Newspapers, Magazines, and Semi-Academic Essays

(I blog at EconLog. You can also consult an index of my EconLog posts. If a link to one of my Regulation articles is broken, try the magazine’s archives at https://www.cato.org/regulation/archives.)

• “Assessing Trump’s New Tariff Ideas” (and the Trade Derangement Syndrome), Regulation 47:3 (Fall 2024) (A few inconsequential data errors have been corrected. For the pdf and the printed version, an Erratum will appear in the Winter issue.).
• “A Diverse Ideology in a Big Tent,” review of Matt Zwolinski and John Tomasi, The Individualists, in Regulation 47:3 (Fall 2024) (also in a pdf format, see pp. 40-43).
• “The Middle Ages’ Contribution to Liberty,” review of Alexander William Salter and Andrew Young, The Medieval Constitution of Liberty, in Regulation 47:3 (Fall 2024) (also in a pdf format, see pp. 51-54).
• États-Unis : le populisme, prolongement de la démocratie ? », Le Point, 17 septembre 2024.
• “Designed for Another World,” review of Matt Zwolinski and Miranda Perry Fleischer, Universal Basic Income, in Regulation 47-2 (Summer 2024) (also available in a pdf format, see pp. 34-36).
• “Why Libertarians should not vote for Donald Trump,” Financial Post, June 18, 2024.
• “Against the State and Its ‘Public Goods,’” review of Anthony de Jasay, Social Contract, Free Ride, in Regulation 47:1 (Spring 2024) (also available in a pdf format, see pp. 60-62).
• “Was Trump a Deregulator?” Regulation 46:4 (Winter 2023-2024) (also in a pdf format, see pp. 4-5).
• “A Fashionable Appeal to a Benevolent State,” review of Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, Power and Progress, in Regulation 46:4 (Winter 2023-2024), pp. 46-49 (also in a html format).
• “Is Economic Inequality Bad, Large, and Increasing?” review of Branko Milanovic, Capitalism Alone, and Phil Gramm, Robert Ekelund, and John Early, The Myth of American Equality, Regulation 46:4 (Winter 2023-2024), pp. 53-57 (also in a html format).
• “Is ‘Bidenonomics’ Just ‘Bidenology’ or ‘Trumpology’?” Regulation 46:3 (Fall 2023) (also in a pdf format).
• “A Philosopher in Search of Liberalism,” review of José Ortega, The Revolt of the Masses, Regulation 46:3 (Fall 2023) (also in a pdf format, see pp. 59-61).
• “Why the Great Enrichment Started in the West,” Regulation 46:2 (Summer 2023) (also in a pdf format, see pp. 8-10).
• “Which Is Better, a Larger or Smaller Population?” Regulation 46:1 (Spring 2023) (also in a pdf format, see pp. 7-8).
• “Great Title, Disappointing Book,” review of Mark Mitchell, Plutocratic Socialism, Regulation 46:1 (Spring 2023) (also in a pdf format, see pp. 54-57).
• “The EU’s Energy Price Controls,” Regulation 45:4 (Winter 2022-2023).
• “Les mouvements sociaux sont-ils bons par définition?” La Tribune, 2 novembre 2022
• “Biden’s Protectionism: Trumpism with a Human Face,” Regulation 45:3 (Fall 2022), pp. 10-13 (also in a html format).
• “Fukuyama: Interesting Books, With Some Baggage,” review of Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man and Liberalism and Its Discontent, Regulation 45:3 (Fall 2022), pp. 48-53 (also in a html version).
• “An Easy Path for the Strongman-To-Be,” review of Gideon Rachman, The Age of the Strongman, Regulation 45:3 (Fall 2022), pp. 57-60 (also in a html version).
• “Dispelling Supply Chain Myths,” Regulation 45:2 (Summer 2022), pp. 26-33.
• “A Celebrated and Puzzling Book,” review of Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, Regulation 45:2 (Summer 2022), pp. 55-59.
