Labor Econ Versus the World
Bryan Caplan's latest book covers the hypocrisy of unpaid collegiate internships and a defense of the professoriate against the charges of laziness.

You may know George Mason University economist Bryan Caplan from such contrarian classics as The Case Against Education, The Myth of the Rational Voter, Selfish Reasons To Have More Kids, and the polemical comic book Open Borders. His new book is a little different. Labor Econ Versus the World is not an extended argument but a collection of tidbits loosely grouped around the idea that if you truly understand labor economics, you understand economics, period.
The chapters are blog-post short, and blog posts are what most of them started out as. But each displays Caplan's characteristic ruthless data-driven cheer. Particularly pleasing are his short chapters on the hypocrisy of unpaid collegiate internships, his comparison between men regularly mentoring women and habitually refusing to wear a seatbelt, and a defense of the professoriate against the charges of laziness.
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Just started listening to an interview with him on this book. Very good.
In one point he does point out that markets can and do trump racism, otherwise why would both Jim Crown and South African Apartheid need laws to PREVENT the hiring of Blacks? Ditto for illegal immigrants, if everyone hates them (even the liberals) then why do you need laws to prevent hiring them?
And of course, he points out there are tradeoffs in everything. There are downsides to be made hiring immigrants, but do they outweigh the benefits? (His previous book say no).
My sister went to grad school cost free, in exchange for teaching a few courses. Does that count as an unpaid internship?
No links, Katherine!
Typically majors where you need an unpaid internship is a major where 0 dollars pay is more than a free market would bare
Caplan thinks that local police departments should be eliminated. If you want the security of policing, you should hire a private security firm.
No thanks.