Cato on Campus - Economics

Kidneys for Sale: Iranian Organ Donation

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:19:00 EDT

By Kerry Howley: "'What can Iran teach us about good governance?' is not a question often posed in Washington. But according to Benjamin Hippen, a transplant nephrologist in North Carolina, the Iranians have managed to do something American policy makers have long thought impossible: They�ve found kidneys for every single citizen in need."

Everyone in Favor, Say Yargh!

Mon, 12 May 2008 15:34:00 EDT

By Joanna Weiss: "Long before they made their way into the workings of modern government, the democratic tenets we hold so dear were used to great effect on pirate ships. Checks and balances. Social insurance. Freedom of expression. So Leeson, an economics professor at George Mason University, will argue in his upcoming book, The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates."

American Idol and Poverty

Tue, 06 May 2008 18:10:00 EDT

Ed Crane, President of the Cato Institute, suggests that celebrities take a good look at how to help the poor of the world create their own wealth.

Fairness, Idealism and Other Atrocities

Mon, 05 May 2008 11:38:00 EDT

By P.J. O'Rourke: "Well, here you are at your college graduation. And I know what you're thinking: 'Gimme the sheepskin and get me outta here!' But not so fast. First you have to listen to a commencement speech."

Bernstein on the History of Trade

Thu, 01 May 2008 09:18:00 EDT

"William Bernstein talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the history of trade. Drawing on the insights from his recent book, A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, Bernstein talks about the magic of spices, how trade in sugar explain why Jews ended up in Manhattan, the real political economy of the Boston Tea Party and the demise of the Corn Laws in England."

Profit: Not Just a Motive

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:57:00 EDT

By Steve Horwitz: This article "explores the problems with the frequent argument on the left that we should 'take the profit motive out' of various activities and industries, especially health care."

Bail Bondsmen, Bounty Hunters and Private Prisons

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:21:00 EDT

"America�s free enterprise system is at work in many aspects of the criminal justice system. Profit-making bail bondsmen who help defendants post the money needed for their freedom pending trial are common in the U.S. but virtually unheard of across the rest of the world. Bounty hunters lured by big payouts find criminals who have previously eluded the police. And private companies are building and operating prisons and detention facilities."

Roberts on the Least Pleasant Jobs

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:33:00 EDT

"EconTalk host Russ Roberts talks about the claim that for capitalism to succeed there have to be people at the bottom to do the unpleasant tasks and that the rich thrive because of the suffering of those at the bottom. He critiques the idea that capitalism is a zero sum game where to get ahead, someone has to fall back. He also looks at the evolution of the least pleasant jobs over time and how technology interacts with rising productivity to make the least pleasant jobs more pleasant."

Fuel vs. Food

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:04:00 EDT

By Indur M. Goklany: "In recent years, we've heard that climate change could be catastrophic for nature and humanity. But it's becoming increasingly evident that over the next few decades, climate-change policies could prove even more catastrophic."

Free Trade, Free Markets: Rating Congress

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:33:00 EDT

This interactive web site allows users to examine how Congress and its individual members have voted over the years on bills and amendments affecting the freedom of Americans to trade and invest in the global economy.

The Biofuel Brew Ha-Ha

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:58:00 EDT

By Peter Suderman: Reason contributor Peter Suderman writes that the biofuels craze is boosting the price of beer, because farmers are shifting away from barley to biofuel crops made more lucrative by mandates and subsidies.

Inequality and Excess

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:47:00 EDT

By Arnold Kling: "What the American people really should feel awkward and defensive about is the level of inequality and excess of political power. Instead of asking ourselves what we can do about Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, we should be asking ourselves about what we can do about the Clintons and the Spitzers. Those who want more and more power should be our biggest concern."

McCloskey on Capitalism and the Bourgeois Virtues

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:05:00 EDT

"Deirdre McCloskey of the University of Illinois at Chicago and the author of The Bourgeois Virtues talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about capitalism and whether markets make people more ethical or less. They also discuss Adam Smith's world view, whether people were nicer in the Middle Ages, and the role of prudence and love."

Incentives, Incentives, Incentives

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:10:00 EDT

By Allen R. Sanderson: "If incentives work so well, maybe there are ways to improve public sector outcomes through the application of these same 'incentives matter' principles."

