I have just heard, on the news, that we are lucky that a hurricane is headed our way. It seems that economists say that past hurricanes have been good for the economy because they stimulate demand- demand for rebuilding things like broken windows. Better to call them ‘noneconomists’ as Mises might have. Who might they be? Krugman? Anyway, this
One of the most common fear concerning free international trade is that jobs in high wage countries (like the US) will be lost to low wage countries (like Mexico). The way the argument usually goes is that workers in some places lack the political power or union organization to get higher wages. This assumes that employers can pay their workers
Larry Kudlow has greeted the news this week of 7.2% GDP growth with great enthusiasm. He sees a ‘barnburner recovery’ in this data. This, he thinks, is a true recovery. What is the source of this recovery? Capital expenditures rose 11%, up from 8% from the last quarter. A combination of tax cuts and expansionary monetary policy from the fed
The recent collapse of financial giants Lehman and AIG have led to new calls for regulation. Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has proposed a six point plan to deal with the current financial situation. He believes that the government needs to “correct the incentives for executives” by requiring that bonuses be paid on five year
Several weeks ago the Southern Economics Association held its 78th annual meeting. At the close of the Presidential Address several hundred economists made their way to the escalators. There were two running upwards, but for some reason everyone was packing into the nearest one, the more distant of the two being six inches further left. In
In a reply to a recent mises.org weblog posting someone posted a challenge- Would anyone be so kind as to tell me in which countries poverty was eliminated by means of your (Austrian) enlightened theories?...” the author of the original post replied with several good examples, without discussing any specific details of how these countries managed
Among current proponents of activist government, few have greater name recognition than Paul Krugman. While most economists focus on communicating their ideas to their students and peers, professor Krugman has targeted the educated public with his work. This work now includes an introduction to The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money
Milton Friedman died today at the age of 94. His passing is a milestone. Friedman stood out as a leading figure in the fight for limited government and personal freedom in the mid twentieth century. Of course, libertarianism has in some ways developed beyond the writings of Friedman. Today many libertarians advocate privatization beyond what
Among the critics of Austrian economics none is so close, yet so far, from being an Austrian as Bryan Caplan. In his latest effort to discredit Austrian Economics Bryan has taken on the idea of time preference. According to Bryan the idea that interest rates and intertemporal consumption decisions depend upon time preference is wrong. All one need
Tyler Cowen has written a provocative essay: The Paradox of Libertarianism . According to Tyler, the pursuit of libertarian ideals has led to the unintended consequence of expanding government. The logic of his argument is simple. Every time libertarians win an argument, politicians cease to do particular stupid things. When government ceases to
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.