Russell Roberts's Blog, page 1555

On the Private Provision of Public Goods

In my latest column in The Freeman, I discuss some real-world examples of the private provision of public goods.  Here are my opening few paragraphs:

Nobel laureate economist Elinor Ostrom's important work shows that people are very good at using voluntary action to solve problems that economics textbooks insist require the forceful hand of government. Producing "public goods" (such as irrigation systems for a community of farmers) often promises large enough gains to stir the creative juices...

Beware of Social Engineers

Here's a letter to the New York Times:

David Brooks correctly argues that the Scottish Enlightenment, more so than the French Enlightenment, provides a deep understanding of the nature of society ("Two Theories of Change," May 25).  He's correct also to identify David Hume and Adam Smith as being among the greatest leaders of the Scottish Enlightenment.  But the most descriptive phrase that captures the wisdom of these 18th-century Scots comes from a lesser known, but nevertheless important...

Beware Social Engineers

Here's a letter to the New York Times:

David Brooks correctly argues that the Scottish Enlightenment, more so than the French Enlightenment, provides a deep understanding of the nature of society ("Two Theories of Change," May 25).  He's correct also to identify David Hume and Adam Smith as being among the greatest leaders of the Scottish Enlightenment.  But the most descriptive phrase that captures the wisdom of these 18th-century Scots comes from a lesser known, but nevertheless important...

Which Institution is More Enlightened?

Here's a letter that I sent on Saturday to the New York Times:

Reacting to Rand Paul's remarks about the 1964 Civil Rights Act, you say that his libertarian philosophy "is a theory of liberty with roots in America's creation, but the succeeding centuries have shown how ineffective it was in promoting a civil society….  It was only government power that … abolished Jim Crow" ("Limits of Libertarianism," May 22).

You've got it backwards.  Jim Crow itself was government power.  Jim Crow was...

Meddler-in-chief

He doesn't want to meddle. That's a relief. But the President of the United States does claim to have some insight into what is best for LeBron James:

"You know, like I said, I don't want to meddle," Obama told TNT. "I will say this: [Derrick:] Rose, Joakim Noah it's a pretty good core. You know, you could see LeBron fitting in pretty well there."

There's more:

"I think that the most important thing for LeBron right now is actually to find a structure where he's got a coach that he respects and...

European Housing Prices

When I suggest that Fannie and Freddie had something to do with the crisis (not the cause, but an important part of the story as to why housing prices took off between 1995 and 2006) people often respond by saying that Spain had a housing bubble, the UK had a housing bubble and they didn't have Fannie and Freddie. No doubt it is true that Fannie and Freddie were all-American. But it's also true that other nations pursued public policies to increase home ownership.

From the Washington Post on S...

Belsky on journalism and a lot of other stuff

The latest EconTalk is Gary Belsky, the editor of ESPN the Magazine talking about his career, business journalism, sports, sports journalism, soccer, Monty Python, trivia and some other stuff along the way. Gary is world-class great talker, one of the few people who can speak as qucikly as Richard Epstein while always staying coherent, fascinating, and funny. The first 25 minutes or so are about his career–how he went from being a business journalist to a sports journalist. The rest is about ...

Sumner defends neoliberalism

Provocative post by Scott Sumner (HT: David Henderson). It opens:

Suppose you had gotten a room full of economists together in 1980, and made the following predictions:

1.  Over the next 28 years the US would grow as fast as Japan, and faster than Europe (in GDP per capita, PPP.)

2.  Over the next 28 years Britain would overtake Germany and France in GDP per capita.

And you said you were making these predictions because you thought Thatcher and Reagan's policies would be a success.  Your...

Do ABC Stores Reduce Alcohol-Related Problems?

In this op-ed appearing in today's Richmond Times-Dispatch, my former GMU student Julia Williams and I argue that privitization of state liquor stores is unlikely to lead to more alcohol-related health and social problems.

Capitalism, Slavery, and the State

Here's a letter to the New York Times:

Criticizing libertarianism, you assert that "It was only government power that ended slavery" ("Limits of Libertarianism," May 22).

You're mistaken.  Slavery was common throughout history until the age of industrial capitalism.  Only then did this heinous institution disappear.  Slavery was killed by capitalism because that institution puts a premium on creativity, initiative, and good judgment (which even the mightiest slave-master's whip cannot extract...