenters on my last two posts criticizing libertarian paternalism accuse me of ignoring the possibility that such paternalism is justified by the supposedly superior expertise of government regulators. Actually, I have addressed this point in several previous posts, such as here and here. However, readers can’t be blamed for not taking the […]
Han Solo and the Economics of Rebellion Against Repressive Regimes
By Ilya Somin on December 22, 2009 3:20 am in Public Choice, Public Opinion, Science Fiction/Fantasy
Economist Daniel Hamermesh has an entertaining game theoretical analysis of Han Solo’s decision to fight for the rebels against the Empire back in the first Star Wars movie. The analysis is a bit of a joke, but there is a serious point here. And not the one that Hamermesh emphasizes: In the original Star Wars […]