Money Supply

Before J. M. Keynes and Stephanie Kelton, there was John Law. The promise of free money never seems to die.

Before J. M. Keynes and Stephanie Kelton, there was John Law. The promise of free money never seems to die.

This week, Bob explains Cantillon effects: the insight that new money doesn't raise all prices equally or simultaneously, but flows through the economy in a sequence that benefits early recipients at the expense of everyone else. Then, he shows why this phenomenon is the foundation on which the entire Austrian theory of the business cycle is built.

Milton Friedman and others tried to explain interest rates using liquidity, economic activity, and inflation expectations. These things, however, only describe interest but do not explain it. Only the Austrian theory of time preference correctly explains interest.

Milton Friedman and others tried to explain interest rates using liquidity, economic activity, and inflation expectations. These things, however, only describe interest but do not explain it. Only the Austrian theory of time preference correctly explains interest.

In commemoration of Murray Rothbard’s 100th birthday, Bob shares five “greatest hits” from Rothbard’s economics, covering deficits vs. inflation, monopoly theory, excess capacity, the time structure of production, and his reconstruction of utility and welfare economics.

The US economy is hooked on easy money and artificially low interest rates. Huge credit expansions are not “stimulating” the economy; they are destroying it.

The US economy is hooked on easy money and artificially low interest rates. Huge credit expansions are not “stimulating” the economy; they are destroying it.

As the Federal Reserve has delayed lowering the federal funds rate, the money supply has stabilized in recent months. This trend also reflects rising delinquencies, falling home sales, and stagnating employment.

How much money does an economy need in circulation to function? Austrians believe that a growing economy does not need a growing supply of money, which sets Austrian economics apart from other schools of economic thought.