Interesting blog bits

1. On PJ O'Rourke in Auckland
   1. Anne Fox! here
   2. Not PC here, and here
   3. Kiwiblog here, and here
2. Eric Crampton on the no-benefits and all costs of alcohol
   1. Costs of everything, value of nothing
   2. Costs and benefits of alcohol, properly done
   3. BERL redux
   4. External refereeing and policy reports
3. Other people on BERL on alcohol
   1. rauparaha at TVHE
   1. Alcohol regulation: economists would do it better
   2. Alcohol and addiction: part II
   2. Kiwiblog
   3. Will de Cleene
4. William Easterly points out that the World Bank AIDS Drive crowds out other health programs – but fails to make progress on AIDS
5. Brad Taylor asks Who are the Elder Gods of Political Science? And there don't seem to be too many.
6. What really happened with Cochabamba water privatization. (pdf) The outcome of a failed water privatisation in Cochabamba, Bolivia, has become a mantra for a variety of groups (academics, ideologues, trade unions) who oppose privatisation as a matter of course. In most media discussions and academic tomes, the cause of this failure is portrayed as unambiguous: foreign, multinational, profit-driven companies. Further analysis reveals that privatisation has become a scapegoat for the very complex origins of the conflict, involving local corruption, problems with regulatory enforcement, and lack of public engagement.
7. Gavin Kennedy on Fallacies of Freidrich List and his Adherents . If it is beneficial for a nation-state to shut out the trade of foreign countries, it should follow, but manifestly doesn’t, that a region, town, or locality would benefit if it shut-out trade with neighbouring regions, towns, or localities. In the extreme, households should cease trading with neighbours; indeed, in ludicrous pomposity, List should have also demanded that individuals become self-sufficient.