Bob Murphy

Author Archive

Let’s Give Trump Credit for This

It is absolutely amazing that Donald Trump has pulled off what I would have thought impossible just a few years ago: He has made it “cool” for someone on Fox to tear into the neocons. Over at EconLog, David R. Henderson notes that Steven Chapman writes a whole article complaining about how Trump has somehow […]

Vox Authors Are Too Smug For Me, Even When They Are Trying to Be Helpful

I realize this might be a case of me not taking “yes” for an answer, but you don’t come to Free Advice to read what everybody else is saying. You want the unique reaction that only I can provide… So at Vox, Henry Farrell and Steven Teles give a gentle but firm critique of Nancy […]

The Mosaic Law Put the Law Above Men

Leviticus 9 opens this way (bold is mine): 1On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel, 2and he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and offer them before the LORD. 3And […]

Three Times Interventionists Moved the Goal Posts

At the Independent Institute’s blog I have 3 posts up: One Two Three In the third installment, make sure you don’t miss how slippery Ezra Klein was. For example: Cass recently summarized the Oregon results for his readers by writing, “In a randomized trial in Oregon that gave some individuals Medicaid while leaving others […]

How to “Automate Congress” Using Blockchain Technology

I get lots of people contacting me with their “one simple trick to restore liberty!” But I met with this guy and I think there might be something here. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. I think Donnie can also swoop in to field questions if you want to post them here.

The Private Production of Roads

My topic at EconLib. My favorite part: It is true that roads form part of a network and that it would be confusing and dangerous if the different owners had different rules, such as a green light sometimes meaning “go” on one road and “stop” on another. Yet in the private sector, all sorts […]

Clarifying Paris, Parts 1 and 2

The sequel to my post on the Paris Agreement is now up at IER. For your reference, here is Part 1 and now here is Part 2. In this latest article, I focus on the 2 degrees Celsius target, which is the centerpiece of the Paris Agreement. Some surprising stuff in here. For example: As […]

Potpourri

==> LAST CHANCE! Remember there’s a great discount for my student text and teacher’s manual of Lessons for the Young Economist. Offer expires today (June 30, 2017). ==> You know, people like Krugman criticize me for refusing to grapple with the surprising inflation results after 2008. It’s like he never saw the publication: Murphy, Robert. […]