Shomron Center for Economic Policy Research

In Search for an efficient Institutions

July 23, 2017
by Moshe
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Measuring de facto Constitutional constraints: the article just published

Journal of Constitutional Political Economy just published (Volume 28, Issue 4, December 2017 pp. 311-320) our article “A Proposal for a More Objective Measure of De Facto Constitutional Constraints”.

Simple and easily correctable measures of institutions are based on observable / detectable events, not on the experts’ personal opinion.

We tried to detect (initially) three types of events, so for each country at each year we ask just three questions:
1. Will the ruling elite leave power and join the opposition if it loses an election (the power rotation criterion developed by Adam Przeworski )?
2. Has the government ever lost in court and complied with the court’s decision even if the litigation significantly reduced its prestige and authority?
3. Can the media and opposition criticise the government [including (a) accusations about its incompetence, (b) immorality, or (c) crimes, and call for its replacement, without experiencing intimidation or punishment]?

…

see for further details the paper   Yanovskiy Moshe, Ginker Tim ” A Proposal for a More Objective Measure of De Facto Constitutional Constraints ” Journal of Constitutional Political Economy, DOI: 10.1007/s10602-017-9242-1, 2017

The full text of the article could be send by request (corresponding authors’ mail is yanovskiy.moshe at gmail.com).

July 22, 2017
by Moshe
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“How Butter beats the Guns” is published ב”ד

After years of hysterical or totally senseless reviews and editors’ reactions we got from economic journals we had switched to military ones. Now we have got this very important for us publication in the Czech military Journal “Defence and Strategy” (Obrana a Strategie).

To clarify our point regarding conditionality of the Government’s ability to defend, to deter potential aggressor we referred to example from Czech history. Voters and the Government must promote (not punish) the most gifted military leaders like Jan Žižka – great leader and typical winner but not the “nice man” which could discuss matters of religious coexistence with Justin Trudeau.

Here is the article (just click it):

Yanovskiy Moshe, Zatcovetsky Ilia “How Butter beats the Guns” Defence and Strategy, 2017 Volume 17, Number 1 (June 2017) pp.141-154 doi 10.3849/1802-7199.17.2017.01.141-154;

and the Supplementary materials

July 20, 2017
by Moshe
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There are Judges in … Tel Aviv

Rabbinic court in Tel Aviv created precedent revitalizing “fault divorce” at least in the most severe cases of  misbehavior of “privileged” spouse.

The problem is, the precedent comes too late. The machinery of governmental crowding out the man from the family is too powerful already.

We stand with “privatization” of family life, for return to the family contract based regulation of intra -family issues, including divorce cases. Government belonging to bedroom and nursery spoils incentives of spouses and parents, causing infantile or ugly behavior, so we are exploring the issue in a number of out projects:

Does Government Crowds Out the Family?

The Limits of Governmental Intervention: Some Ways How Government Belongs in the Bedroom and Nursery

May 14, 2017
by Moshe
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Take them all, Mr Macron!

French president-elect E.Macron invites US scientists – crusaders of Global Warming to go to the  France. “I believe in the Global warming… your new president is skeptical  …  come to the France, we need Innovators… etc”

Thank you, dear Mr Macron! Take them all!

Take ours, from Israel as well!

Innovators have being arrived in the US till nowadays to work hard, to earn money, then to run a business. They take risks of their’s businesses’  at their own cost (not at the taxpayers’ cost – you got this idea, Mr. Macron?), then they to earn a lot of money, to create new jobs, to pay taxes etc  (if you can read, try Acemoglu on the US innovations – “Can’t We All Be More Like Scandinavians?…”). It is a little bit another model of innovations. So, again, take them all, Mr Macron and G…d will bless you!

 

March 5, 2017
by Moshe
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Do you want to buy quality goods? Deregulate!

Are you, mostly, happy with Chinese quality? Really?

Here is one of the explanations why you are almost definitely not. People of another culture often simply fail to understand you wishes and requirements (to say nothing of the language barrier, causing the problems more grave, than you are currently experiencing, reading this text).

My friends told me  a numerous stories, which show, how it is hard for their Asian colleagues simply to acknowledge their mistakes. This problem makes the process of finding and correcting mistakes harder and, eventually, it harms the goods and services quality.

The principal explanation of the quality degradation, currently observable, comes to this:
1.disappearance of reference-class quality goods made in the old industrialized countries – the countries of high manufacturing culture;
2.The competition has been weakened drastically since manufacturing escaped from the Europe and US, pressed by new generation of regulations: antitrust, “green” and antidiscrimination laws and enforcement;
3.The decline in competition intensity caused the decline in the goods’ quality.

I guess, you know some people among your friends, ready to buy high quality, reliable goods at high price, but pretty often they simply haven’t choice.

So, do you want to buy traditional American quality goods at affordable price? Deregulate!

