Austrians in the tradition of Mises and Rothbard stress the resilience of a free-market economy, and they believe that the institution of private property — along with the profit-and-loss test — will steer resources into their most valuable niches. However, most Austrians stop short of following Chicago School economists’ advocacy of the “
Jim Manzi is not a professional economist, but he has been asking some very good questions about the confidence economists have in their models. In response, actual economist Karl Smith has defended the broad macroeconomic models that invite further “stimulus” from both the government and Federal Reserve. Ironically, Smith claims to be a fan of
In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal , Alan Blinder listed numerous alleged benefits of a phased-in carbon tax. Out of his entire column, he devoted a single sentence to the possible downside of his plan when he wrote, “No one likes to pay higher taxes.” A more balanced assessment shows that a carbon tax presents very real dangers, even
It’s not newsworthy when Paul Krugman contradicts himself. However, in two recent blog posts on the varying economic fortunes of US states, Krugman’s about-face was so complete and so fast that I just have to share. Krugman’s Kind of Contradiction At the outset I should note that Paul Krugman is a very clever, careful guy. It’s extremely rare when
Everyone knows that the unemployment situation is very bad, but the official figures (not surprisingly) understate the problem. In this article I’ll outline the severity of the stalled labor market, and explain some of the major causes. The Employment Outlook According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the official civilian unemployment
After the catastrophic earthquake, the tsunami, and the nuclear-reactor scares, the Japanese currency ironically strengthened quite sharply. In response, the Bank of Japan and other major central banks last week launched a coordinated “intervention” into the currency markets in order to intentionally weaken the yen. In this article I’ll explain
Five months into the second round of quantitative easing — “ QE2 “ — it is useful to take stock of what it has, and has not, accomplished. In short, the monetary base is way, way up, price inflation is up, long-term interest rates are up, and bank lending is down . QE2 has thus begun to deliver on all the dangers of which the critics warned, but
An amusing story on NPR recently explained the origin of a new collection of Dr. Seuss stories. The tale involves an entrepreneurial dentist with a passion for Seuss and a knack for exploiting price spreads. Explaining profits that are fat? We here at Mises know a lot about that! Is There a Doctor in the Magazine? We can excerpt from the NPR
With the debate over the federal government’s budget as the hot topic of the day, the proponents of big spending have gone into overdrive with their mantra that Herbert Hoover was a small-government liquidationist. As often as this myth is repeated, it’s important to show that it is wrong: Herbert Hoover was a big-government man who did not trust
Although it has been temporarily drowned out by the discussion of Osama bin Laden, the debate over the federal-government debt ceiling continues. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Geithner sent a letter to Congress explaining that the statutory debt limit would be reached around May 16, and therefore Geithner would implement “extraordinary measures”
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.