- Tyler Cowen highlights a new economic paper. Key finding: "An increase in government size by 10 percentage points is associated with a 0.5 to 1 percent lower annual growth rate." The author's explanations for those countries (think Scandinavia) that feature high growth combined with high government spending pretty much mirror my own view.
- Mark Perry, meanwhile, points to another paper which says over the past 30 years both the rich and poor have gotten richer.
- Virginia Postrel looks at infrastructure spending, which is almost universally loved by politicians. One of the many data points presented: "On average, urban and intercity rail projects run over budget by 45 percent, roads by 20 percent, and bridges and tunnels by 34 percent."
- What expanding capitalism around the world has wrought: "The global poverty rate, which stood at 25 percent in 2005, is ticking downwards at one to two percentage points a year, lifting around 70 million people - the population of Turkey or Thailand - out of destitution annually." Wow.
- Our friends at Cato: Chris Edwards praises free market beer while David Boaz notes the failure of nudging.
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