Monthly Archives: October 2009

Toward a trick-or-treat philosophy

Posted on October 30, 2009 by James Farrell

Tomorrow evening, as I’ve done on this date for the last two years, I’ll put this sign on the front door: Trick-or-treaters: If you’ve come in a scary costume, please ring the bell. Otherwise, try again next year! It worked … Continue reading →

Posted in Society, Uncategorised | 3 Comments

Robbins, economic science and political economy

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Nicholas Gruen

I’ve never been much of a fan of Lionel Robbins 1932 Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economic Science. It smacks of what I’d call ‘authoritarian methodology’ which had its sterile apotheosis in Popper’s efforts to demark ‘science’ and … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy, Philosophy, Political theory | 1 Comment

From the annals of regulatory idiocy . . .

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Nicholas Gruen

One of the problems of mechanisms of ‘regulation review’ – for instance the requirement for new regulations to be accompanied by regulation impact analysis, is that this constraint is itself regulation – it’s regulation of the regulators. An infinite regress … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorised | 1 Comment

Which production factor gets destroyed in major recessions, part II?

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Paul Frijters

In a post a few weeks back, I raised the question of what additional production factor one would have to include into the current production function framework in order to have a plausible story about the recent crisis. That post … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy | Tagged , | Comments Off on Which production factor gets destroyed in major recessions, part II?

It’s not easy being green

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Ken Parish

It’s becoming increasingly clear that the only likely outcome of the current manoeuvrings over the Rudd government’s Emissions Trading Scheme is that it will either be rejected by the Senate or so drastically watered down as to be almost entirely … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Politics - national | 11 Comments

Bring back the Pacific Solution?

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Ken Parish

The decision to grant protection visas to all 42 Afghan asylum seekers from the SIEV36, the boat that exploded off Ashmore Reef on 16 April killing 5 people, may prove to be one of the biggest political and policy mistakes … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics - national | 8 Comments

Future moves on interest rates

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Fred Argy

A recent version of the Taylor rule specifies that the Federal interest rate target should have a threefold aim: (a) to curb inflation (b) to avoid excess unemployment and (c) stop prospective asset prices. With a rising Australian dollar (and … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy | 15 Comments