Back in the fifties, kids didn't even have seatbelts. My dad tells me that in 1971 I came home from the hospital the old-fashioned way: In my mother's arms. Nowadays, in contrast, we transport our babies using special infant carriers - and face a lot...

(May 29, 2009 12:19 PM, by Arnold Kling) This lecture is on the household's "make or buy" decision. The more we outsource production, the more economic activity there is. In a recession, we cut...

Atul Gawande writes, many physicians are remarkably oblivious to the financial implications of their decisions. They see their patients. They make their...

Greg Mankiw reports that the yield curve is steep, meaning that long-term interest rates have risen. In my view, this is perfectly rational, and it shows...

A reporter called me to give the "anti" side of the case for going "green." It's not hard. It is a matter of basic economics. 1. Suppose that a gallon of...

(December 30, 2009 11:58 AM, by Arnold Kling) These relate to recent discussions on this blog. 1. Clifford Winston and Robert Crandall on market failure and government failure, from Forbes last October. 2. A review of an optimistic book by Gregg...

(December 30, 2009 12:00 AM, by Bryan Caplan) Libertarians often highlight "the right to do wrong."  We are often morally obliged to tolerate the wicked and foolish behavior of others.  A quote wrongly attributed to Voltaire beautifully captures the...

(December 29, 2009 01:45 PM, by David Henderson) Although she students were held to higher standards. Rand was likely to denounce anyone who asked inappropriate or challenging questions "as a person of low...

(December 29, 2009 11:12 AM, by Bryan Caplan) Bruce Charlton says that the hard sciences just aren't fun anymore.  The system now rewards workaholism and subservience a lot more than creativity:Modern science is just too dull an activity to attract,...

(December 29, 2009 12:00 AM, by Bryan Caplan) When I was in Econ 1, we actually used the infamous 1989 Samuelson text - the one that said, "the Soviet economy is proof that, contrary to what many skeptics had earlier believed, a socialist command...