Cafe Hayek: Tyler's Correct: Krugman Does Seem to Have Gone Mercantilist

« Kelo and Just Compensation | Main | Larry "Smith" Kudlow» Don Boudreaux

June 27, 2005

Tyler's Correct: Krugman Does Seem to Have Gone Mercantilist

Don Boudreaux

Tyler Cowen suggests that Paul Krugman is now a mercantilist. Tyler's evidence – and powerful evidence it is – is Krugman’s column in today’s New York Times. In this column, Krugman argues that Uncle Sam should prevent the owners of the Unocal, an oil company headquartered in the United States, from selling their company to the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

Krugman’s article is full of bewildering claims, not least of which is his explanation of why Japanese purchase of U.S. corporations and real-estate in the late 1980s is not a relevant precedent for assessing the merits of Chinese purchases of U.S. assets today:

One difference is that, judging from early indications, the Chinese won't squander their money as badly as the Japanese did.

In other words, the late-1980s Japanese purchases of assets from Americans were okay because the Japanese were irresponsible spendtrifts. The Chinese, in contrast, are shrewder than the Japanese (so argues Krugman). Therefore, Uncle Sam should police more diligently against acquisitions by the Chinese of dollar-denominated assets.

An interesting theory: the more irresponsible are foreign bidders for dollar-denominated assets, the more sanguine we should be about their attempts to buy dollar-denominated assets.

I wonder if the same principle applies to domestic bidders for dollar-denominated assets.

Anyway.... for a far-better analysis of CNOOC’s bid for Unocal, see this column in today’s Washington Post by Sebastian Mallaby.

Posted by Don Boudreaux in Trade | Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/23120/2719435

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Tyler's Correct: Krugman Does Seem to Have Gone Mercantilist:

» Monday Morning Muster from Nobrainer's Blog
We’re going to cover a lot of ground and have some good times. So come along for the ride. Social Security From Deroy Murdock at NRO: So, what Democrats recommend on Social Security is zippo, a debauched dollar, or a huge tax hike. By compar... [Read More]

Tracked on Jun 27, 2005 1:39:31 PM

» Should we be concerned? from CommentaryPage.com
When the news came out that a Chinese company had made an offer to buy the American company Unocal, I had the same reaction as many: This doesn�t sound good. But is it really a bad thing? Sebastian Mallaby doesn�t... [Read More]

Tracked on Jun 27, 2005 3:41:15 PM

» Neo-mercantilismo e os Orientais da Vez from Márcio Guilherme
Não gosto dos artigos que o Paul Krugman escreve para o New York Times. São bobos, exagerados, alguns chegando mesmo à mentira deslavada. Na média, são muito chatos – parecem as coisas que o Olavo de Carvalho escreve, mas com... [Read More]

Tracked on Jun 27, 2005 11:25:35 PM

Tracked on Jun 27, 2005 11:30:40 PM

Tracked on Jun 27, 2005 11:33:39 PM

Tracked on Jun 27, 2005 11:38:32 PM

» Irwin Stezler's short-term memory from Daniel W. Drezner
When Americans get skittish about China's growing economic power, free market advocates -- myself included -- tend to remind everyone about the excessive skittishness Americans had about Japan in the late eighties. In the Weekly Standard, Irwin Stezler... [Read More]

Tracked on Jun 28, 2005 4:01:07 PM

» Unocal Mercantilism from Neo-Libertarian
But I do know that moving in that direction is the wrong way to go. We shouldn't try to do everything ourselves because it's difficult and inefficient at best and impoverishing and doomed to failure at worst. [Read More]

Tracked on Jun 28, 2005 4:53:32 PM

» Anyone Remember the Eighties? from Coyote Blog
One of the worst parts about living through the eighties was listening to all the angst about Japanese companies [Read More]

Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 6:47:16 PM

» Anyone Remember the Eighties? from Coyote Blog
One of the worst parts about living through the eighties was listening to all the angst about Japanese companies [Read More]

