Discussion Tuesday
Another video, same artist and all
There are few songs that illustrate the give an example of status good behaviour than “Mercedes Benz”
Archive for year: 2014
Can we justify the Easter trading laws?
Back in April, Benje Patterson decided to have a think about whether the Easter trading laws really made sense (Infometrics link). His view was that:
Having so far failed in my search for a reasonable justification for restricting Easter trading in New Zealand, my mind then turned to a more consumer-orientated motivation that transcends religion and worker welfare. Perhaps I am the odd one out and the majority of society want the shops to be closed at Easter simply because it allows them to enjoy a quiet day, free of temptations to hit the shops and consume.
Is this the only fair justification – and is it a reasonable justification in of itself?
A response to Danyl on data and inequality
Over at Dim Post I see Danyl is discussing the latest (2014) Household Income Report and Piketty’s book Capital in the 21st Century. Excellent – there are lots of important and interesting issues to discussing look at these sources.
However, in this instance the data he is using and his interpretation is sadly a bit off. I thought I’d discuss why this is here. Read more
Potential output in monetary policy
When it comes to “potential output” there is often a view that the economies potential to produce is determined by the labour, land, and forms of capital that are available to create this output from – and this is right! Furthermore, each of these factors tends to produce a diminishing amount of additional output as you use more of it. Although the factors of production are often complementary this often implies a situation where – in the long-run – the potential for output (and growth in said output) in a nation is fundamentally about technological change and the quality of institutions.
However, in a recent speech by John McDermott of the RBNZ he points out that, when it come to considering monetary conditions, the type of “potential output” we are interested in is a bit different.
Football: The injury vs pandering margin
During the World Cup, I keep seeing images like the following.
It is interesting, there is a lot of play acting in the masterful sport that is Football. It is a pity, as if players just got on with the game we would see longer periods of amazing skill and tactical insights.
However Read more
Discussion Tuesday
Let’s mix it up with some videos:
There are few songs that illustrate the fact that labour-leisure trade-offs differ between individuals than “Me and Bobby McGee”