Rothbard on the Economics of Slavery

Abstract: Murray Rothbard wrote an unpublished note in the early 1960s on the economics of antebellum slavery. Essentially, it was a criticism of the methodology of the New Economic History, or cliometrics, of which Conrad and Meyer (1958a) was the breakthrough application, on the topic of the profitability of slavery. Rothbard points out that their procedure in no way supports their conclusion that slavery was profitable or their ideological conclusion that the Civil War was necessary to end American slavery.

A Note on Some Recent Misinterpretations of the Cantillon Effect

Abstract: Book (2019) claims that Austrian economists attach too much weight to Cantillon’s discussion of monetary redistribution, while Sumner (2012a, 2012b, 2012c) argues that it makes very little difference how new money is injected. In this note, I critically review these arguments, finding that they are unconvincing. The Cantillon effect matters, and the Austrians correctly analyze it.

inflation — central bank  monetary policy — austrian economics — cantillon effect
JEL Classification: B11, B53, E31, E51

Three Ways the Coronavirus May Significantly Accelerate Political Decentralization

The coronavirus pandemic, and resulting government response, has created one of the greatest disruptions to daily life in modern American history. With much of the country now focused on “reopening,” pundits and policymakers have focused their attention on what the “new normal” of a post-COVID America looks like. Although much of the attention has been focused on the future of massive public gatherings and changes to American work environments, the most significant change to American societies may be faith in our governing structures.

The Relevance of Bitcoin to the Regression Theorem: A Reply to Luther

Abstract: Given Bitcoin’s apparent lack of non-monetary uses, Luther (2018) argues that its emergence as a medium of exchange invalidates the regression theorem, or at least severely limits its relevance to identifying which commodities could emerge as media of exchange in the absence of State intervention. However, this view misinterprets both the regression theorem itself and the problem it was developed to address.

Subscribe to