The Pin Factory Blog

The excellent and surprising value of mobile telephones on the lives of the poor.

A very different take on the current financial markets turmoil. 

Should we be concerned about falling asset prices? Well, if we're interested in redistribution of assets, possibly not. 

An invaluable (if not exactly new) guide to hedge funds. 

Churchill the first man to walk on the moon according to British schoolchildren? This statistic explained. 

Advocacy groups can make life difficult: suing a school board for allowing pupils to escape failing schools and when that succeeds, sue them again for n9ot allowing pupils to escape failing schools.... 

And finally, bad song lyrics coming out of trading rooms. Well, it's not as if they've got anything else to do at present, is it? 

Were the Russian privatisations of the 1990s as bad as some say? Perhaps not, given that they're now well functioning and profitable companies.

Most interesting to see how policy is actually made at the EU level. Don't expect to even be allowed to stay in the meeting if you're not adhering to the party line. 

Sadly, policy at the national level doesn't seem to be much better organised. 

A most amusing story about a vociferous Darwinist attempting to view a creationist film. 

The latest internet campaign seems to be gathering strength. 

Well, at least they're looking for the answer, even if we were hoping they already knew it. 

And finally, perhaps not quite the right day, but new verses of a religious manner come to light. 

And now for the third and final installment of the video series on the Laffer Curve. Perhaps the most important insight is that we should not be scoring tax changes statically, but dynamically.

Beware of those comparisons between today and the Great Depression. Or an alternative description, bad regulation may well be worse than none.

A further bulletin from the campaign to get WalMart the Nobel Peace Prize. 

We may indeed not be at Peak Oil: it could just be excessive saving by oil producers. There's also cause to think that if the oil price starts to slip, that it will tumble. 

Many people have many ideas about what started the Industrial Rebolution. Could it have been something as simple as coffee houses?

These online databases: how can they be kept secure when so many people are being granted access to them? 

And finally, bad analogy of the day watch. Government is Mother and we are hormonal teenagers? Surely we are adults?

Why is it that politicians are delighted to create incentives but then insist that no one will be influenced by them?

Big Egg, coming to a holiday celebration near you.

This statement is somewhat startling, if true. 

A list of the top 75 (UK) political books. Netsmith's personal view is that it explains an awful lot of what is in fact wrong with UK politics. Not one of them is about economics (or, to be fair, sociology, philosophy or indeed any other ology).

The root causes of divorce. Strangely, intimacy breeding contempt doesn't make the list.

Creating smaller, more sustainable economies. Isn't this a synonym for "poorer people"?

And finally, the ban Alistair Darling campaign scores another victory. 

We prefer here to point you to the good and the interesting but just this once it'll to be the appalling, the near insane. Although, to be fair, it is also interesting in something of a car crash way. Possibly the worst misunderstanding of trade possible in recent times. Pleas, someone sit that man down with a copy of Ricardo.

A great deal more amusing: the perils of a hastily drawn up contract for a hastily drawn up deal. That one line might also go a long way to explaining this.

On British politics. Wouldn't it be interesting to know who is behind the Stop Boris website? 

The state of British journalism: not all that good perhaps. Not that American such is any better.

Another plank in the argument for localism.

More hopeless stupidity from the War on Drugs. 

And finally, well, it says it's to paint your own Jackson Pollock. But to Netsmith it's indistinguishable from any artist post about 1940. No doubt this says more about Netsmith's philistinism than anything else. 

As Bernard Levin predicted those years ago with his spotting of the Single Issue Fanatic, the decisive change in life has been the march of the zealots. It's led to a large fall (sad to say) in social liberalism along the way.

Indeed, a substantial decline in liberalism of all sorts. 

Not quite the done thing right at the moment, but defending financial innovation and the derivatives markets. 

The worst movie of all time and the application of correct thinking about sunk costs. 

Such a waste, how could such a thing happen in the educational system? Although, not all the news from that sector is bad. 

Most important to make the distinction between the workers' wages and the workers' compensation. 

And finally, why all this fuss over human/animal hybirds? Been going on for years, hasn't it? 

It would appear that Hillary Clinton is not the only person with slightly misty recollections of the past.

More Hillary: is this the scariest thing you've heard this electoral season or what? 

The Interior Designers Guild is comparing itself to the AMA: well, yes, they are indeed doing exactly what Milton Friedman's Doctoral thesis suggested the AMA were doing. 

Interested in a bit of British maritime history? Why not try this?

Can't find a copper on the streets? No wonder, they're all in Alberta.

 The BBC is now reporting that Alistair Darling is being banned from pubs. Further updates here. How far will this campaign go?

And finally, perhaps four leafed clover isn't in fact all that lucky? 

The Great Ban Darling Campaign is gathering momentum. The Telegraph, The Morning Advertiser (for those unaware, this is the publican's paper, so important in such a campaign), Guido, Guido again...please add further sightings in the comments.

Spending taxpayers' money on lawyers so that taxpayers can't find out how taxpayers' money is being spent. Perhaps not the wisest of decisions, Mr. Speaker? Possibly even a reason to resign?

Of rather more importance perhaps is the revival of the Abolition of Parliament Bill. This is getting like the EU, the same measures brought back under a different cover. SpyBlog with the details, Dale and Guido with reactions (and it's hard to find a British political blog today not outraged by this). 

Two from the US: more idiocy from the War on Drugs and an explanation of why it all happens. 

Sadly, things are no better than this in England. 

Can we get out Tax Freedom Day moved forwards to this date please? 

And finally, Mrs. Sarko arrives in Britain. 

What it is like when you've got a serious amount of inflation in the economy.

Yes, many are calling for increased regulation in these difficult times. That doesn't mean that we should in fact have more regulation: for it is extremely rare that the results are those intended. 

Words to live by:

Almost all that any politician says on any topic other than political strategy
should be treated with even less respect than would be accorded a
professional circus-clown's speculations about string theory.

A description of what it is that politicians and bureaucrats actually do and how they work.

From strength to strength. The Ban Darling campaign makes PM's QT. And the story seems to be going international as well.

Rather more sober minded economics now: the way in which recessions spread geographically.

And finally, copyright theft as a Pareto improvement.

The Freedom of Speech apparently nowadays means the freedom to say what the government approves of. Further details here: that enlightenment thing, so old hat, don't you think?

Freedom of information appears to be suffering similarly. 

Another example of an old economic favourite: how much is your time worth? 

As with this morning's blog: biofuels simply don't work. 

Although this rather wonderful idea actually might work: attatching a kite to a ship. 

Yes, we know, you've been waiting for the update on the Ban Darling campaign. Further sightings, a competition winner and this rather stirring song to sing (tune: Wild Rover):

I've been your new Chancellor for not quite a year
But I've taxed all your money from whiskey and beer,
And now in the coffers there's no gold in store
And I never will pay off the lenders no more.

And finally, the weather has been declared Muslim.