Interesting blog bits

1. Tim Worstall On George Soros and Keynes
   

   This is going to sound very conspiratorial so it’s an observation, not an insistence that this is some new found truth.

2. Tim Harford on Why banks are going to auction
   

   In 1873, Walter Bagehot famously argued that in a banking crisis, the Bank of England should be willing to lend “freely and readily” in exchange for good collateral. This view seemed quaint five years ago, when international capital markets were willing to pay cash for the most illiquid-seeming assets, but it quickly became relevant during the credit crunch.

3. Matt Nolan In defence of the “low wage advantage call”

   I can’t say I agree with the attacks on Bill English’s comment that NZ has a comparative advantage over Australia because labour is cheaper.

4. Robert Higgs on why Mexicans Are Fed Up with the War on Drugs

   A few days ago, tens of thousands of Mexicans in scores of Mexican cities participated in public protests against the War on Drugs and the use of the Mexican army as anti-drug warriors. The violence that has accompanied the Mexican government’s attempts to defeat the drug dealers during the past several years has claimed perhaps as many as 40,000 lives. Some cities, especially Ciudad Juarez, across the river from El Paso, Texas, have become virtual battlefields.

5. Not PC on Swimming in the path of progress

   So a ragtag bunch of anti-industrialists has headed out to sea in boats made with petro-chemicals and powered by fuel oil to protest about oil exploration and the prospective production of petro-chemicals 30km off the coast of New Zealand.

6. Yuqing Xing on How the iPhone widens the US trade deficit with China

   What can the iPhone tell us about the trade imbalance between China and the US? This column argues that current trade statistics greatly inflate the value of China’s iPhone exports to the US, since China's value added accounts for only a very small portion of the Apple product's price. Given this, the renminbi’s appreciation would have little impact on the global demand for products assembled in China.

7. Nicholas Bloom, Aprajit Mahajan, David McKenzie and John Roberts on “The Office” goes to India: Why bad management is keeping India poor

   “The Office”, a popular British television programme, has been shown in more than 50 countries. Its international appeal likely stems from its universal theme: managerial incompetence. This column looks at the case of India and shows how the poor management of its companies is holding the country back.

8. Not PC on a Snail’s pace

   When will temporary housing be built in Christchurch?

9. Roger Kerr on The truth about privatisation: blog #9

   Last week’s National Business Review (April 8) carried an excellent article by Duncan Bridgeman based on an interview with Professor William Megginson of the University of Oklahoma who was attending a conference in Queenstown.

10. Gavin Kennedy On Adam Smith’s Alleged theism

    Was he or wasn't he religious?