Category Archives: Unintended Consequences

Examples of how unintended consequences of policies and actions can be worse than than the problem the policies were intended to fix.

Minimum Wage, Minimum Rights

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Jeff

Minimum wage laws should be abolished. They are morally indefensible because they cause more harm than good. They are economic foolishness because they thwart the price signal that lets workers and employers arrive at the optimal price for labor. First, … Continue reading →

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Unintended Consequences to the max

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Jeff

I have several posts on unintended consequences of government policies, starting with one on November 27, 2010. (Click the Unintended Consequences category to see them all.) I just ran across a book that focuses exclusively on this topic and makes … Continue reading →

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Watch What You Wish For

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Jeff

Hayek wrote in The Road to Serfdom that we need to think long-term about the policies and ideas we propose for when you combine all the ideas adopted together over time in a nation and follow their natural consequences out … Continue reading →

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The Effect of Unions on Employment and Wages

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Jeff

We are seeing a lot of heated rhetoric here in Wisconsin about the governor and unions. The clearest treatment I have read of the effect of unions is Chapter 20 in Henry Hazlitt’s book Economics In One Lesson. Jeffrey Miron, … Continue reading →

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The Great Depression – Plenty of Blame to Share

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Jeff

[This is part of a series, which is introduced in the posting titled “Unintended Consequences” here.] [Edited September 13, 2011] There are plenty of options for pointing to government policies and behavior that brought about the Great Depression, deepened it, … Continue reading →

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The Housing Crisis in the United States

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Jeff

[This is part of a series, which is introduced in the posting titled “Unintended Consequences” here.] There is a lot of blame to spread around for the housing crisis we are still experiencing and the accompanying financial crisis. The main … Continue reading →

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Unintended Consequences: legislation as the problem not the solution

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Jeff

Examples of government policies that produce significant unintended consequences. Continue reading →

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