Tracked on Jun 30, 2005 6:53:57 PM

» Does Krugman Want War with China? from Michael Gorsuch: Hey, I'm Just Sayin'
Marginal Revolution and Cafe Hayek offer some great insight (as always) regarding China's bid to purchase Unical. It all comes down to this: do you want war? If the government decides to muck around with this issue and block... [Read More]

Tracked on Jul 4, 2005 12:56:19 PM

» Does Krugman Want War with China? from Michael Gorsuch: Hey, I'm Just Sayin'
Marginal Revolution and Cafe Hayek offer some great insight (as always) regarding China's bid to purchase Unocal. It all comes down to this: do you want war? If the government decides to muck around with this issue and block... [Read More]

Tracked on Jul 4, 2005 2:35:06 PM

» Third Brigade's Intrusion Prevention System Protects Enterprises from Critical Sendmail Vulnerability Affecting Multiple Platforms from that have deployed
a vulnerability recently disclosed in Sendmail. [PRWEB Mar 24, 2006] Trackback URI: http://www.prweb.com/dingpr.php/UHJvZi1aZXRhLVpldGEtVGhpci1IYWxmLVplcm8= [Read More]

Tracked on Mar 25, 2006 10:47:07 PM

» Get A Free Catalog from Online Catalog
Phrase Search Catalog Quick Add Request a Free Catalog ... [Read More]

Tracked on Mar 26, 2006 5:59:15 AM

» Cell Phones from mobilebum.info
News and ... Sep News of Safety phones, new cell phone phones Cell time ... [Read More]

Tracked on Apr 8, 2006 2:19:10 AM

» Furniture search by phrase: Tabletop from Searching the Catalog
Modern furniture design store : Contemporary lighting, cool accessories and ... with the exact phrase. with at least one of the words. without the words ... [Read More]

Tracked on Apr 9, 2006 6:10:58 AM

» Most popular words 2006: from Reader's Favorites at Scientific American
The articles includes Editor's Favorites, top e-mailed stories, and most popular articles. ... Babies Can Learn Words as Early as 10 Months ... [Read More]

Tracked on Apr 12, 2006 8:13:59 PM

» Cell Phone Chargers-eBay from Cell phones: Cell phone reviews, Mobile phone reviews
Battery chargers are made to fit particular cell phone models. ... Car chargers are one of the most popular cell phone accessories. ... [Read More]

Tracked on Apr 16, 2006 4:42:37 AM

» Historic Live Broadcast Auction Of Henry Miller's Personal Memorabilia on April 22nd from Cancer and subsequent
will be available on this rare simultaneous broad/webcast on Saturday, April 22nd, 2006 at 9:00 pm EST/6:00 pm PST on: Direct [Read More]

Tracked on Apr 22, 2006 2:13:14 AM

» New Year Promises from neither Nepal's
neither Nepal's demonstrators nor its embattled king seem willing to back down [Read More]

Tracked on Apr 26, 2006 8:15:08 AM

» Free & Open Source Software Portal: Search from An Online Directory
Popular links � Discussion Forum. Directory Search. By Keyword. Advanced Search. Directory New Links. New links added this week. links in Portal... [Read More]

Tracked on Apr 27, 2006 12:20:31 AM

» Auto Search: 1939 oldsmobile title from Online Auto Guise
Search and Compare Certified Pre-Owned Cars. Car Shopping Tools and Advice � 2006 Auto Shows � New York Auto Show Check out 2007 models and cool concepts ... [Read More]

Tracked on Apr 27, 2006 9:44:08 AM

» Finance Search Online: all state farm car insurance from Business Finance Online
Business Finance Online Product/Service Directory. Search for business finance related products and services by browsing the directory of business finance ... [Read More]

Tracked on Apr 28, 2006 1:26:59 AM

» The Interactive NGC Catalog Online from Official Catalog
The Interactive NGC Catalog Online. This is the interactive NGC (and IC, and Messier) catalog at SEDS, based on the famous NGC 2000.0 by RW Sinnott of Sky ... [Read More]

