Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Vernon Smith on Tariffs


Lincoln died on this day, and the Titanic sank.

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The authors of this book also run a trade deficit with supermarkets. In fact, we have been running a trade deficit with Whole Foods for many years. Is our Whole Foods deficit a problem?--Tabarrok

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"Atmospheric dynamics of first steps toward terraforming Mars"--A Paper!!!

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This is so funny.




Vernon Smith on Tariffs:  

From Nobel economist Vernon Smith:

I find the public discussion of tariffs very convoluted and complex with the core considerations not understood.

1. All but minimum subsistence levels of wealth are created through individual choice in markets disciplined by opportunity costs.

2. As Adam Smith understood, wealth is created by input specialization (he called it the division of labor).

3. Specialization is limited by the extent of markets. Thus, the important consequence of globalization which has expanded markets and wealth creation.

4. Tariffs reduce market exchange and total wealth creation making people generally worse off.

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