Stereotyping Defended
Most people feel that stereotyping is always wrong and unfair, notes Ninos Malek. It is, however, a method that people use, consciously or subconsciously, as an efficient way of economizing on information costs.
That WSJ piece
Many people have written to ask about the response to that WSJ article on the Mises Institute.
Greed and Katrina
Greed for political power can be more harmful to a population’s overall well-being than the capitalist “greed” an entrepreneur might have for a larger market share or the “greed” a worker might have within capitalism for a larger income.
As a case in point, recent disclosures about the level of corruption and fraud related to the relief efforts involving Hurricane Katrina show a pattern of dishonesty and “greed” among all sectors, among businesses, government and the general population.
Joel Klein, Monopolist
[Cross posted at Organizations and Markets]
Egalitarianism as a revolt against economic variables
Scott Adams, author of the Dilbert comic strip, had some interesting observations regarding subsidies and taxes that different bodied people avoid and pay.
The gist of it can be seen in his all-you-can-eat buffet example: those with smaller appetites essentially subsidize those with larger appetites.
Crushing Innovation: The Case of FM Radio
Those who continue to tout the positive role of the state in technological innovation (”the gov’t made the Internet!”) should read this chilling tale of what happened to the inventor of FM radio, Edwin Armstrong. In short, the FCC and established big businessmen (naming names: David Sarnoff of RCA) kept FM buried for decades and devastated its inventor. Monstrous!
Rothbard as Intellectual Inspiration
Doug French discusses what it was like to be a student of Murray Rothbard. He didn’t take roll, or hand out a syllabus. Murray didn’t have time for that; he had centuries of history to cover.
The Reid Effect
Every time I take off my shoes in the security screening process at the airport, I find it consoling to remind myself that at least Richard Reid wasn’t wearing an underwear bomb.
Sweet Home for Austrian Economics
Kyle Wingfield’s wonderful article on the Mises Institute appears in the US edition of the Wall Street Journal today. For subscribers here is the link. And here is a link that is free (new)
The Problem of Accuracy of Economic Data
In his classic book On the Accuracy of Economic Observation Oskar Morgenstern deals with a common, yet widely neglected problem with which economic historians are faced, namely the quality of economic data. For the economic historian in the Austrian tradition, the quality of economic data is of utmost importance, since false data or belief in inaccurate data can lead the economic historian to faulty interpretations of the past.
