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Imagine that history made one small exception. For one evening only, time stopped separating generations. High above the noise of a packed World Cup final game, in a quiet corner of the grandstand untouched by television cameras, eight elderly gentlemen quietly took their seats. No one around them seemed to notice. The crowd had come .. MORE
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Sam's Links
Sam Enright works on innovation policy at Progress Ireland, an independent policy think tank in Dublin, and runs a publication called The Fitzwilliam. Most relevant to us, on his personal blog , he writes a popular link roundup; what follows is an abridged version of his Links for June. Blogs and short links 1. From .. MORE
Political Economy
Adam Smith’s publication in 1776 of An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (WN) may not have had a direct influence on the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS) was better known in 1776 and certainly did influence the colonists. But Smith’s arguments on political economy may .. MORE
Obituaries
On July 13, the field of economic education lost one of its leading educators, Dr. Mark C. Schug. I had the privilege of knowing Mark for many years and the honor of coauthoring Economic Episodes in Civics and American Government with him. This tribute aims to preserve the historical record of his remarkable career and .. MORE
Economic Methods
Can a private company be worth more than Canada’s entire economy? Some people seem to think so. Every so often, a superstar company, usually in the tech sector, hits a record valuation, prompting comparisons to a country’s GDP. For example, NVIDIA’s market capitalization surpassed Canada’s GDP in 2025. By May 2026, the chip designer was .. MORE
Political Economy
Few political ideas have proven as durable as the complaint embedded in the Declaration of Independence that the British Crown was “imposing taxes on us without our consent.” That grievance was not merely rhetorical flourish; it captured a central concern of the American colonists about the relationship between political authority and individual liberty. More than .. MORE
Labor Market
This month, amid World Cup fever, New York City implemented a new job-protection law. This law forbids app-based rideshare platforms from removing drivers unless they can show they have “just cause” or a “bona fide economic reason.” The new law follows a pattern set by a similar pandemic-era law, also from New York City, which .. MORE
Fiscal Policy
Fiscal Dominance and the Politicization of Money Much of the contemporary debate about monetary policy focuses on technical questions: whether reserves should be scarce or abundant, whether fintech companies should have master accounts at the Federal Reserve, whether those accounts should resemble the accounts held by banks, or how far the Fed’s independence should extend. .. MORE
Politics and Economics
We rely on experts for a lot of our information. By “expert,” I mean someone who is paid for their opinion. Roger Koppl uses this definition in his 2018 book Expert Failure, and I use the same definition in my research, which is based on his book. This definition is useful because it allows us .. MORE
Money and Inflation
Inflation began rising in 2021 due to pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and reopening dynamics. The Russia-Ukraine war that started in February 2022 intensified these pressures through a commodity super cycle (a broad and sustained surge in energy and raw material prices) that sent inflationary shockwaves to nearly all major economies, including the U.S., where CPI .. MORE
1. Introduction Public Choice is more than you think. The usual quick definition—“applying economics to the study of politics”—is not wrong, but it’s facile. Public Choice asks how political actors use information and respond to incentives. That’s a lot more than just an application of economic tools to a new context. Public Choice was born .. MORE
Centuries of argument have left a stubborn question unresolved: how much economic inequality is acceptable? Unlike inequalities rooted in race, gender, or disability—which typically attract broad moral condemnation—economic inequality in income, consumption, and wealth remains fiercely contested. That contestation does not result from a flaw in the debate; it is the debate’s defining feature. This .. MORE
Trade is not just about transactions. It’s about relationships and trust built and earned over time. Just over a year ago, citing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), President Trump began unilaterally changing tariff rates with countries around the world. The goal was to restructure global trade. Since this was the first time any .. MORE
In recent years, the Arctic has returned to the center of public attention: the renewed interest in Greenland, the progressive opening of maritime routes due to ice melt, and the claims over areas like the Svalbard archipelago are clear signals that Arctic policy will remain in the public eye. Regarding the Svalbard archipelago, located in .. MORE
What a great and fun read. I am going to give this to my classes.
Jon Murphy, July 19