Yi Gang, director of the Monetary Policy Department of the People’s Bank of China, admitted that the quick growth in credit was despite the central bank’s precautionary measures. He cautioned that excess lending, if not effectively checked, may lead to serious problems to undermine the entire Chinese economy development: A fast rise in money
Rebar Shortage Puts a Crimp on Building (LATimes): “Rebar is just a lowly scrap metal, but it’s starting to look like gold on some construction sites. The steel reinforcing rods used in building everything from skyscrapers to freeway sound walls are in short supply on the West Coast. That has led to sporadic delays at building projects around
The Free Market 21, no. ( 2003) Three years into one of the most severe bear markets in history, the most striking feature of the typical economic discussion is the persistent state of denial about how perilous our situation truly is. Also notable is the unthinking promulgation of a species of economic fallacies which, though long since
In a hard-hitting address first given to the American Statistical Society back in 1934, Fritz Machlup laid out the crucial concept of capital consumption for his audience. ( Review of Economic Statistics , Volume 17, Issue 1, January 15, 1935, pp. 13-19.) Machlup looked at what factors might induce entrepreneurs to divert funds normally
Two and a half years into one of the most severe Bear Markets in History, the most striking feature of the typical economic discussion is the persistent state of denial about how parlous our situation truly is. Also notable is the unthinking promulgation of a species of economic fallacies which, though long since discredited, keep springing up
From either side of the Atlantic, two of the more influential proselytes of that degenerate old collectivist, John Maynard Keynes, have chosen to re-iterate all the old myths once again. ‘Now the corporate sector at large doesn’t merely want to reduce its net borrowings but actually in many cases wants to become a net saver. In the language of
How much comfort can the U.S. take in the sufferings of Japan? In a side-by-side comparison of the productivity of the two economies, the U.S. comes off looking worse than one might expect, while Japan, long in the mire of recession, not as badly as one might assume. True, this little examination may seem misplaced now that Resona Bank, Japan’s
“One way to make sure that the manufacturing sector does well is to send a message overseas, [to] say, look, we expect there to be a fair playing field when it comes to trade. See, we in America believe we can compete with anybody, just so long as the rules are fair, and we intend to keep the rules fair.” Dubya-Dubya-III in Richfield , Ohio In a
As all Austrians should be aware, recessions themselves only come about as a reaction to the unsustainable tempo of the preceding Boom. They also know that, at root, the Boom itself always has its genesis in an unwarranted expansion of the means of payment. When the central bank proactively encourages--or retroactively endorses--a credit
Inflation tends not only to pressure, but to increase, the maldistribution of labour between industries, which must produce unemployment as soon as the inflation ceases. F.A. Hayek, Open or Repressed Inflation , 1969. The failings of the Macromancers who dominate contemporary economic reasoning can be encapsulated as follows: if you can’t leave
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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.