Stop to punish the most successful companies for their successes, let the market (free entry, free competition) to work to restrain the natural greed. Scrap antitrust policies and offices. Stop to hear from self-appointed, false prophets of coming ecological disasters. At last but not at list: repeal all the norms of Civil Rights Act of 1964, restricting private persons and entities behavior. Scrap the EEOC .

The private discrimination is the integral component of the Freedom. Every your choice (really free choice) means discrimination against all the non-chosen options. You marry one woman means you discriminate against all the rest women. You’d prefer to hire the best workers, so you are discriminate against inexperienced or lazy workers or the persons with spoiled reputation (spoiled in your subjective opinion). You follow moral values rooted in the Sinai Revelation? You are discriminating against Islam! To win Jihad on Discrimination means to finish Freedom, means to abandon free choice, moral values and common sense.

Stop Jihad on Discrimination, stop Jihad on successful businesses (repeal Antitrust Laws), stop Jihad on free human actions – enjoy fruits of free entrepreneurship, tough competition, enjoy high quality!

February 1, 2017
by Moshe
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The Promise kept: great choice of president Trump

Liberal web-outlet  Voxcom has published pretty useful article on the cost of Clinton failure for the American Lefts:  “missed chance to reshape Supreme Court for a generation“. The author, BTW, points out, that some republican presidents nominees in the SCOTUS had chosen to stand with liberals  in the core decisions, sharing de facto “progressive” ideological values (liberal NY senator Charles E. Schumer even calls it “mainstream”).
Instead this “bright future” president Donald Trump picked Judge Neil  Gorsuch for Antonin Scalia’s vacant seat in the SCOTUS.

New York Times: President Trump, in nominating Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, has chosen a judge who not only admires the justice he would replace but also in many ways resembles him. He shares Justice Scalia’s legal philosophy, talent for vivid writing and love of the outdoors.
Heritage Action stresses: President Trump has delivered on his campaign promises and nominated Neil Gorsuch, a conservative judge who will uphold our values and defend our Constitution…  Now we are in the most critical stage of the fight that began almost a year ago to protect the highest court in the land from a liberal takeover. At Heritage Action we will do everything we can to make sure a conservative justice is confirmed by the Senate. We need to make sure the Senate moves quickly to confirm Neil Gorsuch as the next Supreme Court Justice, and your urgent gift will fuel this fight.

Newsmax stresses rare for nowadays devotion of the candidate to the 1st Amendment values, including defense of religious freedom: Neil Gorsuch drew outrage from Democrats as conservatives cheered. Appointed by George W. Bush, Gorsuch is a staunch conservative who has ruled in favor of religious freedom. Even Alan Dershowitz offered a surprising endorsement!

Neil Gorsuch lecture delivered for Law School of Case Western Reserve University.

We wish the candidate to overcome leftists’ hostility in the Senate (Ted Cruz warns about and promises to fight for Gorsuch approval)  and the long, lasting tenure. Neil Gorsuch was born in 1967, so he could contribute reshaping the SCOTUS for a generation to protect core American values, property and Liberty.

We must pay special attention on the president Trump loyalty to his voter. He keeps his promise in spite routine for modern mainstream conservatives habit to betray their voters. Well done, Mr. President!

P.S. Two Jewish reactions on president Trumps’ pick: Orthodox Union is encouraged, Reformists find it “troubling”. It is so natural: people who believe in Sinai Revelation validity are inspired, and the people thinking eternal Laws could be corrected by women and by men to meet current needs (see “Living Constitution” concept) lament the President’s Choice.

December 18, 2016
by Moshe
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Rediscovered Tradition of Government intervention

Gil Ronen’s just have penned his new  article: worth to read!

Pay attention to the author’s reference on archaic tradition of governmental intervention in family issues, “rediscovered” for civilized world by Marx, extensively used by Stalin and Hitler.

For ours humble contribution in the issue’s studies see, besides our book‘s 11th Chapter:

The Gender Role of the Government: Some Explanations of the Family Crisis and

The Limits of Governmental Intervention: Some Ways How Government Belongs in the Bedroom and Nursery.

December 3, 2016
by Moshe
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Few notes for my Jewish friends, perplexed by Trump

People ask themselves: what has really happened? What will happen to us since Trump elected? I believe nothing REALLY bad hasn’t happened, since the end of the primaries.

Obama’s landmarks. No any doubt both candidates were better than person who was 2nd (after Carter) openly anti-American president. Just to remind, see two following references:Roanoke, VA, 2012 speech: declaration of hate to Business: so, USA could reasonably to look forward to recover a little bit;   Cairo 2009 speech, encouraging “Moslem brothers” to act

The campaign was dirty and extremely unpleasant but it’s over already; end of hostilities after elections depends on Democrats more than on republican Donald Trump already urged his supporters to stop http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-donald-trump-family-melania-ivanka-lesley-stahl/ , I hope Democrats will follow his pattern soon to stop left radicals shocking protests against elections outcomes (!).

