Monthly Archives: March 2007

THE SOCIAL WELFARE STATE AND INFANT BAPTISM.

Posted on March 23, 2007 by Philip

THE SOCIAL WELFARE STATE AND INFANT BAPTISM. Dick Weisfelder sent me this article by Jeffrey Sachs which compares the economic success of a group of English-speaking countries to that of a group of Nordic countries and argues that the success … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics | 2 Comments

SPRING THAWS AND STONE WALLS.

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Philip

SPRING THAWS AND STONE WALLS. The stone walls here in Connecticut memorialize the spring thaws of the past, as this post from an always interesting free market blog describes.

Posted in History, Science | 1 Comment

RAMUNAJAN.

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Philip

RAMUNAJAN. Forty years ago the autobiography of the mathematician G. H. Hardy was something of a best seller. The main reason, I think, was his moving account of the life and death of his young protege, Srinivasa Ramanujan. Ramanujan was … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Science | 1 Comment

FRIEDMAN, THE DEBATER.

Posted on March 21, 2007 by Philip

FRIEDMAN, THE DEBATER. I pointed out yesterday that Milton Friedman had a great deal of influence on the change of opinion in the seventies and eighties that concluded that controlling the money supply was the best way to fight inflation. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

MY LIFE UNDER RENT CONTROL (COMMENT).

Posted on March 20, 2007 by Philip

MY LIFE UNDER RENT CONTROL (COMMENT). Annalisa also expressed some shock in her comment at the youthful sins of her parents in living under rent control. The apartment we lived in was technically “rent stabilized” rather than “rent controlled,” under … Continue reading →

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RENT CONTROLS AND PRICE CONTROLS (COMMENT).

Posted on March 20, 2007 by Philip

RENT CONTROLS AND PRICE CONTROLS (COMMENT). Annalisa asked in a comment about rent controls. A government can choose to control all prices, wages (price of labor), most prices or a few prices that are considered important (such as the prices … Continue reading →

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WHAT I HAVE IN COMMON WITH NORMAN MAILER.

Posted on March 19, 2007 by Philip

WHAT I HAVE IN COMMON WITH NORMAN MAILER. My wife Mary Jane and I are on a list with Norman Mailer. Bill James had the graciousness to dedicate the 1983 edition of THE BILL JAMES BASEBALL ABSTRACT to about ninety … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Sports | 5 Comments

PRICE CONTROLS IN THE SEVENTIES.

Posted on March 18, 2007 by Philip

PRICE CONTROLS IN THE SEVENTIES. I should qualify the criticism of Nixon yesterday. When he was President, price control issues became interrelated with the Arab Oil Embargo. A number of Democrats were arguing for the use of price controls before … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History | 5 Comments

THE NIXON TAPES AND SHORT RUN ECONOMIC POLICY.

Posted on March 17, 2007 by Philip

THE NIXON TAPES AND SHORT RUN ECONOMIC POLICY. How can we know that a policy is only a short run expedient? Burton A. Abrams has an article based on the Nixon tapes in the Fall 2006 issue of the Journal … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, History, Politics | 2 Comments

PRICE CONTROLS AND THE SHORT RUN.

Posted on March 16, 2007 by Philip

PRICE CONTROLS AND THE SHORT RUN (COMMENT). Nick commented on the Venezuelan price controls, are these “attempts at popularity by keeping things cheap for a short time?” The answer is: Yes. Venezuela, Iran and Argentina are running inflation rates between … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | 1 Comment