All Posts Tagged With: "human behavior"
The Pursuit of Justice: The Law and Economics of Legal Institutions
Public Choice analysis is the application of economic reasoning—principally the idea that human action is primarily self-interested—to questions drawn from politics and government. It was famously described by James Buchanan as “politics without romance.” To date most Public Choice research has focused on the behavior of political actors. Less attention has been paid to the behavior [...]
30Nov2011 | Michael DeBow | 18 comments | ContinuedDangerous Political Naifs
Being well past the age of 50 and having spent nearly all my adult life as an academic economist, I seize the privilege of doing what so many other economists of my age and rank do—namely, offer unsolicited speculations about what is right and what is wrong with modern economics. First, something that is right. [...]
26Oct2011 | Donald J. Boudreaux | 10 comments | Continued
Lost in Transcription
Following rules, such as the rules of language, of the market, or of just conduct, is more about “knowing how” than “knowing that.” This is a lesson taught by many important thinkers, among them, Gilbert Ryle (who used these terms in the title of chapter 2 of The Concept of Mind), F. A. Hayek, and [...]
1Dec2008 | Sheldon Richman | 2 comments | ContinuedThe Mad-Genius Controversy
Our ideas about genius, madness, and the existence of a close relationship between them are modern inventions. For millennia people explained the world about themespecially creative/
good and destructive/bad behaviorsin spiritual or god terms.
Economics for the Citizen, Part III
Someone might have made you a gift of The Freeman.
Does that mean reading this article is free?
The answer is a big fat no.
Econ 101: An Austrian Economist’s Dream
On the first day in an economics class the instructor tells us that “resources are scarce,” but human “wants are unlimited”—hence the eternal “economic problem.” How do we know resources are scarce? We can observe this fact with our senses; we can see that nothing is available in unlimited quantities everywhere and at all times. [...]
1Jan2004 | Arthur E. Foulkes | 0 comments | ContinuedWhy Are Economists So Misunderstood?
Here is a puzzle. I’m at a social gathering that includes some doctors. One doctor is discussing a prescription drug for a particular ailment. I interrupt with a lengthy discourse on the medication, explaining that the doctor’s understanding is faulty. He has misunderstood the most important applications of the drug. His analysis of the side [...]
1Jan2004 | Russell Roberts | 8 comments | ContinuedCapital Letters
What Is “Mental Illness”? To the Editor: [The March column opposing insurance parity for psychiatric treatment by] Thomas Szasz . . . shocked and disappointed me. . . . Any close relative (myself included) of a person who was formerly seriously mentally ill—with all the unwanted auditory and visual cacophony—and was returned to normal rational [...]
1Jul2002 | FEE Admin | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Self-Imposed Poverty of Economics
Tibor Machan is a professor of philosophy at Chapman University. David Brown is the editor of The Daily Objectivist (www.dailyobjectivist.com), a webzine. Life is more than a game, and human beings are more than rule-bound strategists. Moral values are possible. Authentic allegiance to such values is possible. Too obvious a point to debate, you think? [...]
1Dec2000 | and Tibor R. Machan | 0 comments | ContinuedAdam Smith: Moral Philosopher
James Otteson is a professor of philosophy at the University of Alabama. Adam Smith was not solely an economist, though that is almost exclusively how he is known today. His Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (WN) is one of the most important books in the Western tradition. Aside from [...]
1Nov2000 | James R. Otteson | 0 comments | ContinuedBook Review: Hidden Order: The Economics of Everyday Life by David Friedman
Harper Business • 340 pages + xi pages • 1996 • $25.00 Mr. French is a vice president in commercial real estate lending for a bank in Las Vegas, Nevada. Anyone who has met David Friedman knows he is a man looking to pick an argument. Only the naive or foolish will attempt to joust [...]
1Feb1997 | Douglas E. French | 0 comments | Continued-
The Latest
Contraception: Insuring the Uninsurable
Update below. Controversy rages over the Obama administration’s mandate that all employers – including... Read More
The Snow Plowers’ Petition
The following might have happened in a small college town in upstate New York… In a cold and snowy... Read More
Super Bowl versus Education?
In the spirit of Super Bowl weekend I’d like to deconstruct a Facebook status update that a friend... Read More
Capitalism, Corporatism, and the Freed Market
When a front-running presidential contender tells the country that thanks to Barack Obama, “[w]e are... Read More
Creating Jobs versus Creating Value
Picking on New York Times columnist Paul Krugman is one of the largest participation sports on the Internet.... Read More