Showing That You Care: The Evolution of Health Altruism

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:40:00 EDT

By Robin Hanson: "Human behavior regarding medicine seems strange; assumptions and models that seem workable in other areas seem less so in medicine. Perhaps, we need to rethink the basics. Toward this end, I have collected many puzzling stylized facts about behavior regarding medicine, and have sought a small number of simple assumptions which might together account for as many puzzles as possible."

Bridges Over Troubled Water

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:23:00 EDT

By Christopher Preble and Jeremy Lott: "War costs money too. Round the bill for the bridges to nowhere that so incensed McCain up to $500 million. Our occupation of Iraq, which often seems to be getting nowhere, is costing north of $10 billion a month. That sum could finance the construction of 40 superfluous bridges this month and 480 bridges in a year."

Organ Transplants: Kidneys for Sale

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:08:00 EDT

"In his most controversial segment yet, reason.tv host Drew Carey offers a startling solution to the critical shortage in kidneys available for transplant: Pay people to donate their kidneys."

Public Choice

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:02:00 EDT

"Public Choice studies the intersection between economics and political science. The journal plays a central role in fostering exchange between economists and political scientists, enabling both communities to explain and learn from each other�s perspectives." Now available online.

Peace Won't Come to Zimbabwe

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:27:00 EDT

By Marian L. Tupy and David Coltart: "The case against Mr. Mugabe and the ZANU-PF for crimes against humanity would be compelling. They have turned one of Africa's most prosperous and relatively free nations into an Orwellian nightmare. Since 1994, the average life expectancy in Zimbabwe has fallen to 34 from 57 for women and to 37 from 54 for men. Some 3,500 Zimbabweans die every week from the combined effects of HIV/AIDS, poverty and malnutrition."

If I Were a Shill For Industry ...

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:37:00 EDT

By Donald J. Boudreaux: "A blogger recently complained that I (along with my fellow bloggers from George Mason University's Department of Economics) "seem to be shills for industry." This lazy accusation is as familiar as it is mistaken, for if I were truly a shill for industry ..."

Feel Safer Now?

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:09:00 EDT

From The Economist print edition: "After September 11th 2001, most countries beefed up security at airports and other vulnerable places. Tough-looking immigration officials no doubt made passengers feel safer, offsetting the irritation of longer queues. Yet doing something because it makes people feel good is not adequate justification. Is money devoted to counter-terrorism well spent?"

The Five Dumbest Product Bans

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:07:00 EDT

By Eli Lehrer: "Even as the array of consumer products available to the average American expands each day, a bewildering variety of government regulations serve to limit consumer choice. From the aircraft on which Americans fly to the food they buy in the grocery store, government regulation limits product choice at every turn."

I'd rather be Hanged for a Sheep than a Lamb: The Unintended Consequences of 'Three-Strikes' Laws

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 08:40:00 EST

By Radha Iyengar: "Using criminal records data, I estimate that Three Strikes reduced participation in criminal activity by 20 percent for second-strike eligible offenders and a 28 percent decline for third-strike eligible offenders. However, I find two unintended consequences of the law. First, because Three Strikes flattened the penalty gradient with respect to severity, criminals were more likely to commit more violent crimes. Among third-strike eligible offenders, the probability of committing violent crimes increased by 9 percentage points. Second, because California's law was more harsh than the laws of other nearby states, Three Strikes had a "beggar-thy-neighbor" effect increasing the migration of criminals with second and third-strike eligibility to commit crimes in neighboring states."

Ohio Needs More Foreign Trade

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 08:17:00 EST

By Daniel T. Griswold: "But tinkering with a 14-year-old trade agreement [NAFTA] will not bring an industrial renaissance to Youngstown and other Rust Belt cites. The relative decline of those regions dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, when the American economy began a transition from heavy industry toward an information-based service economy."

Gun Buybacks a Noble Idea That Always Misfires

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:12:00 EST

By Alex Tabarrok: "Did no one running the program think to look at the price of a new gun? In fact, the first two people in line at one of the three buyback locations were gun dealers with 60 firearms packed in the trunk of their car. One wonders why the police even bothered to buy the guns from Oakland residents. Why not buy directly from gun manufacturers?"