If we follow Australia down the road of trade protectionism for movies, then we all lose out. What do I mean? Well the incentives for trade protectionism is a prisoner’s dilemma. As Peter Jackson says, if Australia starts subsidising movies we need to do the same or we will miss out on productions – as …
Monthly Archive: December 2009
Permanent link to this article: http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2009/12/15/film-incentives-are-trade-protectionism/
Dec
13
2009
On football player agents’ fee structures and incentives
Recently Premier League clubs in the UK have disclosed the amount of money they are spending on football player agents’ fees. These agents act as middle men between players and clubs, facilitating the transfer of players. Some of the more interesting information revealed in the disclosure includes: Premier League clubs are paying almost £2 million …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2009/12/13/on-football-player-agents-fee-structures-and-incentives/
Dec
11
2009
Land tax and benefits, a point to think on
Land tax. It is a popular idea among economists. However, I have heard some people pushing it based on getting land “in use” (this was mentioned at Kiwiblog for example). I am not sure if I agree on this point. Saying that we should tax land so people use it is similar to saying we …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2009/12/11/land-tax-and-benefits-a-point-to-think-on/
Dec
10
2009
Cubicle cows
I am torn. I the one hand I immediately feel uncomfortable with the idea, as I don’t naturally feel that being constrained will maximise animal welfare (which is the reason why you would want to constrain the actions of the farmer). This comes from the “factory farm” argument. On the other hand, I don’t know …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2009/12/10/cubicle-cows/
Dec
10
2009
F**k being a banker …
Seriously, so the UK is going to arbitrarily tax bonuses at 50% because they are not “generating real wealth” they are just “rent seeking” (Will Hutton and Paul Krugman feel this way). Wow. The decision to pay a wage, or a bonus, is voluntary. Given that these bankers are creating sufficient value through their work …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2009/12/10/fk-being-a-banker/
Dec
09
2009
Who’s the real villain?
Keith Ng writes today that the real villain in climate change is not businesses, it’s households! He claims that most growth in emissions and energy consumption is due to household consumption, not businesses. Which is the biggest red herring I’ve seen around climate change in a while. Here’s a picture that will help: it shows …
Permanent link to this article: http://www.tvhe.co.nz/2009/12/09/whos-the-real-villain/
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