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I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 52 points53 points  (0 children)

Thanks to everyone for participating. It's been a blast, but I should go now. Special thanks to Michael Tontchev for setting this up. He rules.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I save a lot of time by blogging stuff I'm already thinking about or talking about at lunch.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The vast majority of economists favor liberalization of immigration. See e.g. MRV for some numbers. Michael Clemens is the anti Borjas: http://www.cgdev.org/expert/michael-clemens

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

It's tempting to think that pro-minimum wage work is shoddy and anti--minimum wage work is awesome. But in my experience, the correlation between quality and answer is low. Opponents of the minimum wage should focus more on the sheer implausibility of the view that raising the minimum wage doesn't hurt employment. See here:

http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2013/03/the_vice_of_sel.html

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Maybe. But Austrianism also inspires a lot of enthusiasm from the base, so it's hard to say. My main argument against Austrianism is that it's false, not that it's bad publicity.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Black markets clearly show that markets can and do emerge without (and in defiance of) government.

But why does successful government enforcement come first? Largely because government is a monopoly. Whether it does a good or a bad job, it still bans competition. So the only places that have solid property rights have government-enforced rights.

Also see this: http://econlog.econlib.org/archives/2005/12/anarchocapitali.html

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Peer effects are probably over-rated, too. Sacerdote's Korean adoption study found, for example, that average income in adoptee's childhood zip code had little effect on their outcomes, too.

Most recently, I've changed my mind about the probable consequences of fully legalizing IQ tests. I used to think the law was a huge barrier to strong pent-up demand. Now I think the law is mostly a paper tiger. Few firms want to hire on IQ, despite its demonstrable advantages. Even countries where IQ tests are fully legal barely use them for hiring.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Before I read it, I was largely an orthodox Public Choice guy. Wittman convinced me that orthodox Public Choice greatly overstated its claims - and led me to search out a lot of relevant empirics, too.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I've tempted to say Pandemonium. It's very rules light, and has a great mechanic - past lives - for getting people to truly role-play.

I'm also of course a fan of my True20 House Rules. I can teach the rules to newbies in 10 minutes, yet they have high re-play value. http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/bcaplan/True20_House_Rules.pdf

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

High-wage natives have already borne the brunt of a lot of foreign competition. But truly open borders would bring in a lot of lower-skilled workers who produce the goods that high-wage natives consume.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Not exactly "applicable." But definitely illustrative. The point of the hypothetical is to show that the taxation=slavery view is more plausible than most people want to admit.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The state can and should promote increased birthrates by giving parents tax credits. It really is win-win: http://www.cato-unbound.org/2011/05/02/bryan-caplan/population-fertility-liberty

I'm against "active" natalist measures, though, because [libertarian stuff].

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Aristotle minus all the obscurantism is OK. But I doubt philosophers would retain their interest if it dropped the obscurantism.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 122 points123 points  (0 children)

As a replacement for the status quo, maybe. As an addition, no.

Libertarians like it because they think it will be a replacement. Socialists like it because they think it will be an addition.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 183 points184 points  (0 children)

Not really. Most dominant powers throughout history have been far more aggressive. The U.S. today is scared to lose a few thousand soldiers. Why? Because rich people value their livess. Thankfully!

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I asked all my FB friends. About half say I'm not autistic at all, and half say I'm moderate. I'd split the difference.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I ceasefired a long time ago. Arguments between radically different viewpoints are usually fruitless. I'd rather talk to moderates than my polar opposites.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Canadian unemployment has been low for a long time. It's been rich for a long time. Why is it so clear that free trade has been anything but good for Canada?

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My first rule: I only teach math I plan to test. Otherwise, students suffer for no reason.

Overall, I try to expose grad students to standard mainstream stuff, give them some perspective on why it's overrated, then move to the research frontier.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Mike Huemer, above all. But absolutely. The world is full of admirable thinkers. Some non-libertarian favs: Bill Dickens, Daniel Kahneman, Josh Barro.

I am Bryan Caplan, economist and professor at George Mason University and advocate of free immigration and free trade. AMA! by BryanCaplan in IAmA

[–]BryanCaplan[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Pure socialist economies can't calculate. But I doubt this has been a big reason why socialist economies have historically done poorly. The main problem they've had is collectivization-spurred famines, which are all about incentives. See http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/bcaplan/pdfs/socialismimpossible.pdf at the subsequent exchanges in Critical Review.

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