Better Economic Maps

By Arnold Kling

This month, Arnold Kling looks at the world of agent-based modeling in his review of Making Sense of Chaos. Such models, while they often provide valuable information, may yet be inferior to mainstream economics. Writes Kling, “If economists are going to adopt agent-based modeling, they are going to have to develop ways to articulate, explain, and justify the choices they make in constructing the models.”

Nature by the Numbers

By Maria Pia Paganelli

How do you price scarce and valuable resources that are not traded in a market? Before answering that question, one may need to ask: why do we want to price those resources?

These are the two most important questions environmental economists can ask, according to H. Spencer Banzhaf. These are the same questions considered by Maria Pia Paganelli on her review of Banzhaf’s work.

Patriotism and Universal Benevolence: Are They Consistent?

By Erik W. Matson

How have political economists addressed the issue of patriotism? Is it a positive or negative sentiment? How does it affect international relations, including international trade? Erik Matson takes us back to the Scottish Enlightenment in this fascinating historical exploration.

What's a Parent to Do?

By Jeremy Horpedahl

Jonathan Haidt’s book on the damage social media inflicts on teenagers has caused quite a sensation. In this review, Jeremy Horpedhal digs into the evidence underlying Haidt’s claims.

The Ever-Present Challenge of Escaping Poverty

with Noah Smith

The universe, points out economist Noah Smith, is always trying to kill us, whether through asteroids hurtling through space or our every-few-hours hunger pains. Why, then, should we expect anything but a gravitational pull toward poverty? Listen as Smith explains to EconTalk's Russ Roberts why he believes that poverty will always be our "elemental foe," and how what he calls "industrial modernity" is key to keeping poverty at bay. They also discuss Smith's impatience with the "degrowth movement," which he thinks jeopardizes our gains in the fight against the elemental foe.

Explore More

More Recent Episodes & Extras:

• Sam Harris on Jew-Hatred, Radical Islam, and the West

• Mike Munger Extra: Bureaucracy Without Romance

• Does Parenting Make You a Better Person? (with Erik Hoel)

• Lessons from Lincoln, Then and Now (with Diana Schaub)

• Reading, Writing, and Fighting (with Mark Helprin)

• Zvi Mowshowitz Extra: Artificial Intelligence and the Man of System

  
  

  
  

Upcoming Virtual Reading Groups

To see all our upcoming Virtual Reading Groups, click here.

Buchanan's Natural and Artifactual Man

September 24, 2024

Pre-registration is required.

In this essay, which was first published by Liberty Fund in 1979, Nobel Laureate James Buchanan examines the significance of what he describes as man’s ‘artifactual’ nature. As understood by Buchanan, the term ‘artifactual’ refers to man’s capacity for “becoming different from what he is”, to the fact that “we can, and do, construct ourselves as individuals, from the base constructed for us by our forebears.” Buchanan explores the relationship between this aspect of human nature and rule-following behaviour, before going to consider the significance of the concept of artifactual man for economic theory in general and constitutional political economy in particular. This VRG will explore Buchanan’s account of artifactual man and investigate what Buchanan takes to be its implications for arguments in favour of a society of free and responsible individuals.

Click here to register.