Myths we teach our children
When we teach false things to our students there’s usually an explanation. Thus, today it’s trendy to teach about the...
Economic History
The Truman Fabrication
The Hell You Say, Harry. The FPA came into being because former president Harry Truman made a series of representations...
Reminiscences of Thurgood Marshall
Sitting in those smoke-filled back rooms, he did business with lots of people whose identities would stun a modern audience. Decades...
On the repeal of the Corn Laws
Don Boudreaux hosted an excellent podcast discussion on Discourse Magazine Podcast on the abolition of the Corn Laws. The debate...
How Many Pinocchios Should Glenn Kessler Get?
You know, Nazis were the National Socialist Party. Just like the Democrats are now a national socialist party. Now Kessler...
Tabula-Rasa Economics in Biden’s Speech to Congress
A good exercise for economics students is to find instances of economic nonsense in a politician’s speech. In his speech...
Deirdre McCloskey and the Tremendous Power of Talk
When I read Deirdre McCloskey’s 2006 The Bourgeois Virtues soon after it was published, I was impressed. But when, four...
Incentives Matter in Banking Too
Do you have any idea what the balance sheets of your bank(s) look like? I don’t. I don’t know whom...
Self-Interest, Public Good, and the Royal Society of Arts
What happens when individuals can coordinate their actions and efforts to promote interests that aren’t merely personal? What goals can...
Canadian versus US Banking
I’ll be discussion leader at a colloquium the weekend after next whose topic is Canadian banking. The readings are so...