Tracked on Apr 30, 2006 12:33:59 AM

» Doctors Asked to Monitor Patient Activity from edical Group
edical Group Asks Pediatricians to Routinely Monitor How Active Patients Are [Read More]

Tracked on May 2, 2006 1:24:14 AM

» Job Search from Directory with Free People Search
Perform a quick job search using Job Bank USA's powerful job search engine. ... Thank you for using Job Bank USA's employment search services and job search ... [Read More]

Tracked on May 7, 2006 4:18:04 PM

» USA Search Engine Optimization from Advanced Search | US
Directory of USA (USA) search engine optimization (seo) and marketing professionals for web sites, internet development and viral marketing campaigns. [Read More]

Tracked on May 7, 2006 4:35:15 PM

» �� Google - World > Russian from �� -��
�� ... Russian > �� > �� > � �� > ��, �� : [��] [English] ... [Read More]

Tracked on May 19, 2006 6:37:05 PM

» Search in Directory: knights templar from Directory Map
Directory of hundreds of search engines, organised by country and topic. [Read More]

Tracked on May 24, 2006 9:36:36 AM

» Die Schweizer Suchmaschine from dir.pogovorim.com
Suchmaschine fr die Schweiz mit regionaler Volltextsuche (im domain und in weiteren Sites mit... [Read More]

Tracked on May 27, 2006 5:11:12 AM

» Hollywood Creative Directory from Directory Map
Contact information for the film, television and new media industries. [Read More]

Tracked on May 27, 2006 10:13:05 AM

» Moms Returning To Work from of SmartMoney.com
Senior Editor of SmartMoney.com Stephanie AuWerter offers up some tips to make the problem easier. [Read More]

Tracked on May 27, 2006 8:12:00 PM

» Fan goes batty transforming 1978 Corvette to Batmobile from Thanks for the
, Etc. , Chevrolet If you ever wondered, like Jack Nicholson's Joker, where Batman got his wonderful toys, we may [Read More]

Tracked on Jun 6, 2006 10:27:44 AM

» Internal Audit: Resources for Internal Auditors from Audit Company
Internal Audit - is the Web portal and online community for the internal audit profession provides free audit work programs, ICQ's, checklists, ... [Read More]

Tracked on Jun 6, 2006 8:22:26 PM

» Availity Selected as Top Female-Led Company in Northeast Florida CEO Julie Klapstein Honored from provider of e-health
top 50 women-led businesses in Florida. Availity#8217;s CEO, Julie Klapstein, made the list at number [Read More]

Tracked on Jun 29, 2006 1:31:56 AM

» USA towns: New KnoxvilleChalk Hill from USA MAP
USA - cities, towns and villages of the United States. Extensive business listings, community info, coupons and classified ads for USA cities, ... [Read More]

Tracked on Jul 22, 2006 10:55:36 AM

» Parlano Names Jay McGlynn Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales from the use of persistent
on the use of persistent group chat and enterprise instant messaging in financial services. [Read More]

Tracked on Jul 24, 2006 4:59:16 PM

» ALL Themes from Invision Power Board
He has set up a test blog so you can check it out - it�s great work. ... Note to all theme authors: In order to be considered for the competition, ... [Read More]

Tracked on Jul 25, 2006 2:20:46 PM

» Internet Statistic: looser and from Words 2006
Most Popular Words 2006... [Read More]

Tracked on Aug 1, 2006 1:03:00 AM

» Wiki: Search Results from MostDor
Search Results � WelcomeVisitors . . . . . . WhatIsWiki WhatIsWiki . . . . . . WhatIsWiki. 2 pages found out of 22 pages searched. ... [Read More]

Tracked on Aug 4, 2006 5:54:59 AM

» �� from Internet Search
�� : 0-9 B C D E F G H I L M O R S T V W � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � TOP 20... [Read More]

Tracked on Aug 15, 2006 8:55:50 AM

» Search Results Page - d from much.kiev.ua
Your search results... [Read More]

Tracked on Aug 15, 2006 1:30:33 PM