The Week in Review: April 2, 2016
This weekend, over 130 scholars from over 10 countries and 58 colleges and universities gathered in Auburn for the 2016 Austrian Economics Research Conference. The continual growth of AERC is a testament to the growing strength of the Austrian school, both in America and abroad. As Lew Rockwell wrote this week:
Andrew Carnegie: An Economic Biography
Robert Mulligan to be Dean of School of Business and Economics at Indiana University East
Robert Mulligan, longtime Associated Scholar of the Mises Institute will join Indiana University East this summer as the new Dean of the School of Business and Economics, beginning July 1, 2016:
The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and Other Essays Now Available in Japanese
Thanks to the great Tatsuya Iwakura, who has translated numerous books by Austrian economists into Japanese, The Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle and Other Essays, edited by Richard Ebeling, is now available as a Kindle book in Japanese.
What the Federal Reserve Could Do
The financial media is abuzz with speculation about what the Fed will do next, and whether it will decide to hike the federal funds rate target at its April Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. There is a lot of speculation too as to what the Fed might do in the event of another recession or financial crisis. Some recent articles at the Brookings Institution delve into that possibility. And what is the first potential policy action discussed? Negative interest rates.
New York Finally Legalizes (and Heavily Taxes) Mixed Martial Arts
The long awaited legalization of mixed martial arts (MMA) in the state of New York is finally here. The New York State Assembly passed the measure on Tuesday, March 22nd by an overwhelming 113–25 vote.
Will North Korea and Cuba Ever Be Wealthy?
After years of claiming to embrace revolutionary Marxism, the Cuban state is, for reasons of necessity and pragmatism, moving toward becoming a more traditional authoritarian state. Even once Raul and Fidel Castro are dead, it’s rather unlikely that the Cuban government will suddenly turn to a political system that leans heavily in favor of relatively free markets.
5. Binary Intervention: Government Expenditures
WHEN1 WRITERS ON PUBLIC FINANCE and political economy reach the topic of “government expenditures,” they have traditionally abandoned analysis and turned to simple institutional description of various types of governmental expenditure.
4. The Myth of “Public” Ownership
We all hear a great deal about “public” ownership. Whenever the government owns property, in fact, or operates an enterprise, it is referred to as “publicly owned.” When natural resources are sold or given to private enterprise, we learn that the “public domain” has been “given away” to narrow private interests. The inference is that when the government owns anything, “we”—all members of the public—own equal shares of that property. Contrast to this broad sweep the narrow, petty interests of mere “private” ownership.
