How Economic Specialization Led to the Welfare State

A smart bit of analysis of economic history:

Something I haven't seen mentioned in any economics text I've read -- book, article, blog post, etc. -- is why the welfare state, in some form or other, always pops up when people begin to specialize.

It is not some far-off side effect of specialization that gave birth to the welfare state, but the very fact of specializing more and more narrowly in our job tasks.

How Much Does Testing Cost?

From Douglas Harris' book "Value-Added Measures in Education," p. 203:

"Currently, less than 2 percent of current K-12 expenditures go to fund the entire state and federal systems of standards, assessments, and accountability, and switching from tests now in use to IB tests, for example, would increase costs from $15 to $34 per student to $113 to $161 per student."

A Trivia Quiz for Dogs

Inspired by Dr. Boli (see here and here), here is a trivia quiz for your dog:

1. Who was the American author of The Morning After and Last Night in Paradise?
2. Who was the Danish pietist preacher who died in 1738?
3. Who was the French author of La vie et la passion de Dodin-Bouffant, gourmet (translation: The Passionate Epicure)?
4. Who was the President of Germany from 2010 to 2012?
5. Who has been described as “most eminent German philosopher between Leibniz and Kant”?
6. What is the common English name for the wading bird Philomachus pugnax?

ANSWERS AFTER THE BREAK: 
Read more »