So-called insider trading may take place in publicly traded firms. It occurs when an individual privy to private information (the insider) attempts to profit on the buying and selling of stocks using non-public information to anticipate the stock’s future price. For example: Mr. Povedilla, senior director of Joint Public Works Ltd., knows that JPW
Exploring Capitalist Fiction: Business through Literature and Film , by Edward W. Younkins (Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2013). Aphorist Don Colacho once wrote that “a cloud of incense is worth a thousand sermons.” He meant that a glimpse of beauty and an emotional connection with a religious ceremony is more effective and edifying than many a
What would have happened if one or two states had somehow managed to legalize alcohol during prohibition? Most likely, those states would have become centers of entrepreneurship with retail outlets, medicines, and innovation in equipment, machinery, and other forms of capital related to alcohol-related industries. With the recent legalization of
While contemporary mythology has it otherwise, the market is not a distinct phenomenon: it is what exists when people interact and otherwise voluntarily transact with each other. The broad definition of the market is simply what people (choose to) do when they are not forced to do otherwise. So it is not surprising that even the Soviet Union,
In the absence of prices, could a central planner efficiently run an economy? Before you answer, I’ll drop the Hayekian proviso that the planner be vile. Instead, I’ll only ask you to consider a planner who is a soccer mom wanting to maximize happiness among all. Would you still answer in the negative? I live in a neighborhood that has an
If I were a business owner, must I sell to you? If you answer yes, you must balance that requirement with your obligation to buy from me. All trade is bilateral. Well, to be more exact, and since we live in a country where a nebby uncle named Sam interferes in many trades, it is better to state that all free trade is bilateral. In a modern
The efforts underway by the Service Employees International Union, and its political and media allies, to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour would, if successful, cause major unemployment among low-skilled workers, who are the supposed beneficiaries of those efforts. The reason is not only the fact that higher wages serve to raise
An Open letter to Thomas Perez, U.S. Secretary of Labor Dear Secretary Perez: Raising the minimum wage is a formula for causing unemployment among the least-skilled members of society. The higher wages are, the higher costs of production are. The higher costs of production are, the higher prices are. The higher prices are, the smaller are the
Members of an Austrian School of economics forum to which I belong have been discussing the source of economic progress. It began with the usual elements of capital, technological development, and managerial expertise before getting more philosophical when a member suggested the acceptance of rationality in all things. I felt this was not a proper
Voters in Washington State recently rejected a measure that would have required foods containing genetic engineering to be labeled. California voters did the same thing in 2012. Genetically-modified foods are derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that have been altered to contain a “new” protein or proteins. This is done by changing
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.