New German-Language Book on Monetary Policy
Philipp Bagus and Andreas Marquart have co-authored a new introductory text on monetary policy for German-language readers.
Here’s a brief description:
How the Drug War Makes Drugs Less Safe
The legal incentives created by prohibition lead to artificially restricted production, decreasing the supply, and causing the price to skyrocket. Prohibition transforms users into criminals by making their drug use a large financial burden, enticing many to commit real crimes. All of this is a disaster for the addicts.
To Understand Public Policy, First Understand Markets
The “public issues” of today are crucially dependent on an understanding of sound economics. Virtually every major “public” or “social” issue involves proposals for government interference with the market. That’s why it’s crucial for lovers of liberty to understand how a voluntary economic marketplace works, in order to explode the myths and lies of its enemies.
Advancing Pharmaceutical and Medical Technology Does Not Depend on Patents
Pharmaceutical drug manufacturers are often regarded as the successes of the intellectual property regime. It is assumed that their willingness to take risks by investing heavily in R&D is justified by the awarding of patents over their lifesaving discoveries. Proponents of intellectual property claim that without patents many lifesaving drugs would not exist. They assert that generic drug manufacturers would diminish profit margins and dissipate the original manufacturer’s market share and innovation would come to a virtual standstill.
Hayek’s Rule and the Productivity Norm
p>My replacement at Metro State, Nicolas Cachanosky, continues to write interesting, challenging papers in the Austrian tradition faster than those of us used to the slower pace of retirement can read them. His most recent is “Hayek’s Rule, NGDP Targeting, and the Productivity Norm: Theory and Application.” Cachanosky notes:
Don’t Fear Deflation; Fear Central Banks
The always interesting and informative Richard Ebeling is doing regular commentary at EPICTiMES. His most recent is “Don’t fear Deflation, Unless Caused by Government.” Here Ebeling effectively refutes arguments made by Bernanke and Yellen that the Fed’s massive monetary base expansion was necessary to fight recession and prevent deflation.
Highlights:
Audio: Walter Block Explains Austrian Economics
This interview with Walter Block is a little old (May 2013), but we haven’t linked to it before.
Some highlights of the interview include:
- Block contrasts Austrian economists as philosophers compared to “normative“ economists which he characterizes as ethicists and empiricists.
- He highlights praxeology, the study of human interactions, as a central tenet of the Austrian school.
- He emphasizes
Mendacious NYT Reporter Smears Economists on Speculation
Thanks to Felix Salmon for quoting me in his take-down of this embarrassing NYT piece on Craig Pirrong and Scott Irwin, two well-known economists who study commodity-market speculation.
Top 10 Marijuana Stories for 2013
10. New polls indicate that 83% of Americans are in favor of legalized medical marijuana, 58% are in favor of legalized recreational marijuana.
9. Study shows that pot smokers are skinnier.
8. It was scientifically confirmed that chemicals in marijuana kill certain deadly cancer cells.
7. Low potency marijuana helps kids with debilitating epileptic seizures.
6. Hemp was legally grown in the US for the first time since 1957.
5. Arrests for marijuana have fallen over the couple of years from 900,000 per year to 750,000.
Regression Theorem and Bitcoin
Here is a letter I received about the Regression theorem:
