Monthly Archives: May 2013

Attitudes to redistribution: does it matter where you live?

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Guest Blogger

This is a guest post by Nick Bailey on some of the first work on the geography of attitudes to redistribution, based on his just-published paper (with four colleagues). More on this from me (Ben) over the summer too, it’s a really … Continue reading →

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Conservative Reformers and Equality of Opportunity

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Bill Gardner

Avik Roy argues in the National Review Online that For many of today’s conservative reformers [e.g., Roy, Reihan Salam, or Ross Douthat], equality of opportunity — especially for the poor — is the highest moral and political priority. As AEI’s … Continue reading →

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On tax, we should stop expecting companies to act like people

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Robert de Vries

In response to the Google and Amazon tax scandals, there’s been a lot of talk from UK politicians about how tax is a “moral issue”. This is a conclusion with which it’s difficult to disagree. These companies are going to … Continue reading →

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The new consensus on IQ

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Bill Gardner

The relationships among intelligence, race, human development, and genetics are among the most important topics for students of inequality. These topics are also sites for recurring ideological battles, most recently involving Jason Richwine’s research on Hispanic immigration to the US. … Continue reading →

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Predicting smoking risk from your genes

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Bill Gardner

Your genes can increase your risk of developing a smoking habit. In a great new study, Avshalom Caspi and his colleagues show that you can use individual genomic information to predict (to some degree) who will or will not smoke. … Continue reading →

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Learning About Inequality Increases Concern, But Not Necessarily Support for Redistribution

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Brendan Saloner

A puzzle: income inequality between the top 1% and the rest has surged in the last few years, yet support for redistribution among the general public has actually declined (see figure below). Do people not care about inequality, or do … Continue reading →

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Reinhart & Rogoff – the debt cliff that wasn’t

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Robert de Vries

Timely as ever, I thought I’d finally get around to writing something about this Reinhart & Rogoff business. If you’re reading this blog, there’s a good chance you’ll be familiar with the story – a while ago, two high profile … Continue reading →

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Tax breaks for useful jobs

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Guest Blogger

A new paper says that the income tax rate in socially useful jobs should be lower than in socially useless ones – here, regular guest-poster Charlotte Cavaille gives this argument a once-over, as part of a pair of posts on tax. With … Continue reading →

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The Oregon Health Study and the Medicalization of Health Policy

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Guest Blogger

Daniel Goldberg considers the polarizing debate about the recently published results from the Oregon Health Study on public insurance — and argues that we may be missing the point. According to the website, the Oregon Health Study “is the first … Continue reading →

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DSM-5: Obsolete on Arrival?

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Bill Gardner

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, version 5 (DSM-5) will soon be officially released. This is the American Psychiatric Association’s official taxonomy of the mental disorders and the criteria that clinicians should use to identify and treat them. (And to bill … Continue reading →

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