Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: RE: Query on slavery

["Ken Hanly" <khanly@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

How come economists such as Milton Friedman are constantly criticizing
existing economies throughout the world for over-regulation, rent controls,
minimum wages, most welfare programs, etc.etc. if what exists is efficient?
His criticism is often that present economies are not efficient and he has a
whole kitbag of  "reforms" to make economies more efficient.
     Cheers, Ken Hanly
----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Devine <jdevine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, October 20, 2000 10:48 AM
>Subject: [PEN-L:3316] Re: Re: Re: Re: RE: Query on slavery


> At 10:20 AM 10/20/00 -0500, you wrote:
> >I didn't realize that neo-classicals assume that what exists is
efficient.
> >Do you have a reference?
>
> I'd say that it's only the Chicago school that makes that assumption, but
> they assume that the state is an exception to that rule. The clearest
> example of this view is North & Thomas's take on feudalism (serfdom),
which
> they see as efficient.
>
> Of course, there are at least four different kinds of "efficiency,"
> including technical efficiency, private economic efficiency, social
> economic efficiency, and Pareto Optimality. A capitalist competitive
market
> encourages private economic efficiency (private cost minimization) but not
> social economic efficiency.
>
> Jim Devine jdevine@xxxxxxx &  http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine
>