• “An Enlightenment Thinker,” review of James Buchanan, Why I, Too, Am Not a Conservative, Regulation 45:1 (Spring 2022), pp. 60-63.
• “Whole Foods in the Brave New World,” Regulation 45:1 (Spring 2022), p. 4.
•  “Maine’s Mysterious New ‘Right to Food’,” with Pierre Desrochers, Regulation 45:1 (Spring 2022), pp. 6-9.
• “A Wide-Ranging Libertarian Philosopher, Reasonable and Radical,” review of Michael Huemer, Knowledge, Reality, and Value: A Mostly Common Sense Guide to Philosophy and The Problem of Political Authority, Regulation 44:4 (Winter 2021-2022), pp. 40-45.
• “The Future of Economics in the 1930s,” review of Lionel Robbins, An Essay on the Nature and Significance of Economics,” Regulation 44:4 (Winter 2021-2022), pp. 60-62.
• “Facebook: Like Corporation, Like Whistleblower,” Regulation 44:4 (Winter 2021-2022), pp. 8-9.
• « Le populisme est-il possible ? », Contrepoints, 1er décembre 2021.
• “Is Populism Even Possible?” TheHub, December 1, 2021.
• “The Threat of Externalities,” Regulation 44:3 (Fall 2021), pp. 18-24.
• “Where Are We on the Road to Serfdom?” review of Friedrich A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom, Regulation 44:3 (Fall 2021), pp. 56-59.
• “A Shackled Leviathan That Keeps Roaming and Growing,” review of Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, The Narrow Corridor, Regulation 44:3 (Fall 2021) (also in a pdf format, see pp. 47-50).
• “The Problem with Politicizing Corporations,” Regulation 44:2 (Summer 2021), pp. 7-9.
• “Is Populism the Savior of Democracy,” review of Donald Critchlow, In Defense of Populism, Regulation 44:2 (Summer 2021), pp. 69-71.
• “Joe Biden’s Economic Agenda: An Early Appraisal,” Regulation 44:1 (Spring 2021), pp. 36-40.
• “Populist Choices Are Meaningless,” review of William Riker, Liberalism Against Populism, Regulation 44:1 (Spring 2021), pp. 54-57.
• “The Standard Populist Playbook,” review of Carlos de la Torre, Populisms: A Quick Immersion, Regulation 43:4 (Winter 2020-2021), pp. 58-60.
• “Logic, Economics, and Protectionist Nationalists,” Regulation 43:3 (Fall 2020), pp. 9-11.
• “A Story of Love and Hate,” review of Philip Coggan, More, Regulation 43:3 (Fall 2020), pp. 61-63.
• “Many Different Sorts of Democracy,” review of David Stasavage, The Decline and Rise of Democracy, Regulation 43:3 (Fall 2020), pp. 51-55.
• « Les racines de la confusion idéologique », La Presse, 24 juillet 2020.
• “The Trump Economy: Three Years of Volatile Continuity,” Regulation 43:2 (Summer 2020), pp. 36-44.
• “Protectionism as a Skin Disease,” review of Arwind Panagariya, Free Trade & Prosperity: How Openness Helps the Developing Countries Grow Richer and Combat Poverty, Regulation 43:2 (Summer 2020), pp. 61-64.
• “More Data Is Good, But…” review of  Thomas Philippon, The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up on Free Markets, Regulation 43:2 (Summer 2020), pp. 59-61.
• “The Economic Approach to Public Health and Epidemics,” Reason Foundation, April 10, 2020.
• “Public Health Officials Far Too Often Ignore the Costs and Trade-Offs Involved in Policy Decisions,” Reason Foundation, April 7, 2020.
• “Let’s Travel That Road Again,” review of Walter Scheidel, Escape from Rome, Regulation 43:1 (Spring 2020), pp. 59-61.
• “The One-Percenter State,” review of Jonathan Rothwell, A Republic of Equals, Regulation 43:1 (Spring 2020), pp. 45-49.
• “Will America Be the Next Ghana?“, Regulation 42:4 (Winter 2019-2020), pp. 4-6.
