Sometimes I tire of the politics in our newspapers and just need to read things that educate rather than anger and the Library of Economics and Liberty is one of the sites I visit.
Following is this weeks e-newsletter that is just packed.
Hope you enjoy it and sign up for future editions.
Dear Readers,
Almost all the commentary about Thomas Piketty's book, Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century, is about his thesis that wealth inequality is large and growing. Whatever the truth about those two claims, there is much more to his book. Piketty claims that when governments run deficits, rich people who buy the government bonds do better than if governments balanced their budgets by raising taxes. Piketty also claims that high executive compensation in the United States has little to do with managers' productivity and almost everything to do with the cozy relationship between managers and corporate boards. George Mason University economist Don Boudreaux challenges both claims.
Thomas Piketty's Flawed Analyses of Government Debt and Executive Compensation
http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2014/BoudreauxPiketty.html
This month, Arnold Kling considers the relationship between genetics and a nations wealth, reviewing Nicholas Wade's A Troublesome Inheritance. While both Wade and Kling acknowledge the importance of institutions to prosperity, Kling finds the link to race and genetics tenuous.
Did Racial Differences Cause Societies to Diverge?
http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2014/Klingdiverge.html
Pedro Schwartz reflects on the new Spanish monarch this month. Drawing on Bagehot and Machiavelli, he makes the claim that crowned monarchs play a very beneficial and very real role in the democracies in which they exist. In so doing, Schwartz also offers some advice to the new King.
The Conundrum of Crowned Democracies
http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2014/Schwartzcrowned.html
To reflect his broader current interests, Anthony de Jasay has changed the title of his column from "Reflections from Europe" to "Thinking Straight." This month, Anthony de Jasay reviews standard reasons for distributive justice and finds them wanting.
Distributive Justice, Wet Rain
http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2014/Jasaywetrain.html
On EconTalk this week, Russ Roberts talks to Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha on LinkedIn and The Alliance:
http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2014/08/reid_hoffman_an.html
Recent podcasts include D. G. Myers on Cancer, Dying, and Living, Chris Blattman on Cash, Poverty, and Development, and Sam Altman on Start-ups, Venture Capital, and the Y Combinator..
On EconLog, Bryan Caplan asks what's wrong with the adversarial system and David Henderson poses a hot question: You Know You're an Economist When…?. Art Carden asks about today's necessary skills, Scott Sumner discusses Herbert Stein's "If something can't go on forever, it won't", and Alberto Mingardi asks if think tanks are no more. Read these posts and more at:
In the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics we highlight "Bonds", by Clifford W. Smith. We also celebrate the upcoming August 23rd birthday anniversary of Ken Arrow. Find these articles and more in the
Concise Encyclopedia of Economics
http://www.econlib.org/library/CEE.html
We also suggest our College Economics Topics page on Government Failures, Rent Seeking, and Public Choice. Check it out at:
http://www.econlib.org/library/Topics/College/governmentfailures.html
If you long to be able to catch up on EconLog and EconTalk posts and comments on your cell phone or tablet while you are away from your desk, our Econlib app might be just the ticket. Get it at http://www.econlib.org/library/faqEconlibApp.html
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We welcome all our new registrants.
Lauren Landsburg, Editor
Russ Roberts, Associate Editor
David R. Henderson, Features Editor
Library of Economics and Liberty
http://www.econlib.org
