:Fixed Point

It’s funny and goes out of its way to stress it libertarian credentials - many of the policy examples they give have been implemented by the private sector. The Government interventions they advocate aim to modify the role of the state without increasing it, or to reduce it. It does a good job of countering […]

Well after being away for the whole summer and autumn did you expect a witty title? Apologies for the absence, but I have a job that isn’t complementary to blogging. Anyway…
Tim Harford points out that there is a shortage of Wii consoles (again). Tim dwells on why the price doesn’t rise, but I want to use the story […]

A while back I posted in response to Bryan Caplan’s essay (and now book) on voter irrationality. He views human misconceptions, about economics in particular, (he quotes how people are wrong in orders of magnitude about the extent of foreign aid given by the US, the effects of immigration etc.) as irrational. That is, people […]

What is the greatest misunderstanding about economics and business in general? For me, it’s the commonly perpetuated view that “for-profit” and “for the public” are necessarily divergent and opposite viewpoints. Or it put it another way, that self-interest can’t lead to a common good.
That Smith’s central message, 200 years later, is still poorly misunderstood is […]

Who wants to liver forever?

London, or rather Ken Livingstone, has struck its own deal with Hugo Chavez for cheap oil. The fuel will be priced below cost and in return for ferrying around poor people in London, Venezuela will get “assistance” with global warming strategies.
As the article points out, what on earth does Venezuela gain? It could sell its […]

The Economist blog weighs in with this:
behavioural economics can point to many interesting irregularities in behaviour, but it cannot dictate political beliefs such as the level of government intrusion into the economy. If we put the government in charge of deciding what we should want, who will be in charge of manipulating government preferences?
It’s a […]

The BBC reports of moves towards ending free banking in the UK, and charging customers for current accounts. Graham Beale, the incoming CEO of Nationwide says,
In a way, I do believe fee-based banking is a fairer proposition
We might grumble about being charged a fee to have an account, but there appears no logical reason to […]

Monty Python had a celebrated sketch in which a self-proclaimed dinosaur expert, Ann Elk, propounded her theory of Brontasuaruses When repeatedly asked by the interviewer for the details of her theory, she finally answers
All brontosauruses are thin at one end, much MUCH
thicker in the middle, and then thin again at the
far end. That is the […]

DaimlerChrysler may demerge. Back in the days when I did this kind of research, we often found that 60-70% of mergers destroyed value for the acquiring shareholders. The most typical problems were a failure to manage massive integration issues and, of course, over-paying for the acquisition. Along with over-paying, one can suggest a failure to […]

Lyn lays bare her thought processes as she writes a psychology essay. Her motivation being to demonstrate to students that even model answers don’t just spring forth from mental gloop

Don Boudreaux writes
I must be explicit that I have long been skeptical of “green.” Unlike “green” folks, I am not especially inspired by nature. Yes, often nature is pretty and soothing to visit. But to get my blood pumping with excitement and awe you must show me a cityscape — Manhattan’s skyline, […]

I think this is quite cool.

Full Disclosure: I own 2 Apple computers, and ipod and have been using Apple’s for 15 years.

The Norwegian consumer body has ruled that songs downloaded from itunes must be playable on other machines. Maniacal Apple fans may see this forced union of itunes with non-Apple hardware as the exploitation of a classy and refined product […]

I have an interest in childcare so this Opinion piece by Janet Daley caught my eye. She laments the absence of grandparents, and feels guilty herself at pursuing her career instead of offering support to her struggling daughter. Her central question:
Why are educated working women, who are more highly paid than ever before, having to […]

Let’s not discuss how I feel about having stayed up for all the Ashes matches, with a new baby (having manly volunteered to do the night feeds). Instead, I draw your attention to the most sensible diagnosis of our lamentable failings in Australia, from Matthew syed in the Times.
Those who believed that England’s victory in […]

Janet Daley worries that combating environmental damage through taxation of pollution, may re-create a class divide that technology has helped destroy.
If politicians are planning restrictions on these “polluting” aspects of private life, to be enforced by a price mechanism, they had better accept they will be reconstructing a class divide that will drastically affect the […]

I had imagined that becoming a father during an Ashes series held in Australia would make the night feeds a bit more bearable. But England’s performances have been has much pain to the eyes as Baby Boot’s screams are to my ears. At least late this morning, there was an opportunity to watch an absolutely […]

This morning the Today programme had a short news item about the sort of questions asked by Oxbridge Dons to potential students. My favourite was the following:
“Every person alive today has a molecule of Caesar’s last breath in them, true or false”.
It’s just a beautiful way of putting a scientific question and also inspires thoughts […]

Hi all. This a blog on economics, policy, business and a bit of psychology. Hope you enjoy it. Please bear with me while I get myself, my thoughts and the site up to speed.