• “A Dangerously Seductive Theory,” review of Robert Shiller, Narrative Economics, Regulation 42:4 (Winter 2019-2020), pp. 65-68.
• “The Pursuit of Nuttiness,” Regulation 42:3 (Fall 2019), pp. 16-17.
• “Not the Average Economist,” anniversary review of James Buchanan, What Should Economists Do?, Regulation 42:3 (Fall 2019), pp. 59-62.
• “In Praise of Capitalism,” review of Rainer Zitelmann, The Power of Capitalism, Regulation 42:3 (Fall 2019), pp. 76-78.
• “Skewering ‘the Pretense of Knowledge’ in the Financial Realm,” review of Alex J. Pollock, Finance and Philosophy, Law & Liberty, June 20, 2019.
• “Don’t Forget the ‘Free’ in Free Trade,” review of Kimberly Clausing, Open: The Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration, and Global Capital, Regulation 42:2 (Summer 2019), pp. 60-62.
• « Faire du socialisme sans le savoir », La Tribune, 9 mai 2019.
• “Us or Them, or Us and Them?“, review of  Bas van der Vossen and Jason Brennan, In Defense of Openness: Why Global Freedom Is the Humane Solution to Global Poverty, Regulation 42:1 (Spring 2019), pp. 38-40.
• “An Open and Enlightened Libertarianism,” review of Tyler Cowen, Stubborn Attachments, Regulation 42:1 (Spring 2019), pp. 46-48.
• “A Conservative Anarchist? Anthony de Jasay, 1925-2019,” Regulation 42:1 (Spring 2019), pp. 34-36.
• “The Unbearable Lightness of Free Trade,” Law & Liberty, January 16, 2019.
• “Is NAFTA 2.0 Better than Nothing?” Regulation 41:4 (Winter 2018-2019), pp. 12-15.
• “You Didn’t See It Coming,” review of Cass Sunstein (Ed.), Can It Happen Here?, Regulation 41:4 (Winter 2018-2019), pp. 55-57.
• “The Cartel of States,” review of Joshua Keating, Invisible Countries, Regulation 41:4 (Winter 2018-2019), pp. 40-42.
• « Quels sont les avantages de la liberté économique? » La Tribune, 20 novembre 2018.
• “Peter Navarro’s Conversion,” Regulation 41:3 (Fall 2018), pp. 36-43.
• “A Bridge to Collectivism,” review of Yoram Hazony, The Virtue of Nationalism, Regulation 41:3 (Fall 2018), pp. 54-57.
• “Tyranny by Facebook or by Leviathan,” review of David Runciman, How Democracy Ends, Regulation 41:3 (Fall 2018), pp. 66-68.
• “The Ideal Fox in the Ideal Henhouse,” review of Vito Tanzi, Termites of the State, Regulation 41:3 (Fall 2018), pp. 73-75.
• “The Tyranny of the National Interest,” Library of Economics and Liberty, September 3, 2018.
• “Unlearn What You Know about Exports,” The Hill, August 25, 2018.
• “How’s Your Trade War Going?” Regulation 41:2 (Summer 2018), pp. 4-6.
• “From the Republic of Letters to the Great Enrichment,” review of Joel Mokyr, A Culture of Growth, Regulation 41:2 (Summer 2018)  (also available in a pdf format, see pp. 57-60).
• “Government Fixation Is the Problem,” review of Jerry Muller, The Tyranny of Metrics, Regulation 41:2 (Summer 2018), pp. 74-76.
• “Above All, Try Something — Anything,” review of Dani Rodrik, Straight Talk on Trade, Regulation 41:1 (Spring 2018), pp. 75-77.
• “Putting 97 Million Households through the Wringer,” Regulation 41:1 (Spring 2018), pp. 8-11.
• “Against Tribal Instincts,” review of Friedrich A. Hayek, The Fatal Conceit, Regulation 41:1 (Spring 2018), pp. 65-67.
• “Sorry, President Trump. Your economic record so far doesn’t deserve all your applause,” Financial Post, February 1, 2018.
