Bryan Caplan's Blog, page 8

Rational Irrationality in High Places

In the early 2000s, I coined the phrase “rational irrationality,” and later made it the foundation of my The Myth of the Rational Voter (and well as my case for betting).  It’s very gratifying, then, to see that Steven Pinker is on board.  From his recent interview with Richard Hanania, entitled “Rationality Requires Incentives.”

Richard: Yeah, I think that’s right. I guess, a different way to ask that question, is there a rationalist case against rational irrationality as far as, “Okay, I acc...

Build, Baby, Build in Nashville

I’m speaking on Build, Baby, Build  in Nashville on Thursday night.  Venue: The gorgeous Richland Country Club.Free for anyone with a .edu email address, and there is a lavish reception beforehand.  And no mask requirement.If you come, be sure to introduce yourself!Register here.

The post Build, Baby, Build in Nashville appeared first on Econlib.

The Continua of Excludability and Rivalry

The classic definition of a “public good” is that it is both “non-excludable” and “non-rival.”  Textbooks normally treat these traits as binary, delivering this 2 x 2 typology:

Yet in the real world, both excludability and rivalry lie on a continuum.  Almost nothing is 0% excludable.  If you spend enough effort, you can prevent non-payers from enjoying your product.  At the same time, almost every good requires some effort to exclude non-payers.  Hence, nothing is 100% excludable either.

Think ...

A Lone Voice of Reason at UT

Inside Higher Ed covers the proposed Liberty Institute at the University of Texas – and makes an admirable effort to talk to academic dissidents.  My friend Richard Lowery speaks:

Not all professors are so skeptical of the Liberty Institute, as they understand it thus far, however. Richard Lowery, an associate professor of finance, said during the council meeting that he was confused by some of the criticism, as the university already funds various programs that are “explicitly political,” inclu...

Introduction to the Czech Edition of Open Borders

The Czech translation of Open Borders is now available for sale.  And for those of you who don’t speak Czech, here’s the English version of my all-new Introduction to the Czech Edition.  Special thanks to Martin Pánek, Director of the Liberální institut, for making this all possible.  Enjoy!

Introduction to the Czech Edition

During the Cold War, the mass murder and slavery practiced by tyrants like Lenin, Stalin, and Mao received little attention in the West.  Yet almost everyone knew about Co...

Woke Is Old

One of the less charming features of the woke movement is its vocal age prejudice.  In conversation, believers have repeatedly appealed to my age and their youth to gain argumentative advantage.

I’m tempted, admittedly, to respond in kind.  In reality, the young have less insight on political and social issues than their elders.  The young themselves agree:

Who has the greatest insight on political and social issues?

— Bryan Caplan (@bryan_caplan) September 7, 2021

In your personal experience...

Backdoor to the Ivies

Guest post from EconLog reader Paul Fredenberg, reprinted with his permission.

Enj0y – and possibly profit!

Professor Caplan,

I read your post about your homeschooling experience. Sounds like you’ve raised some awesome kids. Congratulations to you and your wife (and your twins too)! I am in utter amazement of your curriculum.

I am a father of 10 (yes, I have your “Selfish Reasons” book on my shelf!), ages 4 to 22, and my wife and I have largely homeschooled our kids. My wife took it a step furt...

Signaling: The Play

My friend Jason Ford wrote this little play, inspired by The Case Against Education.  Enjoy!

Three Mercedes

By Jason Ford

(The Admissions Office at Foxmoor College in the Philadelphia Suburbs. Bart Amblin, the Head of Admissions, is seated at his desk.)

 

BART (on phone)

Send in the next candidate please.

 

(Enter Melissa Morely, fashionably dressed)

 

BART

Melissa, thank you for coming! I view this interview process as both a chance for us to learn about you and also for you to find out if Fox...

Why Are There Zero Republican Mega-Cities?

When my best friend in Austin quips, “It’s great living in a blue city in a red state,” I’m often tempted to reply, “We really don’t know what it would be like to live in a red city in a red state – or even a red city in a blue state.”  Why?  Because they barely exist.  Zero cities with over one million people currently have Republican mayors.

From the standpoint of the textbook Median Voter Model, this is awfully puzzling.  Even if urbanites are extremely left-wing, you would expect urban Repub...

Why It’s OK To Speak Your Mind and Exposure

Just finished Hrishikesh Joshi’s Why It’s OK To Speak Your Mind.  Fun book, suitable for campus-wide adoption.  My favorite passage:

Now consider a person who conducts his mental life as wildebeest or sardines conduct their lives.  He just moves with the popular opinion of the time… The thing to think now is X, the thing to get outraged about today is Y; tomorrow it might be Z that one must express outrage about.  Such an individual may not conceive of himself as a copycat (we often have flatte...