E.C. Mendenhall
"How different, philosophically, is American capitalism from French capitalism? It's much less than people imagine." --Paul Krugman, 'Re: Is American Capitalism inherently wasteful?' Is this because French and American capitalism both operate on similar fundamental capitalist principles, or ... Read More
The Stern Review, commissioned by the British Treasury in 2006, which concluded that investing 1% of global GDP could prevent warming, and that failure to do so could result in the loss of 20% of world GDP in the future. There are valid criticisms of the report, and climate change is a difficult ... Read More
Climate change itself may not be a human rights issue -- though evidence seems to indicate that rich nations have created most of the problem, and poor ones will bear the brunt of the costs -- but the way wealthy countries choose to respond to global warming is certainly a rights issue. Dire ... Read More
Of course software patents and other bad digital property rights schemes stifle creativity -- there's simply no incentive to innovate when it's easier to extort. The bigger problem is that the law hasn't kept up with new kinds of property and most property rights laws, like patents and copyrights ... Read More
Absolutely. Ethanol may be the dumbest idea in recent history, putting a green guise on pricey handouts. The "Energy Independence and Security Act," passed by Congress this year, will push US ethanol production to 36bn gallons by 2020, and cost taxpayers $7bn. Thanks to the smorgasbord of ... Read More
As I type, there's a robot vacuuming my living room floor. Last week, a computer took my picture and sent me a speeding ticket. Wikipedia, great font of all easy-access knowledge, is on my freakin' cell phone. And of course, I can communicate with people all over the world effortlessly, with tools ... Read More
Depends on the problem you want to solve. If you're only interested in stopping entrants, a massive wall works pretty well. I've visited, and it's formidably tall and quite solid. If the problem is inequality between Mexican and US citizens, and the fact that jobs and workers flow to where they ... Read More
"I don't think the West is going to achieve the end of poverty in Africa, like Jeff Sachs does. I think Africans are going to achieve the end of poverty in a homegrown way." Professor Easterly is absolutely right. Economic principles work in Africa just as well as they do everywhere else in the ... Read More
"I don't think the West is going to achieve the end of poverty in Africa, like Jeff Sachs does. I think Africans are going to achieve the end of poverty in a homegrown way." Professor Easterly is absolutely. Economic principles work in Africa just as well as they do everywhere else in the world ... Read More
About E.C. Mendenhall
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