Policy Winter 2001
Vol. 17 No. 2 (Winter, 2001) Poliicy Winter 2001 Issue.-
FEATURE: The Brain Drain
| 06 Jun 2001
Why New Zealanders Are Voting with Their Feet:
People decide to migrate on the basis of push and pull factors, in which an overall judgment of whether a country is going in the right direction is an important element. The current outflows of people from New Zealand suggest that policymakers have taken a wrong turn.
-
FEATURE: De-nationalising Money
| 06 Jun 2001
The Emergence of 'Brand Name' Capital:
The falling costs of information and communication technologies make it increasingly easy for individuals to compare the quaslity of money and therefore to choose whatever currency they wish to use as a medium of exchange and as a store of value- if governments let them.
-
FEATURE: The Politics of Envy
| 06 Jun 2001
Contrary to widespread belief, the real value of low incomes in Australia has risen while the proportion of people living below the poverty line has fallen.
-
FEATURE: The Right Trap
| 06 Jun 2001A bill of rights would unduly politicise the judiciary by turning judges into policymakers. The main benificiaries would be lawyers, who profit from the legal fees it generates, and the criminals who manage to escape imptisonment on the grounds of a technicality.
-
INTERVIEW: The Permanent Fight for Freedom
| 06 Jun 2001Former Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus looks back on the past ten years of postcommunist transition from a command to a market economy, and look ahead with some apprehension as the Czech Republic prepares to join the European Union.
-
COMMENT: The Case Against 'Corporate Social Responsibility'
| 06 Jun 2001Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an appearling concept, but the current widely-held doctrine of CSR is deeply flawed. It rests on a mistaken view of issues and events, and its adoption by businesses would reduce welfare and undermine the market economy.
-
COMMENT: 'Stakeholder' Theory
| 06 Jun 2001The world 'stakeholder' is an unsubtle play on 'stockholder', implying an entitlement not unlike ownership. But if good corporate governance is about maximising shareholder value, then stakeholder theory seems bound to distract managers and directors from achieving this end.
-
COMMENT: Can a Liberal Society Tolerate Illiberal Elements?
| 06 Jun 2001Interpretation of the libertarian first principle- a belief in individual freedom- presents a difficult philosophical choice between two quite different societies, and there is no third way, theoretically speaking. Libertarians must bite one bullet or another.
-
REVIEW ARTICLE: Economic Literacy in One Mighty Lesson
| 06 Jun 2001
Basic Economics: A Citizen's Guide to the Economy by Thomas Sowell (Basic Books, 2000.)
In the non-technical introduction to economics, steeped in the Austrian evolutioanary-institutionalist tradition, American economist Tom Sowell tackles head-on populist misconceptions about, and postmodern criticisms of, economics.
-
BOOK REVIEW: Cyberselfish
| 06 Jun 2001Cyberselfish by Paulina Borsook (Perseus Book Group, 2001.)
-
BOOK REVIEW: The Representation of Business in English Literature
| 06 Jun 2001The Representation of Business in English Literature introduced and edited by Arthur Pollard (Institute of Economic Affairs, 2000.)
-
BOOK REVIEW: Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot
| 06 Jun 2001Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot by Plinio Apuleyo Carlos, Alberto Montaner and Alvaro Vargas Llosa, Introduction by Mario Vargas Llosa (Madison Books, 2000.)
-
BOOK REVIEW: Safe Enough? Managing Risk and Regulation
| 06 Jun 2001Safe Enough? Managing Risk and Regulation Edited by Laura Jones (The Fraser Institute, 2000.)
-
BOOK REVIEW: The Riddle of the Modern World
| 06 Jun 2001The Riddle of the Modern World by Alan Macfarlane (Macmillan Press Limited, 2000.)
-
BOOK REVIEW: Creating Unequal Futures: Rethinking Poverty, Inequality and Disadvantage
| 06 Jun 2001Creating Unequal Futures: Rethinking Poverty, Inequality and Disadvantage Edited by Ruth Fincher and Peter Saunders (Allen & Unwin, 2001.)
-
BOOK REVIEW: In Defence of Globalisation
| 06 Jun 2001In Defence of Globalisation by Keith Suter (UNSW Press, 2000.)
-
SCHOOLS BRIEF: The Candlemakers' Petition
| 06 Jun 2001An Economic Fable. Candlemakers lobby the French parliament for a law requiring the closing of ll blinds to block out sunlight and stimulate the domestic candle industry.
-
Letters to the Editor
| 06 Jun 2001Author Christopher Sheil takes exception to Gary Sturgess' review of his book Water's Fall: Running the Risks with Economic Rationalism; and Sturgess responds.
-
BOOK REVIEW: Arts and Economics
| 06 Jun 2001Arts and Economics: Analysis and Cultural Policy by Bruno S. Frey (Springer Verlag, 2000.)
