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Mark Thornton

Senior Fellow

Tags Big GovernmentBiographiesBook ReviewsBooms and BustsThe EntrepreneurFinancial MarketsFree MarketsHealthPovertyThe Police StateU.S. HistoryBusiness CyclesEntrepreneurshipHistory of the Austrian School of EconomicsPrivate Property

Works Published inReview of Austrian Economics, Volumes 1-10Austrian Economics NewsletterArticles of InterestSpeeches and PresentationsMises Daily ArticleThe Journal of Libertarian StudiesQuarterly Journal of Austrian EconomicsThe Free Market

Mark Thornton is the Peterson-Luddy Chair in Austrian Economics and a Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute. He serves as the Book Review Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. His publications include The Economics of Prohibition (1991), Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation: The Economics of the Civil War (2004), The Quotable Mises (2005), The Bastiat Collection (2007), An Essay on Economic Theory (2010), The Bastiat Reader (2014), and The Skyscraper Curse and How Austrian Economists Predicted Every Major Crisis of the Last Century (2018).

Dr. Thornton served as the editor of the Austrian Economics Newsletter and was a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Libertarian Studies and several other academic journals. He has served as a member of the graduate faculties of Auburn University and Columbus State University. He has also taught economics at Auburn University at Montgomery and Trinity University in Texas. Mark served as Assistant Superintendent of Banking and economic adviser to Governor Fob James of Alabama (1997-1999), and he was awarded the University Research Award at Columbus State University in 2002. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and received his PhD in economics from Auburn University. In 2014, he debated in opposition to the "War on Drugs" at Oxford Union.

Dr. Thornton has been featured in American Spectator, Barron's, Bloomberg, Christian Science Monitor, The Economist, Forbes, Investors' Business Daily, Le Monde, New York Post, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Economic Times (India), Financial Times (Norway), and Tejarat-e-Farda (Iran). He has also had regular multiple appearances on Russia Today and Press TV

His editorials and interviews have appeared in the following leading regional newspapers: Apple Daily (Hong Kong), Atlanta Constitution, Birmingham News, Business Alabama, Chicago Sun-Times, Houston Chronicle, Mobile Press Register, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, Montgomery Advertiser, New York Post, Orange County Register, Richmond Times Dispatch, Tampa Tribune, and the Washington Times

His commentary appears regularly in the Mises Daily and the Mises Wire. He also appears regularly on "Boom-Bust," "RT," "Butler on Business," "Tom Woods Show," "Thom Hartmann Show," "Scott Horton Show," "Press TV and "Freedom Works." He is the host of the podcast Minor Issues. 

The Skyscraper Curse: And How Austrian Economists Predicted Every Major Economic Crisis of the Last Century

The FedBusiness CyclesMoney and Banking

07/10/2018Books
In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, the economics profession suffered a blow to what reputation it had. But unlike most of his colleagues, Mark Thornton was vindicated by 2008. Mark has been a voice of sanity at times when the wild interventions of the Federal Reserve have caused otherwise...
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The Economics of Prohibition

HealthThe Police State

12/01/1991Books
It is conventional wisdom that alcohol prohibition failed, but the economic reasons for this failure have never been as extensively detailed or analyzed as they are in this study by Mark Thornton.
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All Works

All-Time Highs!

The FedFinancial MarketsU.S. Economy

8 hours agoMises Media
Mark explains why the recent "all-time highs"—even "new highs"—are an ambiguous signal about the future.
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Jim Chanos and Stock Markets

The FedFinancial MarketsU.S. Economy

11/25/2023Mises Media
Mark looks at the implications of famed investor Jim Chanos shutting down his hedge fund which specialized in shorting stocks.
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Mohamed El-Erian's New Views on the Fed

The FedU.S. Economy

11/18/2023Mises Media
Mark reports on Pimco's former financial guru Mohamed El-Erian's new views on the Federal Reserve.
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Seed Corn and Dry Powder

InflationMedia and CultureU.S. Economy

11/11/2023Mises Media
Mark looks at the financial conditions on the cusp of the next recession.
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Monetary Chaos

InflationMedia and Culture

11/04/2023Mises Media
Another round of monetary chaos is coming.
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