Mere Economics (Page 12)

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#FreeBookFriday: The Foundations of Mere Economics

A few years ago, I used to post #FreeBookFriday links to gratis ($0) books across my social media channels. It's time to bring that back. You can read or download books using the links below without paying for them. Here are a few recommendations that form the foundation

Diamonds are Forever - Cost and Price

Last week, I posted the first in a series of articles on diamonds (but really about the economic point of view). Here's part 2. Diamond mines are expensive. The heavy machinery used to excavate diamonds likewise comes with a hefty price tag. Unsurprisingly, diamonds themselves can be jaw-droppingly

Is Government Like These Signs?

Why buy into the tenets of public choice (politics-as-exchange, rational choice, methodological individualism)? While it doesn't give us a romantic vision of the world we want to rule--and I use the word "rule" deliberately, noting with H.L. Mencken that "the urge to save humanity

QOTD: "Political activists are some of the most dishonest people in the world."

Thus spake Michael Huemer in this episode of the "Ideas Having Sex" podcast about his new book Progressive Myths. My review of Progressive Myths will appear in Regulation sometime this year, but by way of preview, it's a very good book by a learned philosopher and

The Mises Archive at Grove City College

Learn more about this amazing resource in a new mini-documentary. Art will be using the archival material for his research on the great, underrated W.H. Hutt.

Walking in Paris: Tipping and Tax Incidence

I visited Europe with my family twice in 2024, visiting Copenhagen during the summer and Paris over Thanksgiving break. Many things stood out, but here are two that I would love to see transported across the Atlantic: posted prices that reflect all the relevant taxes, and no tipping custom. Why?

Five Ways Minimum Wage Studies Fail - Underemployment

The first post on the Mere Economics blog revisited a post I'd written over at the Independent Institute. Here's part 2. Let’s stick with the margins of adjustment for a while longer. When we show a supply and demand diagram for a labor market in

Blessed Assurance: LEGO and Its Imitators Don't Make "The Same Thing"

The holidays are behind us, and no doubt many parents uttered many curses after stepping on many LEGO bricks over the last few weeks. Compared to their competitors and imitators, LEGO bricks command a handsome premium. Why? Is it because people are easily manipulated by slick advertising and legacy brand

Wicksteed Wisdom

Thus, by teaching Greek to men who can neither make shoes nor drive an engine, I can get myself shod and carried by men who have no wish to be taught Greek. It might be a valuable exercise for any one who is “earning his living” to attempt to go

Quote of the Day: Helmut Schoeck, "Envy"

The envious man thinks that if his neighbour breaks a leg, he will be able to walk better himself.