While it is important that attention be paid to the slow recovery and to “ What is holding the economy back ,” the two most recent boom-bust episodes should have more clearly focused attention of economists on the need for significant monetary reform. The major goal of reform should the replacement of a central bank controlled fiat monetary regime
Peter Boettke has an excellent commentary over at Coordination Problem , “Is This How the Myth of the Laissez Faire Herbert Hoover Was Invented?”. He concludes, “Herbert Hoover was as much of a laissez faire president as Barack Obama has been or the leaders in Europe have been. From a free market perspective, the steps taken since 2007 have turned
On target commentary on recent GDP numbers by Shawn Ritenour. As long as investment stays weak, job growth will be weak. Foundations of Economics: U.S. Economy Grows at 2%? . More detailed discussion is here . For data on the relationship between real gross private domestic private investment and employment see below (HT to Danny Sanchez).
Today the Mises Institute faculty provide excellent responses to Paul Krugman and his query re Austrian economics, MMMF, and financial intermediation. But even legitimate intermediation can be a source for bad policy. Re MMMF and the past crisis see some interesting commentary by Garett Jones at
My colleague at Metro State, Alex Padilla, provides solid commentary (on-line Denver Post ) on a Colorado ballot issue, amendment 64, to decriminalize marijuana in Colorado. Nicely done Alex. However as a small quibble from someone who has written on separating school and state, I am not sure that the measure “dedicates $40 million in revenue to
More signs that the writings of Hayek, Mises, and modern Austrian economists are beginning to have some influence even in places where it might be least expected despite the efforts of Professors DeLong and Krugman to discredit thses ideas. Today’s Wall Street Journal “Weekend Interview”, “Zhang Weiying: China’s Anti-Keynesian Insurgent”
Gerald P. O’Driscoll has an important new working paper at Cato, “ Central Banks: Abolish or Reform .” HT to Kurt Schuler at Free Banking . Conclusion: We have two bad systems: the fiscal and the monetary. They are intertwined now as they were in the 18 th and 19 th centuries. They must be reformed, or together they will destroy the economic
In case you missed it (I did the first time around so a HT Pete Boettke and Jeff Tucker): Art Carden at Forbes on “ The Greatest Thinker You’ve Never Read: Ludwig von Mises. ” Highlights: One of the wonders of the modern world is that his major contributions are available to be perused or downloaded from the institute bearing his name [Ludwig von
Causes of Slow and/or Unsustainable Recovery In a comment on Malinvestment and Regime Uncertainty , Dick Fox wrote: “Professor, I am a little confused. The first part of your paper concentrates on the fact that policies have hindered investment, but then at the end of the paper you imply that artificially low interest rates are artificially
HOLMAN W. JENKINS, JR. of the Wall Street Journal channels David M. Brown at Mises Daily : Hug a Price Gouger “The public doesn’t want to hear it, but the public also doesn’t like empty shelves.” Sounding like Bastiat, Jenkins concludes, “Crackdowns on gouging are plausible only because the advantages of not prosecuting price gougers belong to the
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.