Category Archives: Economics

A FORESHADOWING FROM 2007 OF THE FATE OF THE VENEZUELAN ECONOMY.

A FORESHADOWING FROM 2007 OF THE FATE OF THE VENEZUELAN ECONOMY. I posted here on February 17, 2007 about the price control policies of the Venezuelan government. The caption of the post was: “THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF FOOD IN … Continue reading

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WHY I THINK THAT THE DISCOVERY OF AGRICULTURE WAS A GOOD THING.

WHY I THINK THAT THE DISCOVERY OF AGRICULTURE WAS A GOOD THING. I posted here on Professor James Scott’s argument that it was a great mistake for humans to become farmers. James Scott is not alone in his regret that … Continue reading

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DOES AN ARTIST HAVE AN ENFORCEABLE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO THE ARTISTIC USE OF A COLOR?

DOES AN ARTIST HAVE AN ENFORCEABLE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO THE ARTISTIC USE OF A COLOR? This article on the Gizmodo website by Alex Cranz from December 27, 2016 describes in more detail the war over the rights to the artistic … Continue reading

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A SUBWAY MAP OF ROMAN ROADS.

A SUBWAY MAP OF ROMAN ROADS. Annalisa sent me this reconstruction of a map of Roman roads as of about 125 AD in subway map form. Only important cities and major roads are shown. The designer notes that: “In the … Continue reading

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EGGS AS MONEY.

EGGS AS MONEY. The Buttonwood column in the Economist (July 21, 2018) reports that not only is the inflation rate in Venezuela “in the tens of thousands” but that an “egg economy” is emerging as one replacement for paper and … Continue reading

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A HYPERINFLATION PREDICTION FOR VENEZUELA FROM TEN YEARS AGO.

A HYPERINFLATION PREDICTION FOR VENEZUELA FROM TEN YEARS AGO. Over ten years ago (on March 16, 2007), I posted here about Venezuela’s policy at that time of imposing price controls in a period of inflation. I said that imposing price … Continue reading

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THE THEFT OF PARMESAN CHEESE.

THE THEFT OF PARMESAN CHEESE. I have posted about a number of unusual thefts, including posts about the thefts of a ferris wheel, a gold bathtub, and a cast iron building. Eric Sylvers in the Wall Street Journal (June 23-24) … Continue reading

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“HOW PUNDITS NEVER GET IT WRONG”—-THE 40% RULE.

“HOW PUNDITS NEVER GET IT WRONG”—THE 40% RULE. Rolfe Winkler and Justin Lahart had an article in the Wall Street Journal (February 27, 2018) about what they call the “40% rule” for predictions. They call the rule “a favorite forecasting … Continue reading

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COMPARING THE PIZZA STUDIES TO SHOWING GREEN JELLY BEANS CAUSE ACNE.

COMPARING THE PIZZA STUDIES TO SHOWING GREEN JELLY BEANS CAUSE ACNE. Alex Tabarrok at Marginal Revolution took note here that the pizza studies were like the “proof” that green jelly beans cause acne that xkcd ridiculed in strip 882. I … Continue reading

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HOW TO MASSAGE DATA FOR PUBLICATION.

HOW TO MASSAGE DATA FOR PUBLICATION. Kids, this article by Stephanie Lee on the Buzzfeed site describes some of the techniques that can be used to massage data to come up with a publishable “study”. (link via Instapundit). The article … Continue reading

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