tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post7692983558888962484..comments2024-03-28T09:22:36.967+13:00Comments on Offsetting Behaviour: Oh, ChristchurchEric Cramptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-72352366825771112182012-06-13T10:49:29.281+12:002012-06-13T10:49:29.281+12:00Even if there were no consenting constraints, down...Even if there were no consenting constraints, downtown would almost certainly still be a mess - they have to get the damaged buildings down and out, and there's a whole big mess of insurance issues to sort out. I've heard there are still issues over whether full replacement means replacement to building code as it existed prior to the quakes or building something that can serve the same purpose under the new code; I'm a bit surprised the government hasn't funded a test case or gone for a declaratory judgement here. Maybe insurance contracts are just too heterogeneous for any test case to be broadly applicable. Who knows.<br /><br />As for economic freedom and property rights, this is ridiculously depressing:<br />http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/7074743/The-new-New-Zealand-land-warsEric Cramptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-7333066263447510982012-06-13T06:59:07.280+12:002012-06-13T06:59:07.280+12:00Watching from abroad, I've been pretty stunned...Watching from abroad, I've been pretty stunned at how slowly the rebuild is going. Admittedly, during our time there as renters, we had pretty much no interaction with the council, permitting processes, resource consents, or what have you. But I live in Los Angeles, which has a reputation as one of the worst places in the world for permitting, land use restrictions, and bureaucracy. We did a major remodel here in 2005 (basically added an entire story to our house), and I find what's going on in Christchurch (with a much smaller population and therefore what should be a more accountable government) simply staggering. Far worse than what we went through, even though Christchurch is in an emergency situation. <br /><br />17 permits a month is laughable. It should be at least an order of magnitude higher.<br /><br />It makes me question if issues like these are captured in rankings like the Index of Economic Freedom.GSWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14883756109979003060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-23794768298856728552012-06-13T01:17:39.544+12:002012-06-13T01:17:39.544+12:00Is there an economics blog hall of fame? If there...Is there an economics blog hall of fame? If there is, this comment should be in it.PaulLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-353542167050678452012-06-12T16:14:10.061+12:002012-06-12T16:14:10.061+12:00I put reasonable odds that if our house had wound ...I put reasonable odds that if our house had wound up being uninhabitable, we'd no longer be Christchurch-based. <br /><br />Current zoning rules and land use policy across the country embeds massive fragility into our systems in case of earthquakes. They can happen anywhere. Getting this sorted out matters for more than just quakes; Auckland housing is now running higher than it did back in 2007.Eric Cramptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-38140756279748412612012-06-12T15:11:30.119+12:002012-06-12T15:11:30.119+12:00Im in Invercargill - this week a local guy who got...Im in Invercargill - this week a local guy who got Radio New Brighton going did a piece on over 40 families living in cars in ChCh - http://soundcloud.com/chris-diack/part-two-41-families-in<br /><br />Meanwhile I can shop here for ex ChCh houses and furnish them with ex ChCh Hotel chattels from a 2nd hand store.... ?? Nicki Wagner and Leanne D need to do a few less coffee mornings and do something a little more useful. Bloody shame. Good luck up thereRossnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-15307911506711355982012-06-12T14:59:22.996+12:002012-06-12T14:59:22.996+12:00Hypothesis: A buttered cat will not bounce but rat...Hypothesis: A buttered cat will not bounce but rather will sit and lick itself until clean.<br />Materials: One cat. Butter. <br />Method: Butter cat. Drop from 1' height onto solid surface. Observe whether cat bounces or stops, sits, and licks self until butter is gone.<br />Observation: Cats do not being buttered. Pointy ends matter.<br />Conclusions: Do not butter a cat.Eric Cramptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-68766212962077522432012-06-12T13:32:02.897+12:002012-06-12T13:32:02.897+12:00There are two ways to approach such a crisis.. one...There are two ways to approach such a crisis.. one way is for the authorities to "never waste a crisis" so as to impose tighter rules and/or the chance to put into practice all that you learned at Urban Planning school.<br /><br />Or you can say the crisis is simply too big for all but the most basic of rules.<br /><br />Frankly, both these scenarios horrify me so I guess we'll get some ungainly version of the the "buttered cat" bouncing between the two extremes..<br /><br />JCJChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00875768024598278750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-40201123022994068182012-06-12T11:06:51.242+12:002012-06-12T11:06:51.242+12:00There are some problems there with sample drop off...There are some problems there with sample drop off. I'd put a lot of weight on these kinds of results IF there were another two-wave sample taken that didn't span a policy change and if they found no change in problem gambling over that period. Sample drop off can drive the results in the absence of policy change if people are reluctant to admit twice in a row that they're gamblers but expect approbation (even if only self-approbation) for reporting having quit gambling.Eric Cramptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-85544072572842387622012-06-12T09:34:23.550+12:002012-06-12T09:34:23.550+12:00Thanks a lot for that, Mark.
I buy the case for ...Thanks a lot for that, Mark. <br /><br />I buy the case for having emission standards in Christchurch. What's going on with that burner seems bizarre though.Eric Cramptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-67548530366244803172012-06-12T08:16:47.986+12:002012-06-12T08:16:47.986+12:00Eric, I got the wrong show. The low/no emission bu...Eric, I got the wrong show. The low/no emission burner was on Campbell, not Close Up. It was last Friday night, first item in the clip below (after the 15 second add plays). Just if you want to have a look:<br /><br />http://ondemand.tv3.co.nz/Campbell-Live-Friday-June-8-2012/tabid/119/articleID/6802/MCat/73/Default.aspxMark Hubbardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02541153163041831880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-23747290841167649432012-06-11T20:06:18.850+12:002012-06-11T20:06:18.850+12:00I don't know enough about the claims made by t...I don't know enough about the claims made by that manufacturer to be able to comment. Plausible that ECan is being silly, but also plausible that a manufacturer about whom I know absolutely nothing could be stretching claims about his product.Eric Cramptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15831696523324469713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-83856890794395012942012-06-11T16:09:45.998+12:002012-06-11T16:09:45.998+12:00Whoops, I missed the end of that first sentence :)...Whoops, I missed the end of that first sentence :) But I think my point is made regardless.Mark Hubbardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02541153163041831880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-90220682635273198652012-06-11T16:08:05.872+12:002012-06-11T16:08:05.872+12:00of topic, but i was reading Gambling Harm Reductio...of topic, but i was reading Gambling Harm Reduction Bill, musing that if we regulate access or price harder it would have a strong substitution effect to other forms of gambling in particular internet gambling, given ease of access etc. i then found this study, views?<br />http://www.sirus.no/Gambling+behaviour+and+the+prevalence+of+gambling+problems+in+adult+EGM+gamblers+when+EGMs+are+banne.d25-SMlfI0b.ipsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2830084253401570472.post-69997076916910514482012-06-11T16:07:32.344+12:002012-06-11T16:07:32.344+12:00From the Close Up report several nights ago, it ap...From the Close Up report several nights ago, it appears there is a low(no) emission burner that is ready for production, and for ECAN to blithely say leave a space in your house so if it is certified by them over next three or four years (!) you could then put it in.<br /><br />They're cold now: crazy, stifling, freezing, bureaucratic nonsense.Mark Hubbardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02541153163041831880noreply@blogger.com