• “No, actually, businesses should absolutely not worry at all about their ‘societal impact’,” Financial Post, January 19, 2018.
• “Patriotism as Stealing from Each Other,” review of Douglas Irwin, Clashing over Commerce, Regulation 40:4 (Winter 2017-2018), pp. 64-69.
• “Rise of the Machines?” Regulation 40:4 (Winter 2017-2018), pp. 4-5.
• “A Milestone on a Long, Bumpy Road,” review of Frank Knight, Freedom and Reform, Regulation 40:4 (Winter 2017-2018), pp. 48-51.
• “Donald Trump and Trudeau’s Liberals act like strangling trade is in the ‘national interest’,” Financial Post, December 12, 2017.
• “Ignore Trump’s Whining. It Turns Out U.S. Manufacturing Was Surging All Along,” Financial Post, November 22, 2017.
• “The Handicapper General,” review of Jonathan Anomaly et al. (Eds.), Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, Regulation 40:3 (Fall 2017), pp. 64-67.
• “Trudeau and Trump Both Agree the New NAFTA Should Screw Over Poor Workers,” Financial Post, September 6, 2017.
• “Boeing vs. Bombardier,” Library of Economics and Liberty, September 4, 2017.
• “Trump’s ‘Fair Trade’ Messenger Is an Undercover Enemy of Free Trade,” Financial Post, August 4, 2017.
• “That Holiday You’re Celebrating Is the State Taking Advantage of You,” Financial Post, July 19, 2017.
• “Trump’s Commerce Secretary Wants to Make 16^th-Century Protectionist Trade Theories Great Again,” Financial Post, June 27, 2017.
• “Populism and Protectionism,” Regulation 40:2 (Summer 2017), pp. 6-7.
• “The Discontented Animal,” review of David Levy and Sandra Peart, Escape from Democracy, and Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels, Democracy for Realists, Regulation 40:2 (Summer 2017), pp. 55-58.
• “Protectionism: How to Make America Grate,” review of Douglas Irwin, Free Trade Under Fire, Regulation 40:2 (Summer 2017), pp. 44-47.
• A Primer on Free Trade: Answering Common Objections, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, June 2017.
• The Benefits of Trade, Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, June 2017.
• “To the Establishment, Economic Freedom Somehow Always Means More Regulation,” Financial Post, June 6, 2016.
• “Bombardier and Boeing Are in a Fight to See Who Can Ripp Off More People,” Financial Post, May 3, 2017.
• “Trade as Social Dumping,” Regulation 40:1 (Spring 2017), pp. 2-3.
• “The War on Consumer Surplus,” Regulation 40:1 (Spring 2017), pp. 10-13.
• “Power to the Knowers!” review of Jason Brennan, Against Democracy, Regulation 40-1 (Spring 2017), pp. 53-55.
• A Mercantilist Misreading of GDP Figures, Institute of Economic Affairs, April 6, 2017.
• “The Economics of Political Balderdash (With a Few Examples),” Library of Economics and Liberty, April 3, 2017.
• “Trump’s Budget Doesn’t Even Begin Reining In the Uncontrolled Size of American Government,” Financial Post, March 21, 2017.
• “A Better Bailout than Bombardier? Give it to Canada’s 1% to Invest Instead,” Financial Post, February 14, 2016.
• “What You Always Wanted to Know about GDP But Were Afraid to Ask,” review of Diane Coyle, GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History, and Dirk Philipsen, The Little Big Number, Regulation 39:4 (Winter 2016-2017), pp. 64-69.
• “Banning Cash: This Time is Not Different,” review of Kenneth S. Rogoff, The Curse of Cash, Regulation 39:4 (Winter 2016-2017), pp. 50-53.
• “In Defense of Cash,” Library of Economics and Liberty, October 3, 2016.
• “France: The End of the Road, Again?” Regulation 39:3 (Fall 2016), pp. 34-41.
• “Trade and Adjustment Costs,” Regulation 39:3 (Fall 2016), pp. 10-11.
