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James M. Buchanan: 2 ideas worth knowing

2 ideas from James M. Buchanan, each explained in a minute and credited to the original work. Free on Savvy.

• Economists turned the same self-interest lens on politicians as markets

  James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock argued that politicians and bureaucrats aren't selfless public servants — they respond to incentives just like consumers and firms do, favoring po…

  — James M. Buchanan & Gordon Tullock, The Calculus of Consent

• A toll road and a backyard fence solve the same economic problem in opposite ways

  Economists classify goods by two features: whether using one unit leaves less for others, and whether people can be excluded from using it. James Buchanan noted in 1965 that a cate…

  — James M. Buchanan, An Economic Theory of Clubs

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