Potpourri

Don Boudreaux discusses the issue of monopsony power and the minimum wage in an interesting fashion.

Prompted by criticism from local food advocates, Jayson Lusk clarifies his position. It continually baffles me that so many people equate opposition to subsidies for or outright government provision of some good or service with opposition to that good or service itself.

Paul Krugman's most recent comments on the minimum wage have sparked several productive discussions in the blogosphere. One post in particular stands out to me. In it, Scott Sumner uses this episode to illustrate the difference between economists who take basic theory seriously when it comes to practical matters of policy and those who don't.

The EPA continues to generate policy uncertainty in the corn markets by failing to set volume obligations. On top of this, repeal of the Renewable Fuels Standard continues to garner support on both sides of the aisle. What exactly this potential repeal would mean for corn producers, I don't know. My initial thought would be that corn prices would fall, causing losses in the short run, but that input prices and planted acres would adjust (over time) and the policy-change-induced losses would cease. Additionally, we could expect lower fuel costs and slightly lower food prices if the RFS were repealed.