Religion & Liberty Online Archives

Economics

February 19, 2016

How geography affects economic growth

The continent of Africa has so much space that you could fit most of the United States, China, India, and a lot of Europe onto it. But if you compare Africa to Europe, Europe has two to three times the length of coastline that Africa has. Continue Reading...
February 17, 2016

The Executive’s Conscience: Where Work and Wage Meet

“The twin tracks of work and wage do not meet, and cannot be scientifically related. They are bridged by morality, not by mathematics.” -Lester DeKoster Low-wage workers continue to picket and protest around the country, demanding an increased minimum wage, improved access to benefits, and better working conditions. Continue Reading...
February 16, 2016

Politics and the Successful Businessperson Fallacy

Michael Bloomberg and Donald Trump are both businessmen, both are politicians, and both are billionaires. Obviously, then, they must know a lot about economics, right? Not necessarily. As Don Boudreaux — a man who does know a lot about economics — correctly points out, success at business does not imply knowledge of economics: Knowing how to run a business is not the same thing as knowing economics.   Continue Reading...
February 09, 2016

Ben Sasse on Why Over-Regulation Hurts the Poor

Conservatives are known for arguing about the ill effects of over-regulation, reminding us how it stifles innovation, cramps entrepreneurship, and harms small businesses. Where we’re less effective is connecting this reality to the more fundamental abuses it wields on human dignity in general and the poor and vulnerable in particular. Continue Reading...
February 08, 2016

Joseph Schumpeter and the Moral Economy

Today is the 133 birthday of the late Austrian-born economist, Joseph A. Schumpeter. A Finance Minister of Austria and later Harvard professor, Schumpeter coined the term “creative destruction” in explaining how capitalism delivers progress: The opening up of new markets, foreign or domestic, and the organizational development from the craft shop to such concerns as U.S. Continue Reading...
February 04, 2016

No, Jesus was not a socialist

The resurgence of socialism in America, especially among the young, seems to be based on a widespread form of wishful thinking and historical ignorance. Most people who support Bernie Sanders, for instance, do not realize that most of his ideas have been tried already—and discarded as unworkable. Continue Reading...
January 22, 2016

The Cruelty of the Minimum Wage

If the goal is to improve the economic fortunes of the least-advantaged workers and families, says economist Don Boudreaux in this short animated video, then the minimum wage is a terrible idea. Continue Reading...