Category Archives: Employment

Lockdown cost-benefit analysis for Australia by Martin Lally

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Paul Frijters

Martin Lally is a kiwi economist who late in 2020 decided to calculate for himself what his own country was losing by locking itself away from the world, coming to the conclusion that New Zealand was sacrificing something like 26 … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus crisis, Death and taxes, Economics and public policy, Employment, Health, Politics - national, Science, Social Policy | 11 Comments

Joy Braddish on homelessness after the COVID measures

Posted on April 7, 2021 by Nicholas Gruen

I’d like to introduce Joy Braddish who’s studying for a Master of Journalism at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Advancing Journalism.  She’s undertaking an internship at Lateral Economics where one of the things she’s helping us with is making … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics and public policy, Employment, Social Policy | 2 Comments

Historical analogies for the covid-mania

Posted on January 8, 2021 by Paul Frijters

“men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses more slowly, and one by one.” MacKay, 1841. Right now, London and much of Europe … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus crisis, Cultural Critique, Death and taxes, Economics and public policy, Employment, History, Libertarian Musings, Political theory, Politics - international, Science, Social Policy, Uncategorized | 51 Comments

Is Sweden the promised land for sensible covid-policies? Reluctantly. 

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Paul Frijters

Sweden is a rich, spacious country famous for IKEA, ABBA, dark cold winters, and its unique covid-policies. We escaped London for a few days to see for ourselves what the deal was with this Scandinavian country of 10 million. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus crisis, Dance, Death and taxes, Democracy, Employment, Health, Politics - international, Science, Social Policy | 77 Comments

Constant distractions are leading to major declines in top-level reasoning. What to do?

Posted on September 14, 2020 by Paul Frijters

Till 20 year ago, IQ scores in the West increased about 3 points per decade ever since the 1920s, a phenomenon known as the “Flynn effect”. That rise in IQ test scores, which have an average of 100 and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Employment, Gender, History, Inequality, IT and Internet, Media, Parenting, Public and Private Goods, Science, Social, Uncategorized | 17 Comments

Professor Foster’s cost-benefit analysis for the Victorian parliament.

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Paul Frijters

[below the exact text (with different font/highlight) as Gigi Foster’s submission to the Victorian parliamentary library in mid-August here. To see her health-related notes, including on topics like non-linearities and Sweden, see here, and to see all documents of that … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus crisis, Democracy, Economics and public policy, Education, Employment, Ethics, Health, Medical, Politics - national, Science, Social Policy | 159 Comments

How can the Covid-policies be countered with the help of Big Money?

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Paul Frijters

Suppose you agree with me that containment and elimination strategies pursued regarding Covid-19 do far more harm than good. Suppose you also believe that having an open economy and a vibrant close-contact social life is vital for the long-run health … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus crisis, Death and taxes, Economics and public policy, Education, Employment, Health, Life, Media, Politics - national, Science, Social Policy, Society | 86 Comments