Donald J. Boudreaux

Beware Especially of Claims Made By Politicians

“The public’s inability to ‘see’ with the naked eye any but the most obvious consequences of government interventions ensures that politicians confront only very weak incentives to be truthful and concrete about the likely full consequences of their interventions.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Further Thoughts on Industrial Policy

“The possibility is real that the subsidized mousetrap improvers displace unsubsidized mousetrap improvers who, absent the subsidies, would have given the world an even better mousetrap or an equally improved mousetrap produced at lower cost.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

The Great Enrichment Was Enriching From the Start

“Countless critics of the industrial revolution deny that Britain’s stupendous economic growth beginning in the mid-18th century produced benefits for ordinary people who lived through those early years of growth.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

What ESGers Don’t Understand

“ESGers & Co., in short, want the power to free favored individuals or groups from having to play by the rules of the market.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

In Praise of Parking Lots

“There’s a good reason why Kansas’s wheat fields, Texas’s hunting reserves, New Jersey’s cranberry bogs, and Florida’s orange groves aren’t parking lots.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

In Defense of Allowing Collusion

“We understand that if markets are to serve consumers as well as possible, entrepreneurs and investors must enjoy wide freedom to experiment with different organizational and contractual arrangements.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Do You Have a Right To a Yo-Yo?

“In liberal society individuals aren’t tools for maximizing the performance of the economy. So the conflict should be resolved in favor of allowing collusion even though this resolution diminishes the marvelousness of markets. Individual rights trump economic efficiency.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux

Votes For and Votes Against

“If we think of votes as ‘votes for’ candidates, then it would make some sense to declare any candidate who wins only a plurality of votes, but not a majority, as the victor.” ~ Donald J. Boudreaux