Bob Murphy

Author Archive

"Paul Krugman Is Not an Economist"

So says Bill Anderson. I used to think that was an over-the-top cheap shot, but the more I read Krugman, the more I think Bill is right. In a recent article on deficits, Krugman gives us this gem (amidst all kinds of other basic mistakes): Should the government have a permanent policy of running large […]

Highlights from Marginal Revolution

As some of you may have noticed, the frequency of posts here has plummeted in recent weeks. This is because I actually have “real work” to do, not to mention writing a book in (now) 6 weeks. But, that doesn’t stop me from being a wiseguy over at MR. In commenting on Chapter 4 of […]

Some Pretty Funny Animations From a Leftist

Karen DeCoster links to this funny take on the hypocrisy of “free market” bailout seekers. While browsing the guy’s site, I came across the best critique of “Drill Baby Drill” I’ve yet seen.

Hummel Not So Keen on Bernanke

Readers of this blog know that I disagree with Jeff Hummel’s praise for Alan Greenspan. However, the two of us agree that Bernanke doesn’t know what he’s doing. In this blog post, Hummel discusses the Fed’s decision to start paying interest on reserves. He says: I predict that future economic historians will look back on […]

A Man Like Murphy Comes Along Once Every 60 Years

So says Jeff Tucker (sort of) in this post, where he introduces the all-new Study Guide [pdf] to Human Action. In all seriousness, I think this guide accomplishes its function. As I explain in the preface, I discovered a very orderly organization of the book’s chapters and Parts that I had never noticed before. That […]

The Spinning Girl: You Won’t Believe Your Eyes

This is pretty incredible. In the comments to the FedEx post, Silas linked to this silhouette of a spinning girl. When I first looked at it, I would have bet $100 that it was “clearly” spinning in one direction. I sat and stared for a several seconds, and thought, “There is no way I could […]

DeLong’s Hilarious Admission

Longtime reader Von Pepe urges me to referee the dispute on Cato Unbound between Larry White and Brad DeLong. I just spent several hours this morning writing up an analysis for Mises.org, which presumably will run in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, let me say that I think Larry White is spot-on, […]

Casey Mulligan: Don’t Impose New Tax on Homeowners!

I am going to quibble with him in a forthcoming mises.org piece (concerning the Cato Unbound series on the financial crisis), but Chicago economist Casey Mulligan is on fire with his analysis of the horrible incentives in mortgage forgiveness plans that are tied to income. Here is his piece in the Chicago Tribune, but scroll […]