![](https://www.econlib.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/shoplifting-300x185.jpg)
Woman trying to steal pants from clothing store
This week I had less time to read because of the lecture I prepared for on Friday night.
There are four main types.
- Robert Lawson, “In memory of James Gwartney, 1940 to 2014American Institute for Economic Research, January 10, 2024.
Like Bob, I was a fan of Jim's smart and human nature. I learned a lot from Bob's gratitude that I didn't know. This paragraph stands out.
He received his PhD from the University of Washington with a doctoral thesis on the economics of discrimination in the labor market, which led to his first publication in a prestigious journal. American Economic Review. In Washington, Jim took numerous courses from future Nobel Prize winner Douglas North, and this was where his interest in institutional economics began. He learned microeconomics from greats like Walter Oy (who was blind and would later become an inspiration for Jim) and Yoram Basel, and future Nobel laureate Tom Borcherding. I took a course in public choice economics from . Winner James Buchanan.
What an amazing group of professors Jim learned from! Of the people listed above, I knew Walter the best. Because we were colleagues at the University of Rochester, Walter in economics and me in B-school. But I was also a fan of Tom Borcherding. He had a wonderful way of stating basic truths as they were.
2. John F. Early, “Book Review: Poverty in America,” regulationWinter 2023-24.
excerpt:
His only clear answer to the question (“What is poverty?”) is that, based on data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United States has more poverty than any other developed democracy. This is the claim. However, the OECD definition of poverty differs from the American definition, and Desmond employs this definition throughout the book, except when justifying his „so much“ claims. The OECD defines the poor in a country as families with incomes below half of the country's median income, but this measure describes poverty in terms of income distribution rather than material conditions. Masu. Consider that Americans who are considered poor by the OECD earn between 40 percent and 100 percent more than people who the OECD identifies as poor in other developed countries. This relative measure creates a contradiction in that a family with an income of $30,685 would be considered poor in the United States, whereas a family with an income of only $14,141 in Italy and $21,904 in France would be considered poor. do not have counted as poor. Using the same income standard for all countries, we find that the United States has at least 60 percent less poverty than other developed democracies.
Of course, Early is co-authored with Phil Gramm and the late Robert Ekelund. The myth of American inequalityreviewed here.
3. Richard B. McKenzie, “Civil society vulnerability”, Econlib, January 1, 2024.
excerpt:
Modern Americans may be witnessing an escalating breakdown in social norms, with each loss contributing to the breakdown of others, like the spread of a contagious disease. Hayek does not elaborate on this outlook, but I will do so in this short essay. My argument is based on a well-worn conceptual foundation in economics, the concept of the „tragedy of the commons'', which is inherently unstable because the value and survival of norms involves a wide range of wills. The theme of this essay is that the collapse of social norms shares the same economic basis as bank runs, although perhaps at a slower pace.
4. Frank Marcus, “First drive: Toyota's $10,000 pickup truck is perfect: So why be sad?” motor trendNovember 6, 2023.
excerpt:
of toyota tacoma pickup It was built in America for Americans and Canadians to avoid the „chicken tax,“ but 181 other countries around the world are also subject to the tax. toyota hilux pickup. It looks a little like the Tacoma, but more basic. Just look at global news footage of relief efforts and conflict zones and you'll see this. Well, apparently that was a minor whim, with a starting price of about $15,200, priced to be out of some of those markets. The Toyota IMV 0 intends to fill the low-cost space below the Hilux with a target starting price of $10,000.debuted in 2023 Japan Mobility Showdressed cool land cruiser 70 series style. We took him one for a spin right after the show in Tokyo.