Mere Economics (Page 12)

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Menger Mystery

Language, religion, law, even the state itself, and, to mention a few economic social phenomena, the phenomena of markets, of competition, of money, and numerous other social structures are already met with in epochs of history where we cannot properly speak of a purposeful activity of the community as such

Law and Economics Classics - Ellickson Goes Whaling

At Grove City College, I teach Law and Economics--a course that explicitly examines how "people expand their options by cooperating." It therefore lies at the heart of "mere economics." In this sermon series, I'll be posting a summary of classic L&E papers

Where are the Deals?

A version of this essay first appeared on my personal blog, A Fuller's Soap. Now You See it, Now You Don’t The classic "Coasean" way of thinking is to ask: 'Where are the deals?' Rarely does this way of thinking get applied to

#FreeBookFriday: Some Mere Economics Sources

In Mere Economics, we tried to rely on open-access resources wherever we could. Here are a few places to go if you want to check our work: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, via the most excellent Project Gutenberg. G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy. Via the most excellent Project Gutenberg Australia. Frederick Engels, Socialism:

Diamonds are Forever - The Division of Labor

I'm posting a 14-part series of mini-essays on diamonds (but really about the economic point of view). Here's part 3. The Division of Labor It’s obvious that the distribution of the world’s resources is vastly unequal. What’s sometimes overlooked is that this fact

Socialism's Quality Quandary

Unless you live under a rock, you know the quality of goods under socialism was bad. But you might not be aware that this presents something of a puzzle. Why is the average quality of consumer goods so bad under central planning? For a peak behind the (iron) curtain, see

Economics Has a Jonathan Swift

Reading history's greatest satirist is a fruitful exercise in economic reasoning. Reading economics' greatest satirist likewise never disappoints. Read as he skewers protectionists. Learn as he eviscerates destructionists. To learn more about the Jonathan Swift of economics, see this introduction to Frederic Bastiat that I originally published

Intentions Don't Guarantee Outcomes

According to the great Pete Boettke, it is an (intellectually) "immature mode of reasoning" to explain social outcomes by appealing to "bad people doing bad things, and good people doing good things." That's not economics. It's not even analysis at all. The

Birmingham Business Journal Forecast Panel 2025 Thoughts

This morning, I'm participating in an Economic Forecast Panel for the Birmingham Business Journal. Here are my preliminary thoughts based on some of the questions they shared with me beforehand. What Can We Expect From the New Administration? The Good: Trump, like most Republicans, talks a good game

Five Ways Minimum Wage Studies Fail - The Second Law of Demand

The first post on the Mere Economics blog revisited a post I'd written over at the Independent Institute. Here's part 4. On the flipside of anticipation, we ought also to think about the long-run—after a minimum wage hike becomes law. Not all adjustments must come