Over at EconLog, my GMU Econ colleague Garett Jones exposes the deep flaw in the pop-myth that people in rich nations routinely exploit people in poor nations. Here’s a slice of Garett’s good sense:
Billions of people endure wretched poverty in unproductive countries. But all that suffering isn’t paying off that well for people in the productive countries.
Yes, you should start using the term “unproductive” instead of “poor.” The first term keeps the attention on the supply side–where, in the long run, it surely belongs. Focusing on the supply side might encourage the creation of solutions; at the least it will encourage better thinking.
Discussing the now-brewing hysteria over allowing natural-gas producers in the United States to export their product freely, Marty Mazorra wisely writes “in a world of free trade, lines drawn on maps are entirely insignificant.”
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My own modest contribution to this debate on natural-gas exports appeared in Monday’s New York Post. Pondering this issue drives home to me the reality that allowing politicians to meddle in the economy is like allowing serial child rapists to take kindergartners on a camping trip.
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George Smith insightfully discusses negative versus positive liberty. (HT Walter Grinder)
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Steve Landsburg writes splendidly here on Pigou, Coase, externalities, and Pigouvian taxes. And Steve continues the conversation here. (I take this opportunity to once again point readers to Carl Dahlman’s insightful 1979 contribution to this debate.)
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