• “A Ghostly Chasm,” review of Lanny Ebenstein, Chicagonomics: The Evolution of Chicago Free Market Economics, Regulation 39:3 (Fall 2016), pp. 59-62.
• “Progressivism’s Tainted Label,” review of Thomas C. Leonard, Illiberal Reformers, Regulation 39:2 (Summer 2016), pp. 51-55.
• “What Is a Market Economy?” Regulation 39:1 (Spring 2016)’ pp. 5-6.
• “The Valium of the People,” review of Anthony de Jasay, Social Justice and the Indian Rope Trick, Regulation 39:1 (Spring 2016), pp. 53-56.
• “Leviathan with a Human Face?” review of Gary Gerstle, Liberty and Coercion, Regulation 39:1 (Spring 2016), pp. 68-71.
• “Free Trade and TPP,” Library of Economics and Liberty, February 1, 2016.
• “Cowboys and Entrepreneurs in the Cattle Kingdom,” review of Donald E. Worcester, The Chisholm Trail, Regulation 38:4 (Winter 2015-2016), pp. 67-71.
• “A Coherent Authoritarian,” review of George Fitzhugh’s Sociology for the South and Cannibals All!, Regulation 38:4 (Winter 2015-2016), pp. 59-63.
• “Are Imports a Drag on the Economy? Regulation 38:3 (Fall 2015), pp. 6-8.
• “The Dangers of ‘Public Health’,” Regulation 38:3 (Fall 2015), pp. 30-39.
• “In Defense of Google,” Library of Economics and Liberty, May 4, 2015.
• “Defending Sweatshops,” review of Benjamin Powell’s Out of Poverty, Regulation 38:2 (Summer 2015), pp. 66-68.
• “More Than a Principal Deputy Assistant,” review of Robert Litan’s Trillion Dollar Economists, Regulation 3:1 (Spring 2015), pp. 38-41.
• “From More than Zero to Less than One,” review of Peter Thiel’s Zero to One, Regulation 38:1 (Spring 2015), pp. 54-56.
• “Cheaper Oil Cannot Hurt the Economy,” Regulation 38:1 (Spring 2015), pp. 10-33.
• “The Economics of Tax Dodging,” Library of Economics and Liberty, January 5, 2015.
• “A Slow-Motion Collapse,” Regulation 37:4 (Winter 2014-2015), pp. 12-15.
• “John Hicks and the Beauty of Logic,” review of John Hicks’s Value and Capital and A Theory of Economic History, Regulation 37:4 (Winter 2014-2015), pp. 67-73.
• “The Vacuity of the Political ‘We’,” Library of Economics and Liberty, October 6, 2014.
• “Pinging the Robot Next Door,” review of Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee’s The Second Machine Age,” Regulation 37:2 (Summer 2014), pp. 62-64.
• “Total Regulation for the Greater Whole,” review of Rexford Guy Tugwell’s The Industrial Discipline and the Governmental Arts, Regulation 37:3 (Fall 2014), pp. 71-74.
• “Protectionism by Any Other Name,” Regulation 37:3 (Fall 2014), pp. 5-7.
• “Pierre Lemieux on Why We Don’t Really Need More Jobs,” Reason, August 9, 2014.
• “From Minimum Wages to Maximum Politics,” Regulation 37:2 (Summer 2014), pp. 26-29.
• “Much to Criticize, Much Left Uncriticized,” review of Michael S. Teitelbaum, Falling Behind, Regulation 37:2 (Summer 2014), pp. 68-70.
• “Running Out of Everything,” review of Paul Sabin, The Bet: Paul Ehrlich, Julian Simon, and Our Gamble over Earth’s Future, Library of Law and Liberty, June 3, 2014.
• “The Power of Exchange: Ronald Coase 1910-2013,” Regulation 36:4 (Winter 2013-14), pp. 50-55.
• “Disarming Canadians,” review of R. Blake Brown, Arming and Disarming: A History of Gun Control in Canada, Library of Law and Liberty, September 30, 2013.
