Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Marginal Revolution

Tyler Cowen comments on the study done by U. Chicago economist Steve Levitt and John Donohue. This study proposed that the drop in crime in the 90's directly correlates to the legalization of abortion in the 70's, not the increased spending on crime that Rudy, linton and Co. claimed actually caused it.

In brief, the evidence for the Levitt-Donohue theory is a) the timing is consistent, b) states that legalized earlier had earlier drops in crimes, c) there is a dose-response effect i.e. states that had more abortions had bigger drops in crime, d) the drop in crime in the 1990s occured among those cohorts who were potentially affected by abortion policy in the 1970s (and not among say 40 years olds.)

Tuesday, March 09, 2004

Americans Live in a Fantasy World by Gary North

Great piece by Mr. North. This paragraph took the cake, but read it all anyway...

The young man who saves at least 10% of his after tax income from the day he gets his first job possesses the mark of success. This self-discipline must be taught. It does not come naturally for most people. A young man doesn’t emotionally know that if he doesn’t save for his old age, he will be in dire straits. He may become dependent on his children. To think that a 12-year-old is motivated by such a vision of the future is naïve. Ben Franklin said it best: "A child thinks that $20 and 20 years cannot be spent." Children are not future-oriented. Present-orientation is one of the primary marks of a child. Children are also not independent. Others make their decisions for them. That is the primary mark of a child.
Champ's Blogger

It appears that my brother has created a blog. like whoa....
How News Travels on the Internet

Interesting page that I saw via Blogdex.