Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'economics'

January 05, 2017

5 Facts about Jean-Baptiste Say

Today is the 250th anniversary of Jean-Baptiste Say, one of the most important economic thinkers of the nineteenth century. Here are five facts you should know about this French economist: 1. Continue Reading...
January 03, 2017

A price is a signal wrapped up in an incentive

Note: This is post #15 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. The price system allows for people with dispersed knowledge and information to coordinate global economic activity. The global production of roses, for example, reveals how the price system is emergent, and not the product of human design. Continue Reading...
December 22, 2016

The magic of the washing machine

What was the greatest invention of the industrial revolution? Hans Rosling makes the case for the washing machine. Rosling explains how the productivity gains of the washing machine—and similar labor-saving devices—lead to increases in education and economic growth in the developing world. Continue Reading...
December 12, 2016

The cost of Twelve Days of Christmas: $34,363.49

If you’ve been stuck at the mall listening to a song about ten Lords a-Leaping and eight Maids a-Milking you can blame the Jesuits. Rumor has it they invented the Twelve Days of Christmas song as a catechism in code for persecuted Catholics in 16th-century England. Continue Reading...
December 07, 2016

Financial endeavors can serve the common good

“Gregg lays out a careful and detailed argument for the proposition that, done well, financial endeavors can serve the common good,” says Adam J. MacLeod in a review of Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg’s most recent book For God and Profit: How Banking and Finance Can Serve the Common Good. Continue Reading...
December 06, 2016

Understanding tax revenue and deadweight loss

Note: This is post #12 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Why do taxes exist? What are their effects? In this video by Marginal Revolution University, economist Alex Tabarrok explains how taxes affect consumer surplus and producer surplus. Continue Reading...
December 01, 2016

Kings without a king: Kuyper on the illusion of independence

“A human kingship imperceptibly came to power, leaving no place for the kingship of Christ.” –Abraham Kuyper The West prides itself on valuing freedom – political, economic, religious, and otherwise. For some, this leads to the promotion of a certain brand of libertinism: the freedom to do what we want. Continue Reading...