Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'economics'

July 10, 2015

Living The Hamster Or The Hobbit Life

When it comes to urban planning, nobody beats the Soviets. First, they wanted to plan: no mish-mosh, haphazard cities, towns and burgs sprouting up like in the decadent West. Of course, structures had to address equality. Continue Reading...
July 09, 2015

Greece: By The Numbers

Greece’s economic problems are so vast, comprehension is difficult. Over at NPR, Greg Myre breaks it down for us. 25: The unemployment rate, and that’s probably low-balling. For those under the age of 25, the unemployment rate hovers around 50 percent. Continue Reading...
June 29, 2015

Are We Better Off if We Buy Local?

Over the past few decades buying locally produced goods and services over those produced farther away has become increasingly fashionable. However, this “modern” trend is really a reversion to an earlier period when most all products were produced and bought from people in a localized area. Continue Reading...
June 29, 2015

Big Oil Advocacy for Carbon Taxes

Today at The Federalist I explore “Why Big Oil Wants A Carbon Tax.” Perhaps such advocacy isn’t just made out of a sense of global citizenship and environmental stewardship. On the surface such advocacy may seem counter-intuitive. Continue Reading...
June 12, 2015

Why Family Is Central To A Healthy Society

In this short video, Allan Carlson of the Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society describes the importance and centrality of the family to a health society. Families that work together in some endeavor tend to be healthier, are able to care for themselves and thus become the foundation of a sound economy and society. Continue Reading...
May 20, 2015

The Myth of Homo Economicus

“As a social psychologist, I have long been amused by economists and their curiously delusional notion of the ‘rational man.’” writes Carol Tavris. “Rational? Where do these folks live?” In a review of behavioral economist Richard Thaler’s new book, Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics, Tavris notes how economists are slowly beginning to see — or, one could argue, finally returning to the notion — that the discipline ought treat man as more than a mere robot or calculator. Continue Reading...