Robert P. Murphy

Articles

12/25/2025 Mises Daily Robert P. Murphy

Consumer spending does not drive the economy. On the contrary, saving, investment, and entrepreneurship are the critical components of economic growth.

Book Review: The Gold Standard: Retrospect and Prospect

08/26/2025 Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics Robert P. Murphy

Bob Murphy reviews The Gold Standard: Retrospect and Prospect. This is a useful collection for those who want an evenhanded analysis of the gold standard that extends to modern topics such as cryptocurrency and currency boards.

The CBO Isn’t Allowed to Forecast an Inflationary Debt Crisis

07/10/2025 Mises Wire Robert P. Murphy

The CBO‘s forecasting restrictions prevent it from predicting an inflationary debt crisis, despite rising US debt and deficits. This limitation hinders proactive policy-making, risking economic instability.

Publications

Understanding Money Mechanics

Robert P. Murphy

The Understanding Money Mechanics series by Robert P. Murphy, is a comprehensive overview of the theory, history, and practice of money and banking, with a focus on the United States. The complete book is available both as an html and a pdf.

Understanding Money Mechanics

12/08/2021 Robert P. Murphy

This book provides the intelligent layperson with a concise yet comprehensive overview of the theory, history, and practice of money and banking, with a focus on the United States. Although the author considers himself an Austrian school economist

The Sizzle of Economic Freedom

08/30/2018 Robert P. Murphy Lawrence J. McQuillan

Freedom lovers have long tried to win converts — and especially voters — by appealing to first principles of classical liberalism embraced by the Founding Fathers: above all, the inalienable right of an individual to chart the course of his own life

Media

Cantillon Effects and the Politics of Money Creation

04/02/2026 Robert P. Murphy

This week, Bob explains Cantillon effects: the insight that new money doesn't raise all prices equally or simultaneously, but flows through the economy in a sequence that benefits early recipients at the expense of everyone else. Then, he shows why this phenomenon is the foundation on which the entire Austrian theory of the business cycle is built.

Can AI Solve the Socialist Calculation Problem?

03/27/2026 Robert P. Murphy

Bob untangles two arguments that even Austrian economists sometimes conflate: Mises' calculation problem and Hayek's knowledge problem. Then, he explains why the distinction matters, especially in light of recent claims that AI and modern computing could finally make central planning viable.

Visualizing The Boom-Bust Cycle with Roger Garrison

03/21/2026 Robert P. Murphy

In memory of Roger Garrison, Bob walks through Garrison's famous capital-based macroeconomics diagrams, showing how they translate the Mises-Hayek theory of the boom-bust cycle into the language of modern macroeconomics.

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