One of the two key proposals of the job summit is to institute a nine day fortnight for manufacturing workers. Presumably the idea is to increase the flexibility of working hours and thus increase the number of people in employment. The obvious question is, ‘what is the market failure here?’ Employers and employees are free […]
The Wellington City Council seems pretty keen to tear up Manners Mall and turn it into a bus route. As any good local body would they’ve had a round of consultation which resulted in 74% of the 722 submitters opposing the plan and 20% in favour. You may think that would give the council pause […]
There’s been a request for a post on wilful ignorance. How much should we aim to learn about the world, and when should we stop inquiring? Should we read up about the latest violence in Gaza or should we shut it out and concentrate on what we’re doing? In particular, what trade-offs do we face […]
This fascinating article about experimental economists’ research into financial bubbles suggests that bubbles are a natural event on the way to equilbrium. The researchers set up an artifical market with identical assets, known dividends and a finite end period. With the value of the asset clearly defined in each period by the remaining dividend payments, […]
Anyone who’s been concerned at the size of executive remuneration at financial firms will be excited to hear about Credit Suisse’s latest move. Rather than allowing its executives to fiddle as their mortgage backed security investments cause the balance sheets to go up in flames, CS is paying its executives bonuses in illiquid mortgage-backed securities. […]
Apparently National has decided to allow coal and gas-fired power plants, in a reversal of the previous government’s decision. They have almost simultaneously discarded the obligation on fuel companies to provide biofuel. In a way, Gerry Brownlee is right that “the ETS put a price on pollution, providing adequate incentives for power companies to invest […]