Philosophy and Methodology

Daniel Hausman, an influential philosopher of economics, in a recent interview has much to say of interest to Austrians.

It's been a light season for hurricanes and tropical storms in North America, and contrary to what many economics "experts" may think, that's a good thing. After all, natural disasters are extremely costly in terms of opportunity costs and capital.

Frédéric Bastiat would have turned 214 today. Although primarily remembered for The Law, Bastiat's book Economic Sophisms, filled with Bastiat's unique wit, and his ability to destroy bad economic theories, is as timely as ever.

Mathematical economic models have a poor record of making accurate predictions, which makes sense since human action cannot be quantified by numbers. On the other hand, an understanding of sound economics can help us make good qualitative predictions.

Billions of tax dollars have been spent on scientific studies and public programs designed to tell Americans what to eat and how to be healthy. The experiment has failed, and we have nothing to show for it.

Medicine has gone the way of economics in preferring aggregates to specifics, although such methods do little to explain the needs of individual patients. On the other hand, the turn toward large-scale aggregation does help the government to centrally plan health care policy.

It is now commonplace for governments to measure economic prosperity with GDP metrics. Numerous arbitrary rules and faulty assumptions behind these measures, however, skew our view of how economies grow and living standards improve.

When Mother Teresa used her Nobel Prize money to fund services for the poor, she was exhibiting “self-interest,” but not selfishness.

Hoppe explains three of the most momentous events in the history of mankind: the Neolithic Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the origin and development of the State.

When Mother Teresa used her Nobel Prize money to fund services for the poor, she was exhibiting "self-interest," but not selfishness. Like virtually everyone else, she used her property to achieve an end she valued, but which benefited others as well.