• “Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?” Regulation 36:3 (Fall 2013), pp. 14-15.
• “The State and the Wheelbarrow,” review of Lawrence H. White’s The Clash of Economic Ideas, Regulation 36:1 (Spring 2013), pp. 63-66.
• “Getting Rich Is Glorious,” review of Ronald Coase and Ning Wang, How China Became Capitalist, Regulation 35:4 (Winter 2012-2013), pp. 58-61.
• “Producing Public Goods Privately,” Regulation 35:3 (Fall 2012), pp. 8-11.
• “The Smart Philosopher vs. the People,” review of Michael Sandel, What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets, Regulation 35:3 (Fall 2012), pp. 50-52.
• “The Public Choice Revolution,” Regulation 27:3 (Fall 2004), pp. 22-29.
• “Following the Herd,” Regulation 26:4 (Winter 2003-2004), pp. 16-21.
• “The World Bank’s Tobacco Economics,” Regulation 24:3 (Fall 2001), pp. 16-19.

More Academic

• “A Rising Product Price Doesn’t Cause Inflation,” in Ryan A. Bourne, Ed., The War on Prices (Cato Institute, 2024), pp. 19-27.
• “Princess Mathilde and the Immorality of Politics,” review of Anthony de Jasay, Against Politics: On Government, Anarchy, and Order, April 1, 2024.
• “Legal Safeguards Against Omnipotent Lawmakers,” review of F.A. Hayek, The Political Order of a Free People, Econlib, May 2, 2023.
• “Constitutional Democracy: Is Democracy Limited by Constitutional Rules?” review of Geoffrey Brennan and James Buchanan, The Reason of Rules, Econlib, January 2, 2022.
• “Social Justice as a Tribal Remainder,” review of F.A. Hayek, The Mirage of Social Justice, Econlib, October 1, 2022.
• “Between Classical Liberalism and Conservatism?” 50th-anniversary review of F.A. Hayek, Rules and Order, Econlib, March 7, 2022.
• “The State is Us (Perhaps), But Beware of It!” 60th-anniversary review of James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock, The Calculus of Consent, Liberty Classics, January 3, 2022.
• “The Impossibility of Populism,” The Independent Review 26:1 (Summer 2021), pp. 15-25.
• “Public Health Models and Related Government Interventions: A Primer,” Reason Foundation, March 2021.
• “How the State Has Grown to Be the Monster We Know: Bertrand de Jouvenel’s On Power,” Library of Economics and Liberty, July 1, 2019.
• “Consumer Surplus in the FDA’s Tobacco Regulations, with Applications to Nicotine Reduction and E-Cigarette Flavors,” Reason Foundation, June 2019.
• “Lessons and Challenges in The Limits of Liberty,” Library of Economics and Liberty, November 5, 2018.
• “An Unavoidable Theory of the State,” Library of Economics and Liberty, review of Anthony de Jasay. The State, June 4, 2018.
• “From Lemonade Stands to 2065,” Symposium on the economy in 50 years, The Independent Review 23:3 (Winter 2016), pp. 335-342.
• “The State and Public Choice,” The Independent Review 19:4 (Summer 2015), pp. 23-31.
• “American and European Welfare States: Similar Causes, Similar Effects,” Cato Journal 33:2 (Spring/Summer 2013), pp. 227-232; reproduced in Robert W. Kolb and Frank W. Considine, Eds., The Economics of Sovereign Debt, Vol. 2 (Cheltenham UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016).
• « L’État idéal à la rescousse », Éthique publique 15:1 (2013), pp. 219-228.
• “Public Health Insurance under a Nonbenevolent State,” Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 33:5 (October 2008), pp. 416-426.
• “Social Welfare, State Intervention, and Value Judgments,” The Independent Review 11:1 (Summer 2006), pp. 19-36.
• Review of Robert Wright, Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, The Independent Review 5:3 (Winter 2000/01), pp. 460-463.
• “Heil Health,” The Independent Review 4:2 (Fall 1999), pp. 303-306.