The Problems With Piketty
Everybody has had a go at the phenomenon of Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century. Here’s a version of my Sunday Times piece of a few days ago. Most people in Britain will never have heard of Thomas Piketty, a 42-year old professor from the Paris School of Economics, but that may be about ... Read more
Capital Liberalization and Inequality
Inequality, which has drawn a great deal of comment and analysis following the publication of Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century, has sometimes been seen as a byproduct of increased international trade. But now other international economic linkages are being investigated. The International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, has acknowledged the need to take distributional consequences into ... Read more
A Universal Basic Income: Conservative, Progressive, and Libertarian Perspectives (Part 3 of a Series)
The idea of a universal basic income (UBI) has been getting a lot of attention recently, sparked in part by the Swiss decision to hold a referendum on the idea. A UBI differs from other income support policies in that it provides a cash grant, large enough to meet basic needs of living, to every ... Read more
The New Economic Nationalism, Part 1: A ‘Juche’ World
Commentators often assume that relatively unfettered trade in goods and services and free movement of capital are givens, but the drive toward greater economic openness could now be undergoing a reversal, with profound implications for the global economy. This piece, the first of a two-part series, looks at the drivers of this shift. Globalization reached ... Read more
The Fourth Amendment and the Economic Spillover from NSA Surveillance to E-Commerce
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. All ... Read more
Growth, Public Policy, and the Economics of the Good Life
In the first part of my review of Robert and Edward Skidelsky’s How Much is Enough? I looked at the puzzle of leisure. Why, the Skidelskys ask, do we work so hard, even when we are well enough off to afford the additional leisure we need to live a good life? Beyond that follow some ... Read more
How Much Is Enough? Why Do We Work So Much and Enjoy So Little Leisure?
Robert Skidelsky is best known for his definitive three-volume biography of John Maynard Keynes. It hardly surprising, then, that he begins his latest book, How Much is Enough? (co-authored with his son, the philosopher Edward Skidelsky), with a puzzle posed by the master himself. Why is it that we work so many hours each week ... Read more
The Moral Limits of Markets: When is Standing in Line Better than Paying a Price?
In his book What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets, Harvard Professor Michael J. Sandel invites us to engage in a public debate on the proper role of markets in society. It is a question, he says, to which economists do not give enough thought. I agree. I am happy to join the ... Read more