“How to breed mosquitos” rising as a Philippine search inquiry
Incentives matter. No, really, a very basic law of life - incentives matter:
The Adam Smith Institute’s response to change
The ASI is often described as centre-right because of its neoliberal approach to trade and its emphasis on markets and competition. It is far from a populist outlook that is anti-immigrant, anti-drugs, anti-lifestyle choice and traditionalist moral values.
Wales to ban lying in politics. Good luck, they’ll need it
When this idea was first floated we were all in favour of it for the joy and amusement that would follow.
Not a thing
In a famous, some might say infamous, interview for Woman’s Own in 1987, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher declared:
There’s a vast value to devolution, you know?
As we keep insisting the beating heart of the very idea of a market economic system is that we get to try many - even all - things and then do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
The Problem of Car Loans
The Supreme Court's rejection of Rachel Reeves' intervention in the car loan compensation case lays bare a profound crisis in British financial regulation.
Ten things every economist should know
Taxes on goods and services, including labour, make them more expensive. Other things being equal, on the margins people will tend to consume less of them.
Piecework, that’s what’ll solve the NHS, piecework
Apparently the National Health Service - that Wonder of the World - is not, in fact, very good. In fact, it could be significantly better if it were simply managed better:
Churn and change
When I first began to fly across the Atlantic, flights used to cost the same because the International Air Transport Association (IATA) was a price cartel.
Here’s another one for the little list - Natural England
Putting Tony Juniper - who ran Friends of the Earth for many years - in charge of what may be built, where, at Natural England might not have been a good idea.
Another triumph of Mazzonomics
It is, of course, imperative that society is driven forward by mission oriented, cross cutting, technological solution providing plans of only the sort that government can provide. Otherwise, how can anything happen? Obviously!
Degrowth isn’t going to work you know
As we’re all aware the excuse for socialism and a planned economy has changed. A century back scientific socialism was said to be more efficient than that chaos of markets and capitalism. So, a planned future would be a richer future. We also, with the benefit of hindsight, know how that worked out. It didn’t, etc.