Bob Murphy

Author Archive

So Was Oil in a Speculative Bubble or Not?!

Over the last year, I pretty definitively painted myself into a corner regarding speculators and oil prices. I said in many places (here and here, for example) that speculators weren’t driving the record run-up in oil prices, and that the default explanation–changes in the fundamentals of supply and demand–were responsible. Specifically, I testified to the […]

Who Were the Worst Economists During the Housing Boom?

John Carney is starting a list of economists who botched the housing/financial crisis, and his first victim is Cato’s Alan Reynolds. I feel bad for Reynolds, because when you read the “shocking” quotes that Carney reproduces, I totally understand why a free market guy would say those things at the time. (Incidentally, this is why […]

Thinking Green: It’s All About Tradeoffs

This Wall Street Journal article (HT2 Rob Bradley) explains that some of the money you save in fuel from switching to a high-mpg vehicle is offset by higher insurance premiums: Small cars generally cost more to insure than larger ones because they’re involved in more accidents and incur bigger claims, especially for injuries. That’s true […]

Three Thoughts on the Bailout Switcheroo and Bogus Credit Crunch

(1) Isn’t this hilarious that the $700 billion “Troubled Asset Relief Program” contains all sorts of money for various companies–here’s a partial list–but not one thin dime for troubled asset relief? (2) So how do all those fools who were running around saying how much money the taxpayers were going to make on these purchases […]

Paulson on His Bailout: The Ol’ Switcheroo

So you know how it was a little weird that Paulson initially asked for $700 billion to buy dubious mortgage-backed securities and other assets, and then very quickly changed course and said they needed to use some of the money to “recapitalize” troubled banks? And then remember that the first $125 billion got injected into […]

Consumers Don’t Cause Recessions

Ah, I have outdone myself in this one. You know how you’ve wanted someone to rip apart the “circular flow diagram” for years? Well, enjoy. Learn it. Live it. Love it. Here’s an excerpt for those readers who are “busy” and need a hint before clicking a link: In his discussion of the “paradox of […]

A Reader Shares Her Airline Tax Story

Reader Lisa M. emailed to tell of her ordeal with the FAA / American Airlines. I’m not sure how much good it will do to publicize this, but I was stunned by the story (which seems real, e.g. the electronic receipt looked authentic) and so I am passing it along. The following is her letter […]

Peter Klein Stands Up for the Small Businessman[woman]

Peter Klein wants consumers to stop gouging gas station owners. (HT2 Steve Horwitz) Please join me in support for poor, beleaguered gas station owners, the victims of unconscionable price gouging by ruthless consumers who are taking advantage of market conditions to reduce their demand for gasoline, driving down the price by nearly $2 per gallon […]