Don Boudreaux on Public Choice in Politics

Don Boudreaux of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about public choice: the application of economics to the political process. Boudreaux argues that political competition is a blunt instrument that works less effectively than economic competition. One reason for this bluntness is the voting process itself--where intensity does not matter, only whether a voter prefers one candidate to the other. A second reason is that political outcomes tend to be one-size-fits-all, which often leads to dissatisfaction. Boudreaux defends the morality of not voting, while Roberts, who does vote from time to time, concedes that one's vote is almost always irrelevant in determining the outcome.

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Readings and Links related to this podcast

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About this week's guest: Don Boudreaux's Home page Cafe Hayek. Don Boudreaux's blog (with Russ Roberts) About ideas and people mentioned in this podcast: Books: Collected Works of James M. Buchanan, 9 vols. available on Econlib.In print, 20 vols. available individually or as a set from Liberty Fund, Inc. Articles: "Public Choice," by William Shughart II. Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. "Rent Seeking," by David R. Henderson. Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. David Hume. Biography. Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. Friedrich A. Hayek. Biography. Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. James Buchanan. Biography. Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. Kenneth Arrow. Biography. Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. Web Pages: Southeast Texas Nursery Growers' Association. (Could find no website yet for the Southwest Texas association.) Podcasts and Blogs: Garett Jones on Macro and Twitter. EconTalk podcast. Boettke on Elinor Ostrom, Vincent Ostrom, and the Bloomington School. Shame and other cultural deterrents of undesirable behavior. EconTalk podcast. Caplan on the Myth of the Rational Voter. EconTalk podcast. Giving Away Money: An Economist's Guide to Political Life. EconTalk podcast. Previous episodes featuring Don Boudreaux. EconTalk podcasts.

Market versus Government Failure

Whilst 'everyone' cites 'market failure' these days to justify government intervention, we all too often ignore 'government failure'. EconTalk is a fantastic service and this podcast pretty good:

Clifford Winston of the Brookings Institution talks about the ideas in his book,Market Failure vs. Government Failure, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Winston summarizes a large literature on antitrust, safety regulation and environmental regulation. He finds that government regulation often fails to meet its objectives. While markets are imperfect, so is government. Winston argues that idealized theories of government intervention based on textbook theories of market failure are not the way regulation turns out in practice. He argues that special interest politics explains much of the disappointing outcomes of government regulation.

Kling on Prosperity, Poverty, and Economics 2.0

Russ Roberts of EconTalk is one of my favourite economic interviewers. In this podcast he talks to Arnold Kling of EconLog on prosperity. Increasing prosperity is a them of The Practical Voter so we listen with interest. Click here for the link to econtalk or here to listen directly.

Arnold Kling of EconLog and the author (with Nick Schulz) of From Poverty to Prosperity: Intangible Assets, Hidden Liabilities and the Lasting Triumph over Scarcity talks about the book with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Kling discusses how modern economists think about growth in both developed and undeveloped countries and contrasts those ideas with earlier views in economics. The focus of the modern understanding is on ideas and the ability of ideas to improve technology, leading to prosperity. Unlike physical capital, ideas can be enjoyed by many people at once, explaining why past models that ignored ideas and focused on physical capital failed to account for the observed magnitude of economic development. Kling also discusses the success of China and India.