Topic: Free Markets

Economic Education, Free Markets, History, Policy

Price Controls Don’t Fight Inflation: 40 Centuries of Evidence

– October 3, 2023

“Price controls do not stop inflation; they only make things worse. If prices are going up, it’s either because monetary policy is too loose or because the economy suffered a decline in productivity.”

Fiscal Policy, Free Markets, Taxation

Thinking Harder about “Special” Benefits

– September 20, 2023

“To the extent we believe in giving government assistance to those with incomes, we should trust them to love themselves and their families more than the government does and give them that aid in cash.” ~Gary Galles

Free Markets, Regulation, Technology

Should Buying Or Selling “Hidden Cities” Air Tickets Be Banned Or Punished?

– September 17, 2023

“Hidden-city opportunities emerge when there are significant differences in the price elasticity of demand relating to certain itineraries with stopovers.” ~Christopher Lingle

Classical Liberalism, Economic Education, Free Markets

Are Humans Inherently Selfish?

– September 8, 2023

“A thicker view of rationality accepts the view that people live in a world with social norms that both condition and constrain our actions.” ~ Anthony Gill

Classical Liberalism, Economic Education, Free Markets, Property Rights

Using People the Right Way

– September 7, 2023

“You offer me means to advance my ultimate ends, not my ultimate ends themselves. I offer you resources in exchange, but those are also means to your ultimate ends, not your ultimate ends themselves.” ~ Gary Galles

Free Markets, Government, Regulation

The Can Conundrum: Governments Don’t Have Coherent Goals

– September 7, 2023

“Policies enacted to fix one problem lead to still other problems, which will then require other policies to fix, and so on, until we’re crushed by a giant snowball of well-intended “solutions” and their unintended consequences.” ~ Art Carden

Art and Culture, Economic Trends, Free Markets, Media

In Defense of Cash Grabs

– August 30, 2023

“It doesn’t have to make sense to the outside observer, because ‘the system’ is not something a single mind designed but the unintended consequence of innumerable individual choices in response to (sometimes badly distorted) incentives.” ~ Art Carden

Economic Education, Entrepreneurship, Free Markets, Policy

Further Thoughts on Industrial Policy

– August 23, 2023

“The possibility is real that the subsidized mousetrap improvers displace unsubsidized mousetrap improvers who, absent the subsidies, would have given the world an even better mousetrap or an equally improved mousetrap produced at lower cost.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Capitalism, Economic Education, Free Markets, Regulation

Protecting Competition or Preventing It?

– August 23, 2023

“If you can’t reduce competition in the sense of harming rivals, you cannot engage in rivalry seeking to benefit consumers. ” ~ Gary Galles

Economic Trends, Free Markets, Regulation, Technology

The Opportunity Costs of FTC Merger Meddling

– August 20, 2023

“Success is never guaranteed in a market economy, and business failure is not uncommon for industry leaders. Blockbuster and Kodak had near monopolistic status in their respective sectors but that couldn’t save them from tech innovations that took them down.” ~ Kimberlee Josephson

Economic Growth, Free Markets, Policy, Taxation

State Development Incentives: The Only Solution is Not to Play

– August 15, 2023

“The incentives of politicians and the goals of citizens can diverge, and nowhere is that divergence more obvious than in the case of targeted, private benefits to specific corporations paid for at public expense.” ~ Michael Munger

Capitalism, Economic Education, Free Markets, Regulation

Maximizers and Monopolies, A Benefit to Society

– August 13, 2023

“Consumers do not care that there is only one primary zipper manufacturer, they only care that their zippers work. Thus, if market needs are being met, competition isn’t a concern.” ~ Kimberlee Josephson