Comments on: Missing Link, Friday 6 July

By: Damien Eldridge

Damien Eldridge — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:28:09 +0000

Sarcasm alert: Yeah, those infant industry arguments are great. After many decades of protection, Australian car manufacturers have yet to become toddlers.

By: skepticlawyer

skepticlawyer — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 13:13:22 +0000

And I’d also recommend reading Steve’s piece, which is very well thought out. Why I linked it, yer know.

By: skepticlawyer

skepticlawyer — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 13:10:06 +0000

This piece by Paul Krugman is pretty useful, as is this primer.

By: Laura

Laura — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 12:13:43 +0000

Come on fellows, you can’t get away with that. At least give us a clue where to start learning about this comparative advantage.

By: Nicholas Gruen

Nicholas Gruen — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 10:17:49 +0000

I agree with James. Uppity right types think they ‘get’ economics because they’ve figured out that markets are pretty terrific. That’s not understanding comparative advantage – and most lefties worth anything much have figured out that markets are good too (though some don’t like saying so).

By: James Farrell

James Farrell — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 08:08:29 +0000

‘…one on the left who gets the concept of comparative advantage.’

Goodness me, I didn’t know Rafe had joined the ML team! Maybe not, but that comment is worthy of the old slanderer.

I’d reckon that comparative advantage is understood by only about half of economics and commerce graduates (despite the best efforts of their instructors), and by about two percent of the general population. The ability to grasp abstract mathematical concepts has nothing to do with political tendencies.

And don’t forget that comparative advantage is not the alpha and omega of the debate on industry protection. After learning the basic argument for trade, students learn a standard list of arguments for protectionism (national defense, infant industry, etc.). None of these arguments is supposed to refute comparative advantage, though – that’s just simple logic.

There’s nothing particularly left wing about arguments for protection either. Obviously trade unions representing workers in protected industries will emphasize them, but then so will the owners of those businesses.

By: Jason Soon

Jason Soon — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 02:43:45 +0000

Oh yeah, sorry about being missing in action. We’ve changed days and had a few no-shows that I’ve gotten confused about when it’s now on, thought it was due Saturday.

By: Shaun

Shaun — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 22:27:29 +0000

The pressure is on then SL! It the Eels make it (which they should) I’m might need to do a heart v head tip as to not lead the punters astray.

Now, when you are OS you can always wire my percentage of your winnings back to me.

By: fairlane

fairlane — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:45:47 +0000

Thanks for linking to my post. I’ll try to cut down on the cursing in the
future.

Who am I kidding? Without the f-word my posts would only be about 3 sentences.

By: Nicholas Gruen

Nicholas Gruen — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:37:52 +0000

Proposing that wars should not be fought without the approval of Parliament is a no-brainer for the ALP to adopt – and if they feel shy about it then just propose it for commitments of troops to offshore wars. A bit like tax returns that the ATO would fill out for you. All political gain, no political pain and yet in the latter case the ALP waited round for their opposition to announce it. Well that won’t happen with the other policy for a while yet, so perhaps they’ve got it planned for the election campaign. Still I won’t be holding my breath.

By: skepticlawyer

skepticlawyer — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:24:24 +0000

Ahhh, I see. He’s been poached by SBS.

By: skepticlawyer

skepticlawyer — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:21:55 +0000

We’re waiting for Phil to write something. Hint, Phil!

By: David Rubie

David Rubie — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:47:24 +0000

No mention of Le Tour? What sort of sporting section is that?

By: skepticlawyer

skepticlawyer — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:26:35 +0000

Me, Shaun – and I’ll be really dependent on you for the finals cos I’ll be out of the country when they’re being played.

By: Shaun

Shaun — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 12:13:18 +0000

Ok, who is making money off my tips and where is my cut?

By: skepticlawyer

skepticlawyer — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 10:43:14 +0000

I should probably link those two posts, Andrew. Thanks for reminding me.

By: Andrew Bartlett

Andrew Bartlett — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 10:33:43 +0000

I thought the lining up between Austrolabe and Catallaxy was interesting enough, but pulling Tim Blair into the mix is also curious in its own way.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 10:20:20 +0000

Just experimentating.

By: Legal Eagle

Legal Eagle — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 10:14:09 +0000

SL, so you were drinking red wine too while doing your bit? Me too. As my daughter would say, “NUM!”

Yes, thank you all who have welcomed me on board so warmly – it’s lovely to be on board.