It has been interesting to read reactions to the recent speech ( Deflation: Making Sure “It” Doesn’t Happen Here ) given by Fed Governor Ben S. Bernanke before the National Economists Club in Washington, D.C., on November 21, 2002. Most commentators have focused, with merit, on Bernanke’s alarmingly sanguine approach to monetary inflation as a
Deflation is popularly defined as a general fall in prices; it is the opposite of what most people generally think of as inflation. It is most commonly associated with the Depression and with the recent economic woes in Japan. Perhaps as a result of this common association, or perhaps as a result of a more general weakness in the clarity of
An impending power grab by Eliot Spitzer, the Democrat attorney general for New York, threatens to disrupt Wall Street and the entire system of capital allocation. What used to be one of the freest financial markets in the world is about to go further down the path of political interventionism and corporatism. In the name of helping the small
Franklin Raines, speaking for the Bush administration, says that he is in the “American Dream business.” Raines is chairman and CEO of Fannie Mae, a corporation whose mission is “to tear down barriers, lower costs, and increase the opportunities for homeownership and affordable rental housing for all Americans. Because having a safe place to call
As a young man, Alan Greenspan considered himself to be a partial follower of Ludwig von Mises. Like Mises, he wrote in favor of capitalism, free markets, and sound money. He cofounded a successful economics consulting firm and earned a Ph.D. in economics at Columbia University. He served as chairman of President Ford’s Council of Economic
It is hard to exaggerate the economic and political conditions in Argentina. With the economy in the grip of a paralysis, with unemployment soaring to depression levels, and with street rioting killing 28 people just before Christmas, the country is on the brink of civil war. It was just over a decade ago, in 1991, that Argentina seemed to make a
It is surely more shameful to lose a good reputation than never to have had one. During the great equity bubble of the 1990s Alan Greenspan acquired an illustrious reputation as the world’s greatest central banker and staunch guardian of the U.S. dollar. His admirers in the U.S. Congress never tired of applauding him and Queen Elizabeth of the
Argentina’s default came as no surprise. The amazing thing is not that the collapse of the Argentinean economy finally occurred, but the length of time it took to happen. Why have private and public lenders extended loans for so long a time? Why have they continued doing so even when all warning lights were flashing red? How did Argentina manage
Argentina’s recent bankruptcy and the spreading financial turmoil in its neighboring countries are just the latest chapters in Latin America’s long history of foreign debt and default. The first wave of international payment inability occurred in the 1820s. After Latin American countries regained access to external markets, it did not take long
Since the early 1980s, the United States has been the major destination for foreign goods on a global scale. With an increasing part of these imports being financed by debt creation, the international monetary system has been swamped with liquidity. A financial bubble has emerged and penetrated each corner of domestic and international financial
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.