Claude Frédéric Bastiat (1801 — 1850) is one of the greatest economists ever. His role as organizer of the French, and inspiration of the nineteenth- century continental European free-trade movement is not controversial, and all historians recognize him as a great pamphleteer — some even calling him “the most brilliant economic journalist who ever
Volume 5, No. 2 (Summer 2002) Commerce and Government is an extremely important book in the Austrian tradition. Reason enough, I shall hope, for every Austrian economist to become acquainted with it. The book is essential reading for students of the history of economic thought, but it could also be used with great profit as a
Volume 5, No. 4 (Winter 2002) Originary interest does not spring from the passing of time, but from the value relationship between means and ends. the means of action are inherently less valuable than the ends they serve. Therefore there is a value spread between means and ends— originary interest—in all human actions in which means and
Volume 6, No. 4 (Winter 2003) Deflation is not only of great political importance. It also brings to light interesting theoretical problems that provide us with the opportunity to develop the theory of money and related areas such as business cycle theory. The works assembled in the present volume contribute to such development. Hopefully,
Volume 6, No. 4 (Winter 2003) Mainstream writings on monetary policy typically focus on the goals that are assumed to be the goals of monetary policy makers. Inflation targeting, employment, equilibration of the balance of payments, growth targets for monetary aggregates, the stabilization of exchange rates, GDP, or asset prices—these and similar
Volume 6, No. 4 (Winter 2003) The fundamental question we have to confront in the theory of monetary policy is therefore not whether money affects the real economy—yes it does, both in the short run and in the long run—but whether changes of the money supply can make society better off in the aggregate. Austrian economists who follow the
Volume 7, No. 4 (Winter 2004) Court decisions and legislation have a profound impact on the economy because they define and modify property rights. Economists have therefore always been interested in analyzing this impact. In the present work, we will deliver a critique of Coase’s approach and then outline an alternative approach to the
Volume 7, No. 4 (Winter 2004) The present number of the QJAE features the proceedings of a symposium held on March 29–30, 2001 at the Mises Institute. The theme “Austrian Law and Economics: The Contributions of Reinach and Rothbard” brought together economists, jurists, and philosophers. The purpose of the meeting was to explore the
Volume 8, No. 4 (Winter 2005) The present work is a doctoral dissertation written at the University of Hamburg. It deals with Mises’s work on monetary economics and business cycle theory. After an introductory chapter, the author starts with a short presentation of Mises’s life and work and gives an overview of the Austrian School and
Volume 14, No. 4 (Winter 2011) In the wake of the bicentenary of his birth, Frédéric Bastiat (1801–1850), his achievements, and his legacy have been reconsidered by scholars all over the western world. At the same time, his works and the secondary literature have become widely accessible through the Internet. Robert Leroux exploits these
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.