The winner looks for you unpleasant and he is not man of principles, of values, he is pragmatic (I hate it) but all his bad promises will be hard to keep w/o support of the Congress, there most of republicans not love him, to put it mildly, and not so loyal to him

All good things   he promised (at Convention and in Gettysburg Address, in the Contract with America )   he (because he is ‘pragmatic’), probably, will not execute (While I wish to be wrong about his qualities, of course).  with few probable exemptions – see the “Contract” “Actions to protect American workers” (5) and (6) – there is really strong interests behind these promises so it would be easier for Trump to keep it; US oil extraction and  export will weaken our enemies, will weaken our home special interests dreaming to redistribute gas rent, so it is good for USA and it is good for Israel even more;

Both, USA  and Israel have escaped some very bad things as a result of the elections.

1. Compare the most probable pattern for new SCOTUS judge nominee under Hillary  (sort of candidate for the seat of the Giant – seat of Antonin Scalia!) and here is Trumps’ list:  it make a huge difference

2. For Israel: Can you imagine Trump avoiding to visit potential contributor because of mezuzah at his door?  ; see also on Clintons’ contributors .

3. Further erosion of 1st Amendment Rights; progress in establishment of militant atheism and militant Islam as governmental, officially approved religions and persecution of Christians (as “white privilege”, as discriminating “Historically excluded groups” etc); probably, promotion of restriction on the political campaigns’ financing (Axelrod ideas development of Campaign financing reform ) and discrimination against conservative NGOs (IRS case like ).

4. Further  erosion of 2nd Amendment right (Democrats promised further tighten legislation for gun owners and traders – see “Preventing Gun Violence”  p. 39 of Dems’ Platform 2016 )

5. For Business. Clinton would for sure encourage further escalation jihad on “discrimination”, EEOC power and activities expansion etc  – see  and Trump – simply not (Cruz would destroy EEOC, Trump, unfortunately will not).

The outcomes of the November 8 elections means the US Universities radicalization ugly process suffered heavy blow (at least moral) and opportunity to stop it appears; see following links for example (   http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/12/us/racial-discrimination-protests-ignite-at-colleges-across-the-us.html ; the principal link: database of 1st Amendment rights in the campuses across US: https://www.thefire.org/spotlight/using-the-spotlight-database/  ); November, 8 means half of America told to radicals: “We are hate you too and we have a way to stop you”

On Trump personality again, I’m sure you aren’t take seriously comparisons ‘Trump he is like Hitler’?  The people chanting this nonsense surely aren’t going to emigrate  as they promised before the elections, and they aren’t heroes, believe me. I hope you understand, that the “arguments” like “he can start WWIII” are totally irrelevant.  Trump definitely not mad, he is not man of bad values or man of the good values, he is sly guy, pragmatic, so we should afraid his compromises not his real actions; just to remind – nor Brezhnev, not Mao hadn’t started WWIII and, surely, they hadn’t even idea to do so really.

BTW,  Trump already have got a lot of proposals (from Alan Dershowitz, for example) which means: “Now, be reasonable, betray your voters ASAP!” and I’m afraid Trump will do it in many things; (for comparison – British prime-minister Edward Heath did the same and Margaret Thatcher hadn’t  – see The lady’s not for turning  (and here is the transcript).

Worst things Trump could cause for Israel depends on us more than depends on Trump himself – see the logic (not may be this very specific case) in Moshe Feiglin’s comment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn50VjiZCtA&feature=youtu.be

November 6, 2016
by Moshe
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The Torah as the source of economic freedom and its sustainability

At first glance, the Torah does not address the issues of economic and social order (surely, it does not discuss distinctions between free capitalist and socialist approaches). Talmudic sources, occasionally restricting economic freedom, often reflected realities of communities which survived under pressure of hostile environment and were in permanent need of mobilization to meet external challenges. At the same time, the Torah, the Tanakh and the Talmud prescribe limited government and rule of law. But above all, the Torah provides the most powerful protection of private property and personal rights: the protection is sanctified by the Lord and based on moral imperatives, rather than being just for the sake of economic efficiency.

The paper (in Hebrew) is uploaded at SSRN.

 

October 17, 2016
by Moshe
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Mordechai Kedar: The Hope, not Despair causes Terror

Professor Mordechai Kedar (the article is in Hebrew) compares level of terrorism provided from Yaffo, Haifa and East Jerusalem. He arrives to the same conclusions, our paper is reasoning on the basis of Israel and international experience.  Haifa and Yaffo Arabians face everyday reality, translating them message: “there is close to zero chance to push Jews out”. East Jerusalem Arabians face another reality and read another “message”: Jewish power and Jewish presence on the ground  still restricted and hesitant. This reality rises reasonable hope for terrorists to destroy Jews, so it provides much stronger incentives for terrorist violence.