BOHANON & STYRING: A hurricane-force lesson in supply and demand
Prices are how resources are directed to their highest valued uses. A higher price says both “use less” and “we want more.”
Economic Analysis
Articles
BOHANON & STYRING: Yes, there is such a thing as a free market
In a free market, government plays a vital role in enforcing laws against violence, fraud and theft, and in resolving contract disputes.
BOHANON & STYRING: NCAA deck is stacked in favor of schools
One service the NCAA provides for its members is to rig the market for student athletes
BOHANON & STYRING: Carmel shouldn’t get into the hotel business
In 21st century Indiana, is there any limit to what government can do as long as “economic development” is the justification?
BOHANON & STYRING: Solar-panel tariff faces opposition from two sides
The subsidy says we want cheaper solar costs to encourage more solar projects. Tariffs on cheaper imported cells and panels say we want higher-cost solar projects.
BOHANON & STYRING: Eliminate corporate tax in name of transparency
No corporation ever paid a dime in taxes. People, in some capacity, pay all taxes.
BOHANON & STYRING: Tariff logic is as mushy as canned tomatoes
Forcing steel-using firms to substitute high-cost U.S. steel for low-cost foreign imports makes those businesses less competitive.
BOHANON & STYRING: Don’t sweat artificial intelligence. We’ll adapt.
Ever since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, we’ve been substituting machine power for muscle power. The main consequence has been that life has gotten better.
BOHANON & STYRING:Breaking down the Purdue-Kaplan deal
Purdue University’s purchase of online college Kaplan University should be considered in the context of at least two economic principles: composite goods and division of labor.
BOHANON & STYRING: It’s time to own up to Social Security shortfall
No myth causes more mischief than the fiction of the “Social Security Trust Fund.
BOHANON & STYRING: What do price controls get you? Venezuela
Venezuelans aren’t eating high on the hog. Common people aren’t eating much hog—or anything else.
BOHANON & STYRING: Widely cited CBO scores have their shortcomings
CBO doesn’t look beyond immediate, first-order consequences of legislation.
BOHANON & STYRING: Same dance: Raise debt limit, spend, repeat
Sometime in early autumn, the U.S. Treasury will run out of cash and once again beg Congress to raise the debt limit.
BOHANON & STYRING: Making commodities free comes with a price
Sometimes paying for something is better than getting it for free. Enter private enterprise.
BOHANON & STYRING: Protectionism causes more harm than good
When there’s an international boundary involved, The principle of free exchange making everyone better off gets lost in a wave of “us” versus “them.”
BOHANON & STYRING: How market forces are reducing our emissions
A shift by utility producers from coal to natural gas is happening without any Paris Accord or a single regulation from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Survey: U.S. economists expecting slower growth
Most of the economists believe President Donald Trump will cut corporate and individual taxes before the end of 2018. That will have a positive impact on economic growth, but likely not until 2018, the survey said.
BOHANON & STYRING: Federal spending never forgets a crisis
During a crisis, government grows in scope, power and budget. All recede somewhat after the crisis. But never to pre-crisis levels.
BOHANON & STYRING: All this health care rhetoric is bad for our health
If society is determined to help those with expensive medical problems, the way to do it is … well, by helping those with expensive medical problems.
BOHANON & STYRING: Marsh liquor sell-off was an economist’s dream
Indiana’s byzantine liquor laws recently provided a clean textbook example—a natural experiment—of the Law of Demand.