Alex Tabarrok, professor of Economics at George Mason University and co-author of the Marginal Revolution blog, has co-authored a new book with Eric Helland exploring why prices have risen so sharply in healthcare and education. Helland and Tabarrok argue that most of these price increases are caused by the rising price of skilled labor in these fields, driven by what economists call the Baumol effect, The Baumol effect is easy to explain but difficult to grasp. In 1826, when Beethoven’s...

As I’ve grown older, I’ve enjoyed watching my childhood friends as they start families, have children, and share what is going on in their lives via social media. Their posts give a glimpse into how they manage their own households, and can often reveal how these same friends have changed over time due to a range of external factors. Such changes are particularly striking after the responsibilities of marriage and parenthood. This happens with men and women alike, to be...

A UK tax policy intended to soak the rich has caused highly specialized physicians and surgeons to retire early, depriving more than a million citizens of their services. A new report details the extent to which progressive taxation has harmed British patients. The NHS is in a state of perpetual crisis characterized by doctor shortages, long wait times, and rationing. The UK lost 441 general practitioners last year and had 11,576 unfilled vacancies for doctors as of last June. But...

President Trump announced yesterday that beginning in early June he will increase taxes paid by Americans until “such time as illegal ing through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP.” If Mexico does not stop the inflow then Trump says he will increase the tax paid by Americans to 10 percent on July 1, 2019, 15 percent on August 1, 2019, to 20 percent on September 1, 2019, and to 25 percent on October 1, 2019. Americans will be required to...

This week, a UK government office launched an investigation into the Labour Party over charges the party “unlawfully discriminated against, harassed, or victimised people because they are Jewish.” Allegations of anti-Semitism are nothing new against the Labour Party (which, ironically, founded the investigating body, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, a dozen years ago), but the charges – and their lack of resolution – reveal two important truths about socialism. Reports of harassment of Jewish members peaked under the leadership...

Here is a piece I wrote for Law and Liberty on 5 Insights that Christianity Brings to Politics to be sure. At times it has suppressed political, religious and economic liberty. Yet despite that, andSteven Pinkerand the idea of a limited state. Though Christianity is not a political program it nevertheless gives us a certain way of thinking about the state and the role of politics. It is important to note that a Christian vision of government is not simply...

The 2019 Acton Lecture Series continued this week with a presentation by James Patterson of Ave Maria University, who reviewed the career and thought of one of the most plished American Catholic intellectuals of the 20th century—Venerable Fulton Sheen. We’ve posted the video for you below, and be sure to check out our events page for information on ing up on the Acton calendar. Update: The full transcript of Patterson’s address is available after the jump. [00:00:00.150] – Trey Dimsdale...

More than decade after the conclusion of the critically-acclaimed HBO series Deadwood, a finale has been released that brings the gold-rush era drama to a close. The Deadwood film premiered on HBO last week, and fans of the show will find much to remember and appreciate in this conclusion. Much remains familiar in Deadwood a decade later; the surviving characters are older, but the dynamics and cadences of their interactions remain. The series concluded with an epic clash between the...

Last week, EU voters went to the polls in the latest round of the project of pan-European governance, another step on the supposed road to further unity and prosperity. The results were varied and at odds with one another, and the only constant seems to be dissatisfaction with the status quo. Many nationalist parties—such as in Poland, Italy and the United Kingdom—posted strong results, while countries such as Spain went toward the opposite end of the spectrum and supported socialists....

“When you see the greed and the concentration of power, did you ever have a moment of doubt about capitalism and whether greed is a good idea to run on?” That question was famously asked by Phil Donahue to economist Milton Friedman in a popular exchange from 1979. If you’re a defender of free markets, it’s a question you’ve surely wrestled with. Friedman’s response is characteristically insightful and straightforward, and was recently captured in a short animated film from PolicyEd:...