“Infrastructure investments” or public works have long been the refuge of Keynesians and other progressives of like stripes as a cure for recession or stagnation. How can there be any significant costs to such projects when resources are idle and interest rates are low? The charge has been renewed with the announcement earlier this week of the
Yesterday when I went for my infusion, I brought two items of reading material with me; The Wall Street Journal and the SSRN un-gated version of the Steve Horwitz’s forthcoming paper in the Spring 2015 issue of Social Philosophy and Policy , “Inequality, Mobility, and Being Poor in America.” The paper is one of the best summaries of a very common
It is good to see Martin Feldstein, Professor of Economics at Harvard, President Emeritus of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and chair of Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1982 to 1984, join Joe Salerno ( here , here , ), Mark Thornton who has revived the term, apoplithorismosphobia (ay-pope-lit-horris-mos-foe-be-ah) or
Over at EconLog Alberto Mingardi has an excellent post on “ Ebeling on Mises, the Applied Economist . ” Ebeling is one of the top Mises scholars. Mingardi’s introduction : The Liberty Fund has recently made available on line the introductions, written by Richard Ebeling, to the three volumes of “Selected Essays” by Ludwig von Mises that he edited
In an editorial in the Wall Street Journal economist Douglas Coate suggests a need for “ Improving the GOP’s Free-Market Pitch .” He correctly points out, “Capitalism’s virtues don’t easily reduce to sound bites, but that isn’t a reason to give up.” Then he provides a reasonable summary of the benefits of free markets or capitalism including an
One of the more important monetary theorists of the mid to late 1900s, Leland Yeager, Ludwig von Mises Professor of Economics, Emeritus, at Auburn University, recently turned 90. The Mises Institute last week hosted a reception his honor. Multiple tributes to Professor Yeager are available at the free banking blog. Well worth reading to anyone
LearnLiberty.org is offering a new course developed by George Crowley of Troy University titled “ Subliminal Lessons from South Park : A Super Primer on Economics and Politics .” The course blurb: Hooowdy Ho Everbody! We are excited to bring you our newest program on economic lessons from the greatest TV show in the world, South Park. In this
I just received my first copy of The Austrian , which replaces The Free Market as the flagship publication for Mises Institute members. If the first issue is any indication they will live up to their promise of a “bolder and more robust version of what you have known for decades.” I especially look forward to again seeing regular book reviews from
More evidence the future of Austrian economics is in good hands is Patrick Newman’s (a PhD student at George Mason University and a participant in the 2012 Mises Institute Summer Fellowship program) excellent piece of scholarship recently published in the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics as “ The Depression of 1873: An Austrian Perspective
[Originally published February 25, 2015.] There is a sliver of good news on the central banking front. Given the Fed’s poor performance before and after the 2007–08 financial crisis and Great Recession, and its now recognized 100 year history of failure , at least some members of Congress, even without Ron Paul, are now willing to consider major
What is the Mises Institute?
The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.
Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.