big business, economic development, interest groups, milker bills, rent-seeking, Robert Tollison
Book Review, Kling's Corner
Libertarians may enjoy thinking about complex and abstract systems more than other groups, particularly more than conservatives.1 “Libertarians, rather than defining ourselves in terms of what we believe is right, could instead define ourselves in terms of how one should arrive at beliefs about what is right. Our goal should be to rely as much .. MORE
Kling's Corner
“I predict that within a decade or two, the idea that learning can be located in time and space will no longer seem natural.” Most of us went to school when we were younger, and we cannot imagine otherwise. However, it may be worth contemplating radical alternatives to the notion of school. The conflict between .. MORE
Book Review
A Book Review of The Mirage of Social Justice, by Friedrich Hayek. Volume II of his Law, Legislation, and Liberty1 Published in 1976, The Mirage of Social Justice was the second volume of Friedrich Hayek’s trilogy Law, Legislation, and Liberty. My review of the first volume, Rules and Order, appeared on Econlib2 following the publication .. MORE
Books: Reviews and Suggested Readings
Political Economy
Labor Mobility, Immigration, Outsourcing
Labor Mobility, Immigration, Outsourcing
Economics of Crime
Free Markets
Conversation Arts: Civility, Incivility, and Persuasion
Books: Reviews and Suggested Readings
Economics of Crime
econtalk-podcast
Russ Roberts, EconTalk Host The favorite EconTalk episodes for host Russ Roberts are when he and his guest have an unusually powerful connection such as his recent episode with Charles Duhigg, and the ones where he learns something mind-blowing, like Adam Mastroianni’s insight that you can’t reach the brain through the ears. Listen as Russ .. MORE
econtalk-extra
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” What has it meant to you in the past, and might there be a way to apply this caution to the way we approach politics? That’s what this episode is about. It’s fan favorite Mike Munger’s 44th appearance on EconTalk, .. MORE
Economics of Crime
Every public policy comes with its own set of externalities and unintended consequences. Moreover, because politics exists at the nexus between competing interests, outcomes can often approach zero-sum, whether or not this was the initial aim of policymakers. Simply put, someone gains while someone loses; there is always a cost. In my previous post, we .. MORE
Regulation
The OC Register reports that a California judge has struck down a new law allowing as many as four units on a single lot: “The Legislature finds and declares that ensuring access to affordable housing is a matter of statewide concern and not a municipal affair,” SB 9 states. “Therefore, … (this law applies) to .. MORE
Explore the lasting legacies and
continued relevance of our classic titles.
The Fortunes of Liberalism1 collects a wide-ranging number of Friedrich. A. Hayek’s articles, reviews, addresses, and even obituaries—35 in total—spanning all seven decades of his scholarly career from the 1920s to the 1980s. To call this collection eclectic is an understatement, but the unifying theme is Hayek’s perspective on thinkers who have some connection to .. MORE
A Liberty Classic Book Review of The Reason of Rules: Constitutional Political Economy, by Geoffrey Brennan and James M. Buchanan.1 Geoffrey Brennan and James Buchanan’s The Reason of Rules is remarkable. It is an important book, and the questions that the authors wrestle with are massive. When so much academic work feels as though it .. MORE
VIDEO
A professor at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago in the 1960s and a primary figure in Chicago School Economics and in the field of Law and Economics, Harold Demsetz has contributed original research on the theory of the firm, regulation in markets, industrial organization, antitrust policy, transaction costs, externalities, and .. MORE
VIDEO
Anthony de Jasay, a regular columnist for Econlib, was one of the most original and independent thinkers on the relationship between the individual and the state. Through his published works, he challenged the reigning paradigms justifying modern democratic growth. His deeply challenging theoretical works include The State, an analysis that views the state as acting .. MORE
Econlib Videos
Conversations with some of the most original thinkers of our time
The Reading Lists by Topic pages contain some suggested readings organized by topic, including materials available on Econlib. Brief reviews or descriptions are included for many items.
Supplementary materials for popular college textbooks used in courses in the Principles of Economics, Microeconomics, Price Theory, and Macroeconomics are suggested by topic.
These free resources are appropriate for teachers of high school and AP economics, social studies, and history classes. They are also appropriate for interested students, home schoolers, and newcomers to the topic of economics.
Introduction Chattel slavery involves the ownership by one person of another. This entry focusses on the operation of that labor system in the United States. Although chattel slavery dates back to the dawn of civilization, in the area that became the United States it emerged after the importation of Africans to the Virginia colony in .. MORE
Research and development (R&D) is the creation of knowledge to be used in products or processes. Table 1 gives a summary overview of postwar U.S. R&D activity performed in industry. The first column gives privately financed R&D (PR&D) conducted in industry in billions of 1982 dollars. The second column gives the ratio of PR&D to .. MORE
Corporations are easier to create than to understand. Because corporations arose as an alternative to partnerships, they can best be understood by comparing these competing organizational structures. The presumption of partnership is that the investors will directly manage their own money rather than entrusting that task to others. Partners are “mutual agents,” meaning that each .. MORE
-Israel Kirzner
-Adam Smith Full Quote >>
-Frederic Bastiat Full Quote >>