Thursday, January 10, 2013

Centralization Bias

Caplan lists 4 biases that he thinks explain bad government policies (anti-foreign bias, make work bias, pessimistic bias, and anti-market bias). I'd like to add a fifth, centralization bias. Or pehaps this is the flip side of anti-market bias?

Decentralized, voluntary solution solutions are hard to understand. Centralization and coercion seem deceptively simple and clear. Our imaginations eagerly overlook the true cost, our impatience, arrogance, and cowardice increase our willingness to skip the experiments and go straight to our favorite solution.

Centralization bias combines with anti-market bias while remaining distinct.

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