All hail the Mayor of San Diego! Earlier this week, Californian lawmaker Kevin Faulconer outlined an ambitious overhaul of the city’s … Continue reading “All hail the Mayor of San Diego!”

Around the world, growing numbers of governments are using economic sanctions as a tool to influence the behaviour of other … Continue reading “From Ancient Greece to modern day Iran, sanctions have a history of failure”

Benjamin Franklin once noted that “nothing is certain, except death and taxes”. Given recent developments, I’d add government incompetence in … Continue reading “There has never been a better time to simplify our labyrinthine tax code”

Over the past week, politicians from both sides of the House have been railing against ‘corporate excess’ in all its … Continue reading “From aspiration to the cost of living, politicians of all stripes have forgotten their roots”

In 1992, the economist Gary Becker received the Nobel Prize for extending economic analysis to spheres of human behaviour previously … Continue reading “The history of dating – ‘it’s the economy, stupid’ (Part 1)”

Continued from Part 1.  Those pushing for equality of outcome also fail to acknowledge all-important tradeoffs and unintended consequences of … Continue reading “Pay gaps and the limits of central planning (Part 2)”

In a now-famous essay, “What is Seen and What Is Not Seen”, the great economist Frederic Bastiat warned against judging … Continue reading “The fraught Brexit debate badly needs a dose of Bastiat”

Earlier this week, Hong Kong’s government decided to impose a full ban on the sale, manufacture and import of e-cigarettes. … Continue reading “The rise of e-cigarettes – a parable of the free market”

If you’re under 30 — or have a child in their teens — then chances are you’ve heard of a … Continue reading “The moral panic over video games must not become an excuse for yet more lifestyle regulation”