As teachers, economists usually assume that their students have systematically biased beliefs about economics; yet, as researchers, economists usually assume that voters understand how the economy works. Teachers have it right, according to Bryan Caplan, and so modern political economy needs a serious...
the classic: “Our goal as a society should be to treat all people the same without regard to the color of their skin”. A stunning 92% agreed. The public clearly isn’t buying progressive ideas likeCritical Race Theory(CRT), the1619 Projector the writings of avowed racistIbram X. Kendi...
A“strongman” (or woman) is somebody who rules a country by undermining and weakening rules, regulations, constitutional mandates and restrictions. And often that’s done very stealthily. Before, we had the old kind of strongman, the Mobutus of the world, the Francos, the Hitlers. And then...
Organizations with high levels of firm-specific knowledge usually use restricted stocks in CEO compensation to discourage the departure of CEOs with such knowledge and encourage them to stay and make long-term investments (Wang et al., 2017). Building on agency theory, Inderst and Mueller (2010)...
Here's an alternative theory for you: original sin. People will mess things up, whether by stupidity or by active malice. There is no magical class of people (e.g. "government") who can be removed to produce utopia. Any institution is liable to failure, or active criminality. Put anyone...
the body positivity movement tries to address the problem of stigma caused by physical appearance,obesity-related illnesses constitute a health crisis. In this article, we attempt to address what effects body positivity and body shaming have on these problems. What is the evidence for and against ...
I grew up in Madison, less than 100 miles from northeastern Iowa. So while I’ve never set foot in the state, I feel I have a pretty good idea what it’s culture is like. I recall the 1988 election, when Iowa was one of only two states that Dukakis won by double digits. It’s...
median voter theorypolitical economyGasoline taxes are the most important tax on car use. The question naturally arises as to what tax would be adopted by a government that responds to the preferences of the public. To address that issue, we begin with the standard Downsian model, where ...
Median voter theoryPolitical economyGasoline taxes are the most important tax on car use. The question naturally arises as to what tax would be adopted by a government that responds to the preferences of the public. To address that i...
Median voter theoryPolitical economyAs everyone knows, gasoline prices have been high in recent years. Most people also understand that the price of gasoline is closely linked to the price of oil. But occasionally, the two diverge. Gasoline prices were rising in the spring of 2007, while oil ...